Western Australia’s state government has reformed our electricity industry to achieve an 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 expanded into a new Network Quality and Reliability of Supply Code.

Most customers in Western Australia experience electricity supply reliability well in excess of 99.9%, but some localities enjoy better reliability than others.   

One reason for the variability is that our electricity network must cope with the demanding task of supplying electricity to a widely dispersed population.  Long, exposed power lines are subject to the effects of a range of uncontrollable natural events including extreme winds, lightning and bushfires.  The network was also designed and built when demand was much lower and must now deal with unprecedented growth in customer demand, which places pressure on network capacity.

Achieving 100% reliability in electricity supply would not be economically practical, but the importance of reliable electricity to our economy and quality of life means that it is very important to continue improving our electricity supply, to identify particular problem areas for special attention, and to focus on the needs of electricity users.

The Government’s commitment to spend $2.3 billion over four years to expand, maintain and upgrade the electricity network is a direct response to this challenge.  Other programs, including the Rural Power Improvement Program and the Underground Power Program, focus on specific opportunities for improvement.

The Government will supplement these initiatives with a new Quality and Reliability of Supply Code to establish acceptable, customer focused standards, require detailed reporting of network performance, and place clear obligations on network operators if the standards are not met.

For more information follow the links below:

Minister for Energy's Media Statement
Gazettal of the Network Quality and Reliability of Supply Code (State Law Publisher Website)
Explanatory Guide to the Network Reliability and Quality of Supply Code
Factsheet on the Network Reliability and Quality of Supply Code

Contact the Office of Energy with any queries on:

Phone: (08) 9420 5600
Email: reliabilitycode@energy.wa.gov.au


The first issue of Quality an Reliability Reports FOR Western Power and Horizon Power are now available via the following links:

Western Power’s Quality and Reliability Report for 2007 is available on its website at: http://www.westernpower.com.au/documents/publications/reliabilityPowerQual/ANNUALRELIABILITYPERFORMANCEREPORT2003607.PDF

Horizon Power’s Quality and Reliability Report for 2007 is available on its website at:
http://www.horizonpower.com.au/downloads/about_us/current_publications/annualReport/NETWORK_QUALITY_%26re.PDF