The only certainty is the uncertainty

Happy new year to all.

I know its been a while since I last posted, and there have been some changes happening over the last few months. I’ve recently been embedded in the Network Planning and Development branch to be more involved in Western Power’s strategic future infrastructure planning – often looking at 10-15 year windows of time.

The reason I’ve chosen the title of this blog post is because I feel it describes the nature of the industry/environment that we work in.

Here at Western Power, we manage the grid (www.westernpower.com.au). We are responsible for transporting power from generators to homes and businesses. The work we do is responsive to needs that arise.

We respond to community and commercial needs and power demands. We respond to consumer behaviour and changing power use habits, increased use of airconditioners…. Multiple plasma televisions in homes…..new hospitals……. New schools….. housing developments…… mining operations…… industry…….other infrastructure such as desalination plants…….. We respond to power generation in whatever form it comes and in whatever location it is developed (wind farms, coal fired, geothermal etc) – by connecting it to our network and then transporting it through the grid and eventually out to homes and businesses. We respond to new technologies, as they arise, and accommodate them in our network.

All of these things change. We constantly review our forecasts, our network and our strategies for how to provide power for the community into the future. Now, more than ever, things are changing.

Because of this change, we plan for the future requirements of our network based on the information we have available at the time. This is no exact science. We share this information with our community, stakeholders, with the best of intentions, and with the clear message that things change. With the long lead times associated with strategic planning, we work with a great deal of uncertainty….. this is a message that we are always reinforcing, and which often creates a certain level of anxiety with the local communities in which infrastructure might be located in the future. And I can completely understand why.

A recent example is a strategic land purchase which we undertook in Banjup/Wandi area. A beautiful semi rural community, lifestyle blocks, still close to the city. An area that, in the direct vicinity of the site we purchased, will probably not grow too much for quite a number of years….. but in the future it might. And the areas around it are growing. And the areas around the substations which currently supply the local area are growing, which will mean they will eventually reach capacity……it is complex, and constantly changing, dependent on many external factors. And it is a difficult story to tell.

I would love comment from others about how they feel about lack of certainly in infrastructure planning. About how they may confront this in their lives/jobs. And what the community would like Western Power to do to involve them in this journey, and perhaps better communicate the ‘uncertainty’ that we deal with in projects…

To spark some ideas/thoughts – take a look at this article on the Peter Sandman website about uncertainty and public outrage

http://www.psandman.com/col/uncertin.htm