Advocacy - Undergrounding Power Citywide
What is the issue?
The City of Wanneroo is one of the largest growing local governments in Western Australia, already home to more than 250,000 people across 685km². Our vast City includes a mix of urban and rural areas, each with risks and opportunities for community safety and amenity.
In the City’s established urban suburbs, ageing overhead power infrastructure is increasingly vulnerable to storm damage and extreme weather events, resulting in frequent disruptions and power outages. Effects of regular power outages compound cost-of-living pressures already impacting many community members.
Overhead power poles also constrain urban tree canopy cover and street light placement, impacting road and community safety.
The City’s ageing overhead power network is due for renewal, presenting a critical opportunity to transition to a modern, fit-for-purpose underground system to address identified risks while improving network reliability, supporting business continuity and strengthening community resilience, while also reducing maintenance and operational costs.
Recent bushfire events, including the 2023 Mariginiup bushfire where 18 homes were lost, highlight the increasing importance of safe and resilient infrastructure in the City’s highest-risk bushfire prone areas to protect communities from impacts of a changing climate.
Undergrounding power, or implementing other suitable mitigation measures, in the highest fire risk areas would significantly reduce potential threats of overhead power infrastructure starting and spreading bushfires.
Replacing infrastructure on a like-for-like basis misses the opportunity to improve safety, reliability and community outcomes.
What is the current state?
Western Power manages asset renewal through its infrastructure replacement program.
In some cases, underground power is delivered through the Targeted Underground Power Program (TUPP) where projects are identified as beneficial and cost-effective.
No suburbs within the City of Wanneroo are currently identified as proposed or potential underground power projects, with some areas only classified as long-term opportunities over a 15–30-year horizon.
This leaves communities exposed to frequent power outages and ongoing safety, reliability and environmental risks.
Ageing overhead power infrastructure in high bushfire risk areas falls outside the scope of the TUPP, leaving rural communities vulnerable.
The City of Wanneroo supports WALGA State Council’s advocacy for increased State Government funding for the TUPP initiative, which they endorsed in April 2026.
What does the community need?
The City’s population is growing across both new and established suburbs. Population increases in the City’s established areas places greater demand on ageing infrastructure and increases the number of people exposed to risk.
The community requires a coordinated program to transition the overhead power network to underground infrastructure, prioritising areas of highest bushfire risk, older suburbs with ageing infrastructure and lower socio-economic communities with limited capacity to co-fund upgrades.
How can we make change happen?
The City of Wanneroo is seeking State Government and Western Power partnership to deliver underground power across priority areas.
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The City of Wanneroo is ready to work in partnership with State Government and Western Power to support planning and delivery.
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