Western Power is a Western Australian State Government-owned corporation with the purpose of connecting people with electricity in a way that is safe, reliable and affordable. Western Power builds, maintain and operate the transmission and distribution electricity network in the south-west corner of Western Australia.
It does not generate or retail electricity. The network covers a very large area of 255,064 square kilometres from Kalbarri in the north to Kalgoorlie in the east and Albany in the south, including the Perth metropolitan area. Unlike all other major urban areas of Australia which are covered by a series of interconnected networks known as the National Electricity Market (NEM), Western Power’s network is isolated and self-contained. This means that the electricity needs of consumers within the network must, at all times, be delivered by the system itself without any outside support or back up.
Western Power is governed by an independent Board and reports to the Western Australian Minister for Energy as the owner’s representative.