Somehow the much castigated energy provider has managed to shrug off generator breakdowns, gas shortages, blackouts and political bickering to add an extra $20 million in profits onto last September's figures.
The 43% rise took the utility to $68.5 million net profit for the quarter, ahead of the $47.9 million achieved in the same quarter last year, and on the back of a 6.1% rise in sales to $418 million.
However, there does appear to be a degree of smoke and mirrors attached to the profit release with chairman Malcolm Macpherson admitting the performance could be partly attributed to the "rescheduling" of overhauls and new investment planned by its generation division.
The deferred overhauls along with the associated cut in spending on labour and materials, that had been planned for the two coal-fired generators at Muja which broke down in July, have been estimated to save around $4 million to $5 million.
News of the deferred maintenance comes only weeks after 125,000 homes and businesses went without power for two and a half hours when the aging system shutdown due to a faulty water monitoring device at the Collie Power Station.
The ensuing investigations into WA's power structure revealed the state's energy supplies are being stretched by growing demand, ageing equipment and a dependence on the Dampier to Bunbury pipeline.
Western Power's 2003 Generation Status report claimed that the company will have just half the back up generation capacity it needs next year, regardless of whether its expansion program to meet future demand stays on track.
Western Power has a 'reserve margin' of 230 megawatts, a shortfall of 74 megawatts on the company's target 304MW back-up capacity, the amount required to maintain its Collie power plant. Despite these problems, scheduled maintenance apparently falls outside the priority list.
That shortfall is also likely to double to 150 megawatts in 2004-05, while the back-up capacity will return to the required level in 2005-06, before another expected 100 megawatt shortfall in 2006-07.
Another example of the network's frailty was exposed in August when maintenance work on Epic Energy's Dampier to Bunbury pipeline restricted the amount of gas available for power generation.
The maintenance program, which cut Western Power's gas supplies by 80% for 12 days, sparked warnings of more potential blackouts.
Prior to the Collie plant failure Western Power said it might defer the construction of a new $350 million power plant in the south west as there is a number of smaller generators planned for construction over the next few years. The company's alternate plan was to work on extending the life of the current generators beyond their planned retirement date.
Maybe this is all part of a government plot to force consumers to use more renewable energy over the summer. I hear solar power is very reliable when the sun is shining.
