Published on Wednesday, 18 May 2022 at 11:40:00 AM
The City of Vincent has an exciting opportunity to achieve underground power in a cost-effective way with Western Power identifying three Vincent neighbourhoods that could be part of Tranche 2 of its Network Renewal Undergrounding Program Pilot.
The program targets areas where there is a high density of aging distribution overhead assets that need to be replaced.
Areas identified in the City of Vincent for possible inclusion in the program are in North Perth/Mount Lawley, North Perth/Mount Hawthorn and Perth/Highgate.
Under the program, Western Power meets the majority of capital costs with the remainder, including connection costs, to be covered by City of Vincent and property owners.
The general average cost per property would be between $2,500 and $5,000.
This will be confirmed when agreement has been signed and communicated closer to project commencement.
The NRUPP is a more cost effective way for the City to undergrounding power as the majority of costs would be covered by Western Power as part of its network replacement strategy, rather than the City funding under State Underground Power Program, which in 2015 was quoted as $8260 per household.
Under SUPP, the cost of undergrounding is shared between the State Government, Western Power, Local Government Authorities (LGAs) and property owners.
Mayor Emma Cole said the previous quote for the Heritage Precinct wasn’t supported by residents, who voted twice on the issue.
Many in our community have asked for underground power through other forums including the Imagine Vincent consultation in 2017 and recently during our Imagine Vincent: The Sequel review of our Strategic Community Plan.
“For a long time, underground power has not been cost effective for the City, but this new opportunity is a game changer for the City of Vincent and our residents who have been asking for underground power,” Ms Cole said.
“The new Network Renewal Underground Program Pilot has brought the costs down and underground power is now within our reach.
“This is a golden opportunity to roll-out underground power in three substantial areas in Vincent and make significant inroads into the dream of our neighbourhoods being free of overhead powerlines so our tree canopy can flourish.
“News of this opportunity has generated a lot of excitement in our community, and many residents are telling us they want to see underground power as part of our current Imagine Vincent: The Sequel community engagement.”
The final details on cost and funding are not yet available until community consultation and detailed design have been completed.
Ms Cole said underground power would provide many benefits to the community.
“There are so many benefits to underground power including increased tree canopy, cooler, more walkable streets, improved public safety, reduced street tree pruning costs, improved network reliability and increased property prices for residents,” she said.
“We will continue to advocate for underground power to be rolled out across the rest of Vincent as part of future collaboration projects with Western Power and the State Government. We hope this is the beginning for every street in Vincent.”
The Council endorsed a Memorandum of Understanding with Western Power at Tuesday night’s Council Meeting.
Ms Cole said the memorandum was the first, important step in the process because it demonstrated our commitment to work with Western Power and the community to bring more underground power to Vincent.
City officers will work with Western Power on community engagement and detailed design for approximately 12 months, before a final business case is presented to Council with full details of the costs and timing of the project.
See the maps of the proposed areas below:
North Perth/Mt Lawley concept plan
North Perth/Mt Hawthorn concept plan
Perth/Highgate concept plan
*Note: The yellow line indicates the presence of transmission lines that won't be removed as part of this project. The blue dotted lines represent the City of Vincent boundary.
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