Customers invited to have a say on making power networks more resilient

Victorians can join an online workshop to have their say on proposed investments and innovations being tested and explored by electricity distributor Powercor to further strengthen the power network as the state experiences more frequent and severe weather events.

The forum will be held on 27 March and will help Powercor shape its draft five-year business plan that will be submitted to the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) this August.

Some of the resilience measures being explored include:

• Targeted undergrounding of powerlines
• Fire-proof-wrapping or replacing wooden poles in high fire danger areas
• Increasing the heights of powerlines in flood prone areas
• Expanding the fleet of mobile large-scale generators to temporarily power communities
• Increasing numbers of emergency response vehicles

LISTEN: Powercor speaks to the ABC about resilience planning

Powercor’s General Manager of Regulation, Renate Vogt, said the online workshop provided another chance for customers to have their say about ideas to improve resilience in their area.

“Just as more extreme weather is increasing the risk of prolonged outages, our customers are becoming more dependent on electricity than ever before,” Ms Vogt said.

“We are listening to our customers to help us find solutions to build more resilient networks in the face of climate change, while keeping costs as low as possible.”

Over coming months, Powercor will continue seeking feedback on proposed investment ideas and activities on a range of different topics, including renewable energy and affordability, that have been identified through earlier engagement.

Proposed solutions, associated costs and benefits will be tested with customers before the draft plans are published in August 2024. The final plans will be submitted to the Australian Energy Regulator for approval in January 2025.

To find out more or to have your say, visit engage.powercor.com.au