And secret settlement negotiations with St Patrick's Day bushfire victims have all but stalled almost two years after four south-west bushfires were caused by electrical infrastructure with farm shelter a major sticking point.

It's a two-pronged public relations disaster.

During one of Australia's most devastating summer bushfire seasons, Powercor has launched a slick TV marketing campaign aimed at repairing it's damaged reputation.

But, a secret report revealed in a Supreme Court case over The Sisters/Garvoc bushfire that Powercor knew it needed to commit to an up to eight/fold increase in pole replacements to counter a tsunami of pole failures.

Powercor's Victorian network includes 580,000 poles and most are low grade Mountain Gum and Messmate poles which have or are reaching their expected life span.

In 2017 Powercor replaced and put in a total of 1153 new poles - a fraction of one per cent.

Late on St Patrick's Day 2018 four bushfires ravaged the south-west all started by Powercor infrastructure.

That led to The Standard backing a campaign aimed at highlighting and pushing Powercor to fix its maintenance systems and issues.

The Sisters/Garvoc fire was sparked by a rotten power pole that snapped.

The Terang/Cobden was caused by the repeat shifting of an anchor pole in a clay table drain which led to conductors clashing.

That campaign led to Powercor committing to replacing 2200 poles a year.

The secret report reveals that company know it needs an up to eight-fold increase in pole replacements to rebuild a sustainable system.

Powercor has now made a five-year application to the Australian Energy Regulator.

It proposes to replace just over 20,000 poles in that time - not even a doubling of the current commitment.

The Sisters dairyfarmer Jill Porter has just sent a 37-page submission to Energy Safe Victoria in response to the regulator's draft report into Powercor's wooden pole management.

Mrs Porter called on the state government and ESV to force change and ensure the electrical distribution network is safe.

She highlighted the trauma caused to individuals, families and communities by bushfires.

Mrs Porter also called for tougher civil penalties and called for an immediate review of incentive/penalty schemes to ensure Powercor changed its practises to make safety the No. 1 priority.

She said the current pole management system was clearly not fit for purpose and did not provide sustainable safety outcomes for the future - as it caused devastating bushfires.

"We require a change in mindset across all levels of government (state and federal), Energy Safe Victoria, the Australian Energy Regulator, National Electricity Rules and network distribution businesses," she said.

"We must all collaboratively value safety as an overarching and critical priority."

Mrs Porter claimed the draft report was only produced after a "long and largely belittled" south-west community campaign to highlight the glaring inadequacies of Powercor .

She said The Sisters/Garvoc bushfire resulted in significant loss of property and stock, and trauma to her community.

"And yet in stark comparison, Powercor Australia Ltd, and its senior executive team remain cost and trauma free," she said.

"Our community continues to be unheard. There is a lack of respect, no genuine engagement or value of local knowledge."

Mrs Porter said the problems of the aging pole system were known by Powercor in October 2004 and yet there was still not a sustainable management plan in place.

"The electrical distribution network continues to age, risk of failure of assets continues to rise," she said.

"There is insufficient forward planning to ensure adequate replacement and management. ESV has not heeded the warning signs over the last 15 years. It is well past time for ESV to act," she said.

A Powercor spokeswoman said that at the end of January the company submitted its Regulatory Reset Proposal for 2021-2026 to the Australian Energy Regulator.

"This five-year plan offers to deliver more for customers at a lower cost. In particular, high network investment is designed to sustain reliability and safety," she said.

"We are proposing to invest $694.8 million in asset replacement over the period, which is a 52 per cent increase on the $455.4 million approved for the current regulatory period."

The spokeswoman said the plan was based on extensive consultation with stakeholders, including the regulator and community members.

"We are planning a four-fold increase in pole replacements, taking the number to 20,878, and will refurbish a further 18,892 poles over the five years," she said.

"This follows a change in pole inspection and maintenance strategies to increase the amount of sound wood required for poles to remain on our network as well as a need to manage the age profile of the pole population.

"Pole replacements are just one part of our bushfire mitigation program and our proposal includes significant investment in our bushfire mitigation program.

"The poles used across our network are of the highest quality and meet Australian standards. Any suggestion otherwise is wrong."

The spokeswoman said the community could read more about the proposal and how Powercor was delivering a safe and reliable network for the south-west community at: talkingelectricity.com.au

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