Underground Power To Light Up Attadale South

The project area is the portion of Attadale bounded by Wichmann Road to the north and Canning Highway to the south. The area includes a small portion of South East Bicton and a few properties on the south side of Canning Highway between North Lake Road and Latham Street.

Mayor Russell Aubrey said the State Underground Power Program in Attadale South was a partnership between the State Government (through the Office of Energy), Western Power and the City of Melville, to improve residential amenity and security of power supply.

“The results of an earlier survey indicated that 82 percent of Attadale South respondents supported the underground power project in principle and 74 percent of respondents were in favour of the proposal and prepared to contribute financially,” he said.

“Based on both this feedback and a range of detailed assessment criteria, the State Government’s Office of Energy made the decision to fund the Underground Power Program in Attadale South.

“Benefits of underground power include: improvement to the overall amenity of the area and significant benefits in terms of safety, security and continuity of supply.

 “Western Power assures the City of its commitment to carry out the work in Attadale South with as little impact on property and occupiers as possible, and asks residents for their cooperation and tolerance.

“The City of Melville supports the installation of underground power in all its suburbs and notes that underground power has now been successfully installed in: Mount Pleasant; Applecross and parts of Bicton and Booragoon. In addition, underground power opinion surveys are being conducted across all of Ardross, the northern part of Bicton and in parts of Melville.

“Of course, some areas have yet to be selected for underground power and I ask these residents for patience as we progress the State Underground Power Program throughout the City.”

The undergrounding of power in Attadale South will proceed continuously to minimise the impact on occupiers and enable verges and property to be reinstated as quickly as possible. Newsletters will be distributed to property owners and residents within the project area outlining the timelines for the project works. The funding for the project is shared between the State Government, Western Power and the City of Melville with the City being responsible for 50 per cent of the cost. As outlined in the survey questionnaire undertaken last year, the City will recover its share of the cost from property owners in the project area. This recovery method is used by local governments in almost all projects in the State Underground Power Program. The cost to property owners was included with the 2010-2011 rates notices along with various payment options.

For inquiries about individual household costs, please contact Roy Bailey on 9364 0674.