GenusPlus secures $50m maintenance and upgrades contract for Western Australia’s SWIS network
Specialist infrastructure provider GenusPlus Group (ASX: GNP) has been awarded a contract for maintenance and upgrade works on Western Australia’s Southwest Interconnecting System (SWIS), operated by the state-owned utility Western Power.
The five-year contract will see Genus provide distribution and transmission overhead maintenance services across the network, with expected revenue of around $50 million in the first 12 months.
The SWIS is a geographically and electrically isolated network that stretches from Kalbarri in the north to Kalgoorlie in the east and Albany in the south and serves most of the state’s population with more than 2.3 million customers.
Extensive work
Genus’ scope of work for the first year of the contract will include re-stringing of transmission towers with new cables, repairs of any identified defects across the system, line removal and the replacement of poles, cross arms and cross beams.
Genus will also be responsible for the construction of pole civil foundations as well as the installation of transmission poles, conductors, optical ground wires and hardware.
The works are expected to be completed by mid-2025.
“We are delighted to extend our long-standing relationship to help maintain strong and reliable electricity infrastructure for Western Power and its customers,” managing director David Riches said about the contract, which extends the company’s existing relationship with Western Power.
Fortescue contracts
In April, GenusPlus was awarded $50m in contracts for the construction of civil foundations and a 220-kilovolt single-circuit overhead transmission line to deliver power between Fortescue’s (ASX: FMG) Solomon and Eliwana mines in WA’s Pilbara region.
The contracts build on Genus’ existing relationship with the resources giant and are reported to form part of Fortescue’s decarbonisation plan to achieve zero emissions by 2030 across its mining, port, rail, non-process infrastructure and mobile fleet.
The plan includes the development and transmission of up to 3 gigawatts of green (wind and solar) power systems and battery storage to its electrical network via dedicated connections.
“Fortescue’s award of further contracts recognises that we have the capacity and expertise to support the continuing energy transition, and we look forward to completing the works safely and on time,” Mr Riches said.