Premier Roger Cook assures Mid West is at the front of the queue for power upgrades

After last week’s chaotic power outages that plagued the Wheatbelt and Goldfields, Premier Roger Cook has assured the Mid West is at the front of the queue for power upgrades in regional WA.

“Late last year, we announced almost three-quarters of a billion dollars of upgrades for Southwest Interconnected System (SWIS) that is predominantly focused on rebuilding the capability and the capacity of our system going north,“ Mr Cook said while he was in Geraldton on Wednesday.

The Premier acknowledged the struggles of communities which sat on the edge of the grid, including the Mid West, with the SWIS stopping around Kalbarri.

“We know that communities that are at the edge of the grid, suffer from a greater amount of instability in terms of our services,” he said.

“Investments that my Government are making will ensure that Geraldton gets strong, reliable energy, energy that can meet the growing economic needs.”

Mr Cook said Oakajee was at the forefront of the State Government’s mind, acting as a massive economic driver for the region and State.

“At the moment, we’re focused on the transport corridors into the strategic industrial area. And we’ve funded the road upgrades for that area to make sure that the road access ways are ready to go,” he said.

Mr Cook added there was “a lot of work to be done”.

“It will be long-term work, but it’ll be backed by significant investment by my Government,” he said.