Western Power hopes insulated wires will reduce bushfire risk in Perth’s hills

Insulated power lines will be rolled out in Perth’s Hills this year, in the hopes the innovation will reduce the risks of bushfires in WA.

Western Power will replace a stretch of high-voltage powerlines with a new conductor covered with an insulating material.

The new material is designed to reduce bushfire risk, protect wildlife from electrical infrastructure and improve the resilience and safety of the lines.

The project began with a small-scale trial in late 2025 in Yanchep, covering 2km of the network with the new material.

It has laid the way for a larger trial in Parkerville, in Perth’s hills, which is set to begin in mid-2026.

The trial will involve replacing 16km of high voltage power lines to covered conductor.

They’ll also replace 14km of low voltage bare conductor to aerial bundle cable, which is set to improve reliability and reduce bushfire risk.

Western Power asset management executive manager Gair Landsborough said the upgrade would bring more reliable power to customers.

“Using covered HV conductors reduces bushfire risk and helps to minimise the impact of vegetation and wildlife coming into contact with the network,” he said.

“Installing covered HV conductor is expected to increase the resilience of the network against weather events, reducing the number of unplanned outages and enhancing reliability for homes and businesses.”

The new materials may also help prevent pole top fires, which plague the system most years when light rains at the end of summer mix with dusty pole tops, causing arching that can ignite a blaze.

Last year a mass power outage left 40,000 homes without power, some for days.