The Minister for Energy addresses short-term gas supply issues by highlighting infrastructure upgrades and blaming the Leader of the Opposition for unfavorable gas contract arrangements during the separation of AlintaGas and Western Power.

AnsweredQoN 901Legislative Assembly
Asked
12 August 2003
Portfolio
Energy

QuestionView source ↗

I have a supplementary question. How will the minister solve the short-term supply of gas? Mr E.S. RIPPER

AnswerView source ↗

The problem of the short-term restrictions on supply of gas is being resolved by the installation of a new engine at compressor station No 9, north of Gingin. This issue goes right back to the separation of AlintaGas from Western Power, when Western Power was left with the short end of the stick with regard to its gas transmission contracts. Why was Western Power at that time left with firm gas transport contracts for only about a quarter of the gas that it needed to generate the electricity required for Western Australians? Why was AlintaGas, which was later privatised, given firm contracts for all the gas it needed, but Western Power was dudded by the then minister, now the Leader of the Opposition, and given firm contracts for only a quarter of the gas it needed? As a State we are now vulnerable, because Western Power’s gas transport contracts can be interrupted, and that is something we inherited from the time when the Leader of the Opposition had control of all of this. He put those arrangements in place before he went on his privatisation spree.
Mr E.S. RIPPER replied: The problem of the short-term restrictions on supply of gas is being resolved by the installation of a new engine at compressor station No 9, north of Gingin. This issue goes right back to the separation of AlintaGas from Western Power, when Western Power was left with the short end of the stick with regard to its gas transmission contracts. Why was Western Power at that time left with firm gas transport contracts for only about a quarter of the gas that it needed to generate the electricity required for Western Australians? Why was AlintaGas, which was later privatised, given firm contracts for all the gas it needed, but Western Power was dudded by the then minister, now the Leader of the Opposition, and given firm contracts for only a quarter of the gas it needed? As a State we are now vulnerable, because Western Power’s gas transport contracts can be interrupted, and that is something we inherited from the time when the Leader of the Opposition had control of all of this. He put those arrangements in place before he went on his privatisation spree.
The problem of the short-term restrictions on supply of gas is being resolved by the installation of a new engine at compressor station No 9, north of Gingin. This issue goes right back to the separation of AlintaGas from Western Power, when Western Power was left with the short end of the stick with regard to its gas transmission contracts. Why was Western Power at that time left with firm gas transport contracts for only about a quarter of the gas that it needed to generate the electricity required for Western Australians? Why was AlintaGas, which was later privatised, given firm contracts for all the gas it needed, but Western Power was dudded by the then minister, now the Leader of the Opposition, and given firm contracts for only a quarter of the gas it needed? As a State we are now vulnerable, because Western Power’s gas transport contracts can be interrupted, and that is something we inherited from the time when the Leader of the Opposition had control of all of this. He put those arrangements in place before he went on his privatisation spree.

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