A future ready grid
The poles and wires of the South West Interconnected System serve more than 85% of the State’s population, reliably transferring electricity to keep households and industry running.
As industry seeks to decarbonise by electrifying their operations, the amount of renewable energy required will grow dramatically – and the electricity network will need to grow with it.
To support industry in achieving its net zero ambitions, the State Government has completed the SWIS Demand Assessment, engaging with industry to understand its needs, and undertaking a modelling exercise to build a vision of how the electricity network in the South West of the State will need to evolve over the next 20 years.
Huge potential to connect renewables
A ‘Future Ready’ grid would require almost 10 times the current amount of generation and storage capacity, and over 4,000 km of new transmission lines to transport that energy from where it is produced to where it is used.
Up to 96 per cent of electricity produced in the SWIS could be renewable by 2042.
Working together towards a low carbon future
The SWIS Demand Assessment is only the first step in our electrification journey with Government and Western Power set to engage with industry to firm up the next stage of projects. However, Western Power has already commenced work on planning in areas where changes are most likely to be needed.
The Government will also help expedite the required works by addressing challenges, removing regulatory barriers, coordinating investments and continuing to undertake planning to ensure sensible investments are made.
Download the Summary Report
Further information is available in a downloadable PDF summary report