News Articles for Western Power

A review of Barnett government programs and projects has identified a raft of shortcomings in governance, project management and financial management, and listed Royalties for Regions as the single biggest problem.

A joint venture between a subsidiary of Carnegie Clean Energy and contractor Lendlease has won $6.8 million of work to install and operate a renewable powered microgrid in the Mid West town of Kalbarri.

The finishing touches are under way at the fitout for Flux's two new floors at Parmelia House, which feature a shift away from full open plan.

Backed by South32 and Deloitte, brightly coloured sculptures of dolphins have begun cropping up across the streets of Perth as part of a public art exhibition for mental health.

Former Rio Tinto executive Denise Goldsworthy and former Water Corporation chair Eva Skira have been appointed directors of Western Power, replacing Sharon Warburton and George Cash.

Western Power has engaged digital marketing agency Bonfire to broaden the utility's engagement with customers beyond the traditional means.

The number of new gas and power connections in Western Australia fell in the year to June, an outcome of the slowing property development market, according to the Economic Regulation Authority.

The state's political and business leaders need to make sensible decisions to ensure WA embraces the opportunities available to it as the economy recovers.

The Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority has disclosed that the majority of public submissions on the $450 million Iconic Scarborough development supported the project, but said all government agencies and utilities it consulted, with the sole exception of Tourism WA, opposed it.

Western Power plans to reduce spending by nearly $1 billion in the next five years compared to the five years just gone, according to a proposal by the state-owned network operator to the state's economic regulator.

Fortescue Metals Group has appointed Mark Barnaba as the company's new co-deputy chair, alongside Sharon Warburton.

Across the state's major government-owned utilities, more money goes in through subsidies than out through dividends, according to the latest batch of annual reports.

The state government has set itself the target of increasing the number of women appointed to its boards, committees and advisory bodies to 50 per cent by 2019, though it has a long way to go before hitting gender equality at its major trading enterprises.

Energy Minister Ben Wyatt hopes to introduce laws to ease network access rules for new electricity generators by mid 2018, while acknowledging concerns about Synergy's market power in an address today at the Energy in Western Australia Conference.

SPECIAL REPORT: More than $1.6 billion of renewable energy projects are proposed for the South West Interconnected System, but their success may hinge on how the government handles two regulatory issues.

OPINION: With federal governments seemingly in campaign mode 24-7, calls for fixed four-year terms for the House of Representatives make sense.

Competition among developers of renewable energy projects in WA's South West is hotting up, with two solar farms starting construction this year and a further eight major projects hoping to join them.

An innovative project involving government agencies and private players has the potential to streamline and coordinate public works projects, reducing traffic congestion and saving costs, according to its proponents.

ANALYSIS: Outgoing Liberal minister Joe Francis, who appears to have lost his seat of Jandakot, says Colin Barnett should have been replaced as premier last year to improve the government's re-election prospects.

OPINION: Reducing state debt will be a top priority for the new government and perhaps, as a former PM has suggested, a more cooperative approach is needed.

Treasury costings of the Liberal Party's campaign promises have shown the estimates to be reasonable, with the Liberal's plan showing the state getting back to a small surplus in 2019-20.

The Barnett government has seized on comments by Australia's competition chief Rod Sims that plans to privatise Western Australia's poles and wires utility, Western Power, would lead to lower prices, while Labor leader Mark McGowan has claimed a re-elected Liberal government would also sell Water Corporation.

WA Labor has demanded the Liberals guarantee a privatisation of Western Power won't lead to electricity price rises and release legislation on the deal, while the Liberals say prices will not be impacted because they are independently regulated.

ANALYSIS: Nationals WA leader Brendon Grylls has attacked the debt reduction strategies of both the Liberal and Labor parties as unrealistic. However, he confirmed that, in the event of a hung parliament after the March 11 election, his party would only work with the Liberals to form a new government.

WA Labor has vowed to employ at least 50 apprentices at Western Power every year if it wins the state election.

WA Labor says it will spend $45.5 million to bring new services to Royal Perth Hospital if it wins the March state election, while the Liberals say they will use about $83 million from the partial sale of Western Power to build three new Tafe facilities.

WA Labor says it will assess each One Nation candidate before deciding where to put them on how-to-vote cards, suggesting they won't necessarily be ranked last.

WA Labor leader Mark McGowan today guaranteed that, if elected in the March state poll, he would return the budget to surplus within his first term as premier.

The lion's share of investment projects under way nationally are still taking place in Western Australia, according to the latest Deloitte Access Economics investment monitor report, although that lead will evaporate as $107 billion of LNG projects are completed in the next two years

The Royal Automobile Club of WA and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA have both welcomed an election pledge by Premier Colin Barnett to spend $520 million upgrading a freight rail line between Thornlie and Cockburn to enable passenger service.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims has written to the local branches of two trade unions, saying they misrepresented his views on the float of Western Power in a recent advertisement campaign.

Power outages are affecting 35,000 residents across Perth and Western Australia's South West.

SPECIAL REPORT: Big businesses are employing an increasing share of the WA workforce, while the services-oriented economy maintains its growth, the latest BNiQ Biggest Employers survey has uncovered. Click through to see details on Western Australia's 170 largest employers.

At last, after months of chewing it over, the state government has announced a plan to divest Western Power.

The Barnett government is hoping to raise $3 billion by selling 51 per cent of Western Power to Australian investors, and will also use the privatisation deal to remove about $8 billion of debt off the state's books.

A $10 million renewable energy-powered microgrid, which has the potential to become Australia's largest, has been given the green light for development in Kalbarri.

Mike Nahan says recycling of capital invested in Western Power will be key to job creation and economic growth in Western Australia's transitioning economy.

WBHO Group's local arm has won a $7.4 million contract to provide upgrade works to two intersections along Marmion Avenue.

Premier Colin Barnett has confirmed plans for an initial public offering of Western Power are on the table, while the opposition has blamed the privatisation plans for the alleged cancellation of a contract with a major supplier.

Rio Tinto has hit back at accusations by Nationals WA leader Brendon Grylls that large miners had failed to live up to their contractual obligations in state agreements with the government, after he stepped up his campaign to increase taxes on iron ore production today.