Western Power crews are currently installing advanced covered power cabling in Nannup, located in the south west of WA.
Western Power’s specialised crew from Albany has strung 3.4 kilometres of new Hendrix power lines in Nannup, to improve the safety and reliability of electricity supply for residents in the town right and customers connected to the Jalbarragup line.
Western Power Regional South East Manager Tim Hunter, said Hendrix is a type of covered high voltage cabling that Western Power installs in areas where it is difficult and costly to lay underground cable, such as in densely forested land, bushfire prone areas and over river crossings.
“It’s particularly useful to reduce the incidence of power interruptions and damage to the network caused by vegetation and wildlife touching power lines.
“Crews have installed Hendrix near Nickoloplas Road in Nannup and 930 metres of the new cabling was recently installed in Rosa Brook near Margaret River,” he said.
It took the 10 man specialised Western Power crew from Albany a week to install the high voltage lines along 38 poles because of the difficult terrain in the area.
“One of our team’s challenges was getting to the worksite by road. The guys had to use their four-wheel-driving skills to get in and out of the area safely and had to rebuild power lines that crossed the Blackwood River three times,” Tim said.
The installation of the Hendrix cabling is part of a larger improvement program in the Nannup area being delivered over the next two months. It involves crew members from Western Power’s Bunbury, Bridgetown and Collie depots.
The works will include replacing 50 poles and 5.2 kilometres of three phase overhead lines, while also laying a further 5 kilometres of underground cabling and more Hendrix.
“When the job is complete in Nannup our crews will have installed about 14 kilometres of new and replacement power lines, including 4 kilometres of Hendrix.”
Western Power worked with local Noongars to ensure activity at the river crossings did not disturb any culturally significant artefacts and consulted with the Department of Parks and Wildlife to reduce the risk of spreading Dieback in the forest areas.
“Getting the job done would not be possible without a tremendous amount of help from the local community and we thank them for their ongoing support.”
“Improvements to the Western Power network demonstrates our commitment to provide safe, reliable and affordable electricity to our customers,” Tim said.
