Gas Supply Coordination Committee
A working group has been established comprising representatives of the Premier's Office, the Energy Minister's Office, Office of Energy, Western Power, Alinta, Synergy, Verve Energy, the Dampier to Bunbury Gas Pipeline, the Chamber of Minerals and Energy and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and is chaired by the Coordinator of Energy.
Read more about the Gas Supply Coordination Committee >>
Electricity Retail Market Review
The Minister for Energy has commenced the Electricity Market Review which entails a detailed study of retail tariff arrangements, the introduction of full retail contestability (FRC) in electricity, and the roll out of smart meters. The Office of Energy (OOE) has responsibility for completing this review and preparing recommendations for the Minister’s consideration. Now in its third year of operation, the Rural Power Improvement Program is a $60 million project to specifically address the issue of poor power reliability in rural areas. The five-year program is expected to benefit around 58,000 rural customers, their families and businesses by decreasing the number and duration of outages and by improving reliability. The scheme is intended to recognise the considerable inconvenience to customers caused by extended outages and will make power suppliers more accountable for the performance of its network. Customers will still be able to seek compensation if they have suffered damage as a result of an outage which is due to negligence by Western Power or Horizon Power. Additional information about the scheme and how to apply for payment is available on the Western Power website for SWIS customers and the Horizon Power website for regional customers..
Read more about the Electricity Retail Market Review >>
Inquiry into the rising cost of LPG
The State Government has launched an investigation into the affordability of bottled liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in Western Australia. Energy Minister Francis Logan commissioned the inquiry in response to concerns from consumers, particularly those people in regional and outer metropolitan areas who were dependent on bottled LPG.
The taskforce has released an Issues Paper and public meetings are being held across the State to give consumers the opportunity to have their say.
Read more about the Inquiry >>
OOE & ERA Memorandum of Understanding
The Office of Energy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Economic Regulation Authority. The MOU provides information about the respective roles of the parties, how the parties will engage with one another and share information.
Read more about the Memorandum of Understanding >>
Interim Extension and Expansion Policy
The Office of Energy administers the Electricity Industry Act 2004 under which the Electricity Networks Access Code 2004 (the Access Code) operates. On 8 December 2006, the Coordinator rof Energy requested Western Power to submit an Extension and Expansion Policy for its networks within the SWIS. In response, Western Power submitted an Interim Extension and Expansion Policy (the “Interim Policy”) on 26 February 2007.
Read more about the Interim Extension and Expansion Policy >>
New projects announced in the Rural Power Improvement Program
Power supply reliability in rural areas is set to improve with the approval of further power network projects, under the Rural Power Improvement Program. 57 new projects scheduled for 2007/08 and 2008/09 will improve power supplies in rural areas with poor reliability performance.
Read more about the Rural Power Improvement Program >>
Ministerial Advisory Committee on Electricity Supply
The Minister for Energy has established the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Electricity Supply to seek independent advice on the adequacy of electricity supply to consumers.
Four residential electricity users with a diverse range of backgrounds and experience including both metropolitan and regional users have been appointed to the Committee. The Minister selected four residential electricity users to join the Committee and invited three business electricity users to become Committee members. Meetings take place on a quarterly basis.
Read more about the Committee>>
Gas Market Moratorium
The Minister for Energy has approved changes to the Gas Market Moratorium to reduce the threshold at which Synergy can supply gas to customers from 1 terajoule per annum to 0.18 terajoules per annum. This change will allow Synergy to supply gas to customers with annual gas bills of more than $4,000 - giving greater choice to about 2,000 additional energy consumers in Western Australia.
The Minister has also approved lifting the supply threshold from Verve Energy altogether. These changes will come into effect on 1 July 2007.
Read more information about the Gas Markets Moratorium>>
EConnect Report - Maximising penetration of intermittent generation in the SWIS
Increasing renewable energy in the State's main electricity grid is the focus of a report released on 22 May 2006 by Energy Minister Francis Logan.
The report, 'Maximising the penetration of intermittent generation in the SWIS', resulted from a Government-commissioned independent study into increasing the ability of the South West Interconnected System (SWIS) to accept higher levels of energy from generators who use renewable resources.
Read more about the report and its findings >>
Network Reliability and Reliability of Supply Code
Western Australia’s state government is reforming our electricity industry to achieve efficient, sustainable and competitive electricity supply to support our vibrant economy and lifestyle into the future. As part of the electricity reforms electricity supply standards have been reviewed and will be expanded into a new Network Quality and Reliability of Supply Code. Read more about the Code >>
Energy Ombudsman
Western Australia’s 1.4 million small use and residential electricity and gas customers now have access to a free, independent complaint resolution mechanism, the Energy Ombudsman. Building on the success of the Gas Industry Ombudsman arrangements introduced in June 2004, the Energy Ombudsman is an integral component of the range of new electricity customer protections which have been introduced since January 2005. Read more >>
Wholesale Electricity Market Rules
A core element of the government's agenda is the establishment of a Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM) for the South West Interconnected System (SWIS). The WEM came into place on 21 September 2006. The market provides a mechanism for industry participants to trade in electricity. Read more >>
Licence exemptions for the residential on-selling of electricity in Western Australia
The Government of Western Australia is moving to regulate the sale of electricity to permanent residents living in group housing situations. The form of regulation will be a conditional licence exemption. For more details visit the Licence Exemptions section of the web site.
Extended outage payments scheme
The Western Power Corporation implemented the Extended Outage Payments Scheme on 1 July 2005. Now Western Power (for SWIS customers) and Horizon Power (for regional customers) administer the scheme in which all households and businesses consuming less than 50MWh of electricity per year are eligible to receive $80 if they experience an interruption of electricity supply in excess of 12 hours.
Aboriginal Remote Communities Power Supply Project
In May 2005, a Funding Agreement between the State and Commonwealth was signed, signaling the go-ahead for Phase 1 of this important project. Five large permanent Aboriginal communities in WA's Kimberley region can now look forward to a safe and reliable power supply to be delivered by Western Power.
For more information, go to the Aboriginal Remote Communities Power Supply Project section of the site.
