Western Power upgrades IT backup kit

Western Power plans to deploy uninterruptible power supplies at 25 remote locations to support a disaster recovery project and VOIP system rollout.

The Western Australian government-owned utility said it would roll out other UPS boxes at a further 15 sites.

The rollout would be completed by the end of the year, it said.

Specifically, Western Power said it would buy Eaton's 9155 UPS for 25 sites, the Eaton EXRT for a further 12 sites and the Eaton 9355 for three sites.

The 25 sites to get the 9155 boxes were locations where "Western Power is currently conducting major IT upgrades to ensure business continuity during a disaster or crisis situation."

"At the same time, Western Power is also implementing a VoIP network for which it required the support of a new generation of UPS infrastructure," it said.

The UPS units will be supplied under a three-year preferred supplier contract agreement between the utility and Eaton Corporation.

The utility said the devices could be managed from a central console in Perth but serviced by local staff at each remote site.

"Locally-based staff will be able to rapidly perform hot swap battery replacements on site rather than requesting the fly-in of technical expertise from Perth headquarters itself," said Frank Alvaro, IT strategy and architecture manager for the IT branch of Western Power.

Western Power's grid supports more than 965,000 homes and businesses.