Report findings will help avoid another power crisis

30/4/04 Energy Minister Eric Ripper has described the independent report into the February electricity system emergency as rigorous, comprehensive and constructive.

30/4/04
Energy Minister Eric Ripper has described the independent report into the February electricity system emergency as rigorous, comprehensive and constructive.
Mr Ripper said the report answered Government and community demands for a full explanation of the cause and handling of the power restrictions on February 18.
"We promised the people of Western Australia that the matter would be thoroughly investigated and the facts made public.
"That is what has occurred.
"The Government and Western Power have co-operated fully with the inquiry and accept its recommendations without hesitation.
"Planning, communication and crisis management were all found to be deficient and the new leadership team at Western Power has already started work to address these issues.
"The recommendations of the report offer a clear blueprint for the Government and Western Power, to focus their efforts on taking every possible step to avoid a repeat of the events in February."
The Minister said Western Power had already put in place an additional 240 megawatts on power generation capacity for next summer that was not gas dependent, and it had another 400 megawatts of capacity that could be converted to liquid fuel if gas was restricted.
"This incident illustrates the need for diversity in power generation in WA," he said.
"If a competitive generation and retail electricity market existed, a loss of power supply would be less likely, because there would be a number of public and private suppliers with capacity to supply at different times of day, and with their own diverse fuel sources."
This was a key aim of the Government's electricity market reforms, obstructed by the Legislative Council.
Mr Ripper said the Government would press ahead with plans to legislate for greater control of Western Power through more comprehensive powers of direction.
"Under current law, the Minister for Energy can only direct Western Power in general terms," he said.
"The proposed new powers will allow for direction on specific matters and will strengthen provisions related to the corporation's strategic plans - which are effectively their performance contract with Government."
The Minister said he had received assurances from the board that Western Power would begin implementing the recommendations without delay and would monitor their progress.
Minister's office: 9222 8788


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