FAQ

The funding models for the remaining projects are yet to be determined by Council.

The City’s Underground Power Policy amended in 26 June 2018 includes the following statements:

• The Council supports the undergrounding of overhead power distribution that currently exists within the City of Nedlands and will both advocate to the State Government at every opportunity to achieve this and partner with relevant agencies on the planning and delivery of underground power;
• The City will identify strategies for the funding of the underground power installation which minimise the cost to the City and property owners;
• The City will develop a program to deliver the undergrounding of power to areas where overhead power currently exists in the shortest possible timeframe; and 
• The Council supports a method of equally distributing the costs for underground power projects as follows:
  
  

1. State Underground Power Project (SUPP) 50% funded by State / City and 50% funded by property owner; or
2. Local Government client funded underground power project funded by Western Power, the City and property owners with negotiated contributions.

At each phase of the project the contractors will be issuing advices as follows:

• Primary equipment sites (Consultation)
• Property service Installation
• Street services installation
• Changeover to the new underground power system
• Completion - cable installation
• Removal of the old overhead wires and poles

The design of the final three project areas is underway and expected to be complete by August 2021. Timing for construction of the final three projects will be determined by Council.

Transformers are used to reduce the voltage from the HV distribution of 11,000 volts down to 240 volts suitable for household appliance use. Generally transformers are located where they cause minimal visual disruption e.g. parks and reserves, stormwater sumps or private property side boundaries. The final location is based on design requirements and affected resident consultation.

During October 2015, the Council considered the feasibility of completing the installation of underground power for approximately 2,200 residential allotments within the City by means of a series of borrowings, together with resident contributions, in order to install underground power to the remaining lots.

Following this, the Council at its meeting on 26 April 2016, authorised the submission of these applications for the installation of underground power to the remaining lots in response to the Underground Power Funding Program (Round 6) offered by the State Government. 

Cr Wetherall submitted a notice of motion to the September Council Meeting due to concerns that the State Underground Power Program (SUPP) funding was anticipated to be unsuccessful. As a result, the Council at its meeting on 27 September 2016, resolved to continue seeking options for the provision of underground power to the City. Since this date, the City has been meeting with representatives from Western Power to explore options outside of the funding program.

Council at its meeting on 20 December 2016, (Item 13.6) the Council accepted the quotation of $119,404 (ex-GST) from Western Power to complete the detailed design for the Hollywood area, requested a community engagement process be undertaken with the property owners in the proposed area within Hollywood, and requested a report be presented to the April 2017 meeting detailing the financial model options for the progression of the project to construction phase.

Council at its meeting on 4 August 2020 resolved that Council:

1. approves an increase in the operations budget from $180,000 to $983,260 to fund the detailed design, project planning and contract documentation with a hold point prior to contract advertising for underground power in Nedlands East (Hollywood East), Nedlands North (Floreat) and Nedlands West (MT Claremont). 
2. approves the CEO to authorise Western Power to proceed with the detailed design, project planning and contract documentation for the Nedlands East (Hollywood East), Nedlands North (Floreat) and Nedlands West (Mt Claremont) underground power projects, with the additional funds required to come from the operational surplus, to be reviewed at the mid-year review, with the balance from the Underground Power Reserve Fund if required.
3. notes this is a work in progress and a further report will be presented to Council in April 2021 following completion of the design phase activities.