Tens of thousands of residents across Western Australia’s central and south-west coast awoke to an unexpected challenge on Saturday: widespread power outages. Approximately 39,000 homes and businesses in the Perth metropolitan area, as well as the Midwest and Wheatbelt regions, found themselves in the dark as Western Power crews scrambled to restore electricity.
The hardest hit neighborhoods included Doubleview, Innaloo, Karrinyup, Wembley Downs, Scarborough, Trigg, and Woodlands, where over 7,000 customers were initially without power. By midday, that number had dramatically decreased to just over 300. However, residents in southern suburbs such as Postans, Medina, and Kwinana Beach faced a longer wait, with power only being restored shortly after 1 PM.
As the day progressed, the situation remained fluid; by 2 PM, about 18,900 properties were still affected. Western Power acknowledged the inconvenience these outages cause, stating that crews were diligently working to restore power as quickly and safely as possible.
The outages stemmed from drizzly weather overnight, which ignited pole-top fires throughout the network. A representative from Western Power emphasized that all available crews were on-site, working to address hazards and assess poles for potential replacements. Each pole change can take between four to eight hours, which means some customers may remain without power well into the evening.
In light of these conditions, Western Power is urging residents to maintain a safe distance of at least eight meters from fallen power lines and to report any hazards to facilitate a swift response.
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