diff --git a/lib/ansible/runner/shell_plugins/powershell.py b/lib/ansible/runner/shell_plugins/powershell.py
index 5685960e8bf..2047913ad7d 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/runner/shell_plugins/powershell.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/runner/shell_plugins/powershell.py
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ def _escape(value, include_vars=False):
 
 def _encode_script(script, as_list=False):
     '''Convert a PowerShell script to a single base64-encoded command.'''
+    script = '\n'.join([x.strip() for x in script.splitlines() if x.strip()])
     encoded_script = base64.b64encode(script.encode('utf-16-le'))
     cmd_parts = _common_args + ['-EncodedCommand', encoded_script]
     if as_list: