Teamwork powering reliability: Inside TasNetworks’ biggest upgrade of 2025
In November, our crews wrapped up our largest planned outage of 2025, upgrading a key coastal power line in Tassie’s North-East! Over two days, more than 50 of our lineworkers, apprentices, and local contractors came together to make sure the lights keep shining for local homes and communities.
While the on-ground work only took two days, the planning behind it stretched back more than two years.
“Two years of engineering, asset inspections, logistics and coordination went into this. The engineers identified defects, the asset inspectors picked up where poles needed renewal, customer teams handled comms and notifications… it’s a massive collaboration long before anyone gets in a truck,”
said Sam Gerke, Works Delivery Leader.
We decided to tackle this stretch of Waterhouse Road with two back-to-back outages, rather than dragging it out over ten smaller ones.
“This was the largest planned outage we’ve delivered this year, and our crews handled it with precision,” said Brad Walker, Head of Operations Delivery. “Doing it in one hit avoided weeks of ongoing outages. It’s a smarter use of resources and better for customers.”
The work itself was all about building reliability that lasts. We replaced ageing steel cross-arms with fibreglass, upgraded insulators to high-voltage 33 kV post types, and renewed poles to reduce the risk of fires. “This area gets lightning, salt, pole fires, and it all takes a toll. These larger insulators and fibreglass arms will really improve safety and reduce outages for customers,” Sam said.
Across the site, teams from Scottsdale, St Marys, Rocherlea, and Devonport worked side by side. Experienced lineworkers led the way, while apprentices got hands-on experience with some of their biggest jobs yet. “There’s nothing like seeing our people in action, the knowledge being passed on, the young ones tackling big tasks for the first time, and everyone working safely together,” Brad said.
Among our crew was Holly Francombe, a dual-trade electrician/lineworker recently nominated for Australia’s Apprentice of the Year. “I’ve come from really humble beginnings, I just love being a tradie,” Holly said. “Being out here, working with so many experienced people, upgrading the network in a place that gets hammered by the coast… it’s pretty special.”
“The safety, the teamwork, the learning – it’s huge. And the people leading this job are doing an awesome job keeping everyone aligned.”
At the end of the day, it’s all about our customers. These upgrades will mean more reliable power for people living along Waterhouse Road. “Hopefully locals will see far fewer outages, especially from rusted arms or cracked insulators,” Holly said. “That’s what makes the long days worth it.”
Last financial year, we invested nearly $275 million in proactive maintenance and planned outages – strengthening reliability today and preparing the network for Tasmania’s energy future.
For our crews on the ground, the work is personal. “This is what we do, making sure people can rely on the power, whatever the weather,” Brad said. “It’s more than poles and wires. It’s about keeping Tasmania connected.” And with all that effort, we’re confident we’ve truly switched on a brighter, safer future for this part of our island state!