Private power pole replacement in WA: defect notices, options and cost

Published 23 October 2026

Who owns a private power pole in WA?

Building and Energy defines private power poles and lines as those that carry electricity from your main switchboard and meter to your home or other buildings, and that includes the pole where Western Power's overhead service cable is attached. If you have one on your property, it says, inspecting, maintaining and replacing it is your responsibility.

That isn't new. Building and Energy says it has always been the property owner's responsibility to maintain the electrical equipment they own. Its guidelines describe it as a duty of care under common law, so that the poles and lines don't pose a safety risk to the people living there, the neighbours or anyone else.

• Shared poles: Western Power says that where neighbouring properties share a private pole, all the owners are responsible for it
• Tenants: if you rent and receive a defect notice, Western Power says to forward it to your landlord or property manager, who is likely to be responsible depending on your tenancy
• Every pole, not just the first: Western Power only inspects the first pole, but owners remain responsible for all the private poles on their property

Western Power's first-pole inspections

Western Power began inspecting the first private pole on properties after the Supreme Court of Western Australia's July 2021 judgment on the Parkerville fire. It says it visually inspects the pole and, if it's safe to, digs around the base to check its condition below ground.

There's no charge for the inspection, and Western Power doesn't expect it to need an outage. If it finds the pole in an immediately dangerous condition, it says it will disconnect the property to keep it safe. Western Power doesn't publish how often it inspects each pole.

Private power pole defect notice: the 30 or 90-day deadline

Western Power lists the conditions that lead to a notice:

• Rot, splitting, fire damage or cracks in a wooden pole or cross arm
• Excessive leaning or instability
• Rust or corrosion on a metal pole, a lattice or tripod structure, cross arms or attachments
• Physical damage, such as an impact, that affects the pole's strength
• A sawn timber pole, usually square and often untreated. Western Power says a sawn timber first pole gets a replacement notice whatever its condition

1. Check the deadline on the notice. Depending on the pole's condition, Western Power gives either 30 or 90 days to replace it, or may advise that the work can be done in the future.
2. Get a licensed electrical contractor to look at it. Western Power says to contact an electrical contractor as soon as the notice arrives, to assess the work and quote it.
3. If you want to go underground, apply early. Western Power says to apply as soon as you receive the notice, so the work can be done before the notice period ends, and to tell it you've received a private power pole replacement notice when you apply.

If the pole isn't replaced in time, Western Power says it will need to disconnect the property until the installation is made safe, and there will be a reconnection fee. It doesn't publish the fee amount on its pole pages.

Replace the pole or go underground?

Talk the choice through with the electrical contractor quoting the job. Before any digging for an underground cable, Building and Energy says to check for other services in the ground through Before You Dig Australia (byda.com.au).

Options for a private pole that needs replacing

From Building and Energy's private power poles guide (updated 26 November 2024) and its guidelines for private power poles and lines (revised May 2023), checked 22 October 2026. Sawn timber poles, untreated timber poles and bare wires are no longer permitted for new lines or replacements.

Private power pole replacement cost

Western Power and Building and Energy don't publish what it costs to replace a private pole, and we found no WA electrician who publishes a price for it. The cost is the electrical contractor's quote for your property. Western Power does publish fixed prices for its share of an eligible overhead-to-underground conversion:

Western Power's underground conversion prices

Western Power's published fixed prices for an eligible overhead-to-underground conversion, checked 22 October 2026. They cover Western Power's network work only, not the licensed electrical contractor's trench and cable from the pillar to your meter box or removing the old pole, and the page doesn't say whether GST is included. A pit instead of a pillar, or extra site preparation, costs more. Ask Western Power whether your property is eligible for the fixed price.

News reports from Perth give some idea of what owners were quoted when the inspections began. ESD News reported in March 2024, citing ABC Radio Perth, that a resident said the average quote came in around $5,000. Echo News reported in November 2023 that several contractors in the City of Swan and the Perth Hills put a replacement at $1,000 to $3,000. Both are more than 18 months old and from Perth, so they're a starting point for questions, not a Busselton price.

Western Power's pole pages don't mention any subsidy for replacing a private pole. The State Underground Power Program, which converted whole areas to underground power, finished in 2024, and Western Power's current underground programs work through local governments, not individual owners.

Signs a power pole needs replacing

Building and Energy recommends checking your private poles and lines, including stay wires and fittings, at least once a year, and after storms, strong winds or heavy rain. From the ground, look for:

• A wooden pole that's cracked, damaged, rotting or attacked by termites
• Rust on a steel pole, which Building and Energy says should be checked above and below ground
• A pole that's leaning, or brackets pulling away from the pole or the house
• Damaged stay wires, split cross arms, broken strands or damaged insulators
• A wire hanging much lower than the others
• Trees or branches within two metres of the lines

Building and Energy says Australian Standards indicate a life expectancy of up to 40 years above ground and 25 years below ground for hardwood poles, and recommends replacing hardwood poles, such as jarrah, that have been in service for more than 25 years. Western Power adds that problems inside a pole may not be visible to an untrained eye, so a licensed professional's inspection is worth having.

Never climb a pole, go near the wires, try a repair or cut vegetation near a live line. If a line comes down, assume it's live, stay at least 8 metres away, call 000, and report it to Western Power on 13 13 51. Western Power's $120 extended outage payment doesn't apply when the outage is caused by equipment at the account holder's property, including privately owned electrical installations.

What needs a licensed electrical contractor

All of it. Building and Energy says any work on the installation, including the pole, must be done by a licensed electrical worker, and that you must engage a licensed electrical contractor to comply with any notice from Western Power. In WA, a contractor's licence number starts with EC, and you can check it on Building and Energy's online licence search.

Building and Energy's guidelines say new or modified private lines and poles are notifiable work: the contractor sends Western Power a preliminary notice and a notice of completion, which may lead to an inspection of the installation. For installing work, the contractor also gives you an Electrical Safety Certificate within 28 days. See the Electrical Safety Certificate in WA.

Common questions