Western Power has launched its first smartphone app to provide customers with a new, quick, and easy way to find out information on power outages.
Western Power’s Chief Executive Officer, Paul Italiano, said the app had been developed to increase the ease with which customers could receive updates on power outages that may affect them.
“The strength of our app is that it was built from the very beginning with our customers’ needs in mind as user feedback has helped to influence its design, information and appearance,” Mr Italiano said.
“Through our Perth-based call centre, where our staff receives more than 900,000 calls a year, we developed a fairly good understanding of the information our customers wanted and we have designed our first app to meet their needs.”
Western Power’s app gives customers:
- Information on the times when the power will be off in an area;
- Details of when Western Power crews have turned power off to work on the network;
- Status updates on expected restoration times;
- Information on any unplanned interruptions; and
- An option to register for updates for up to 20 addresses.
Mr Italiano said Western Power crews would send out information via the app as soon as they finish work in an area so customers could be told directly when the power is back on.
The app also gives Western Power the ability to scale up during major storm events and distribute hundreds of thousands of status updates per minute.
“Whether the outage is caused by extreme weather or is part of planned works to make the electricity network safer and more reliable, the app provides our customers with up-to-date information on their power supply,” Mr Italiano said.
“The app is now available to download for free in the Apple, Google Play, and Windows app stores for smartphone users including iOS, Android, and Windows.”
“All our customers need to do is search for ‘Western Power’ in the smartphone application store relevant to them and look for the Western Power logo.”
Customers can register for outage updates via text or push notification when a power outage is affecting their property and provide feedback at mobile.app.feedback@westernpower.com.au.
