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Parliamentary Questions


Question On Notice No. 743 asked in the Legislative Council on 11 May 2022 by Hon James Hayward

Question Directed to the: Parliamentary Secretary representing the Minister for Energy
Parliament: 41 Session: 1


Question

I refer to Western Power State of the Infrastructure Report 2020-21, and I ask:
(a) with regards to the 3,769 kilometres of conductors considered to be of a higher risk of failure, when will this risk be removed;
(b) with regards to the 567 kilometres of high risk conductors in high population centres and/or high bush fire risk areas, when will this risk be removed;
(c) what action is Western Power able to take to remove the risk of clashing conductors considering the likelihood of increased extreme weather events in the future; and
(d) what is the estimated cost of removing the risk of clashing conductors across the South West Interconnected Grid System?

Answered on 14 June 2022

(a)-(b) Western Power has developed a Distribution Overhead Rebuild Strategy to manage the risk of the distribution overhead corridor. This strategy considers the risks of all assets including conductors, poles, and pole-mounted equipment to determine a treatment plan to maintain asset performance and risk.

Over the next 30 years, the Western Power distribution network will undergo a significant transformation in response to the changing electricity market and increasing customer choices. As part of this transformation, it is expected that approximately 30,000km of distribution overhead conductors will be removed over the 30-year period, which will further reduce the network risk.

(c)        To mitigate the risks of conductor clashing, Western Power’s strategy is to:

·         Proactively install LV spreaders on bays that are likely to clash

·         Install spreaders on LV bays that have clashed in service

·         Proactively treat spreader defects

·         Reactively treat HV bays that have clashed in service or have been identified by inspectors as having clashed historically.

 

Under this plan, in AA5, Western Power will:

·         Proactively install 2,500 new LV spreaders

·         Treat 1,625 LV spreader defects

·         Treat 644 sites to mitigate HV clashing.

Western Power takes a risk-based approach of targeting bays that are more likely to clash or have already clashed in service. 

In addition, Western Power is undertaking a trial of a new software modelling platform utilising LiDAR data, that if successful, will enhance the understanding of clashing phenomena, and inform future clashing mitigation strategies.

(d)       Any estimated costs associated are Commercial in confidence.