western power crews restored electricity to more than 25, 000 customers after a widespread outage hit the Great Southern region, an event that cut supply along almost 300 kilometres of the south coast and left communities without power during morning hours.
What happened in the Great Southern outage?
Power was lost across a broad corridor at 8: 51am, affecting approximately 25, 529 customers across an area stretching from Walpole in the west to Bremer Bay in the east and reaching north to Kendenup. By 9: 51am, crews had restored supply to roughly 13, 505 customers. At 10: 00am, more than 12, 020 residents remained without power as restoration work continued.
Crews ultimately restored power to the remaining homes and businesses in Albany, Denmark and surrounding areas. A spokesperson for the network operator said the outage stemmed from a fault on the busbar caused by trees affecting network infrastructure. The busbar, the spokesperson noted, is a metallic strip that conducts and distributes power from one place to another.
The local council urged patience and practical safety measures for residents affected by the outage: take care on the roads, check on neighbours who may need support, and follow any advice from emergency services while crews work to restore supply safely.
What does Western Power say and what is known now?
Initial restoration efforts prioritized rapid and safe reconnection across the wide corridor while teams assessed damage. crews focused on restoring supply in stages, with pockets of reconnection occurring as work progressed. The utility identified a busbar fault caused by trees contacting infrastructure as the primary trigger for the outage and has continued investigative work to confirm the sequence of events and any contributing factors.
Operational notes released by the network describe the practical steps taken during the morning: deploy crews along multiple sites, isolate the fault, repair damaged equipment and progressively re-energise feeders to bring customers back online. Local authorities and emergency services coordinated with crews to manage community impact while the repair and assessment work proceeded.
What happens next? Scenarios and guidance
- Best case — The investigation confirms a single busbar fault caused by tree contact, repairs are completed with no further interruptions, and targeted vegetation works and asset inspections reduce near-term risk.
- Most likely — Investigations validate the tree contact finding and the operator implements targeted maintenance and inspections on the affected corridor while restoring full service and advising residents on safety and updates.
- Most challenging — If inspection reveals wider infrastructure stress or multiple failure points, restoration and remedial works require extended crew deployments and more comprehensive replacement of damaged equipment, prolonging community disruption.
Practical steps for residents drawn from official guidance: treat all downed lines as live, exercise caution on roads near crews and damaged infrastructure, check on vulnerable neighbours, and follow instructions from emergency services. The local council expressed appreciation for community patience as repairs were carried out.
The sequence of events — a large-scale outage at 8: 51am, staged restorations through mid-morning, and confirmation that a busbar fault caused by trees affected the network — frames the immediate operational priorities: complete the formal investigation, repair or replace damaged components, and reduce the chance of repeat incidents through targeted maintenance and inspection work.
