Over the past two decades the Town of Mosman Park has worked alongside the State Government and Western Power to progressively replace overhead powerlines with underground infrastructure. This has already been achieved in several areas of the Town.

Underground power offers a range of long-term benefits – including a safer and more reliable power supply, improved streetscapes, and potential increases in property value.

In 2002–2003, approximately half of Mosman Park was converted to underground power through Western Power’s State Underground Power Program.

Since then, securing funding to complete the remaining areas has been challenging, and the high cost of undergrounding continues to be a barrier.

In response to strong and ongoing community interest, the Town has continued to work with Western Power to explore practical options and funding pathways to complete the transition across the rest of Mosman Park.

PROJECT UPDATE

There is now an opportunity to bring forward undergrounding in the remaining areas, but doing so would require financial contributions from affected property owners.

The Town is seeking feedback from affected property owners on two options:

• Bringing the project forward, with affected property owners covering a high portion of the cost
• Waiting for the scheduled rollout, expected to be subsidised by Western Power, with a lower financial contribution required from property owners

Council will use this feedback to decide whether to request early delivery of the project or continue with the scheduled rollout.

Key takeaways

• The planned installation for underground power (U/P) in Mosman Park is 2035-2045.
• Western Power has given the Town an option to bring U/P forward (before 2032) through their Retrospective Undergrounding Power (RUP) Project.
• To bring the project forward, the Town would need to pass on significantly more costs to Mosman Park property owners.
• U/P is a complex and expensive project – it is still early days and there are a lot of uncertainties.
• The Town will undertake financial modelling shortly so that we can provide property owners with more certainty around costs.
• Community consultation will take place during 2024-25 to determine the level of support to bring U/P forward in Mosman Park.
• No decision will be made by Council until financial modelling and consultation is completed.
• If the U/P project is not brought forward, a contribution will still be required from property owners – however, the cost will be lower than if the project was accelerated.

How we will keep you informed

The Town’s YourSay is the best source of information for ongoing project updates, timelines and detailed Frequently Asked Questions. The Town will also undertake future consultation activities for underground power on our YourSay page.

Visit yoursay.mosmanpark.wa.gov.au/undergroundpower

More information

Western Power offers a variety of helpful resources on their website to help you understand the complexities of undergrounding power.