❓ Hon Stephen Dawson questions the Minister for Energy regarding cost overruns for the Pilbara Underground Power Project (PUPP) and the City of Karratha charging ratepayers. The Minister acknowledges the cost sharing agreement and explains the funding arrangements.
AnsweredQoN 836Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
PILBARA
UNDERGROUND POWER PROJECT
836. Hon STEPHEN DAWSON to the
Leader of the House representing the Minister for Energy:
I refer to the Pilbara underground power project.
(1) Is the
minister aware that the City of Karratha will be charging ratepayers extra to
cover cost overruns on the PUPP?
(2) Does the
minister support the view that the original agreement for ratepayers and the
City of Karratha to share costs was on the basis of an estimated cost provided
by the state government?
(3) Given that
the state government is responsible for the original flawed estimate, will the
minister undertake for the state government to bear the increased cost rather
than forcing ratepayers to pay extra?
(4) Does the
minister support the City of Karratha charging ratepayers for undergrounding
work before the work is carried out?
(5) If no to (4), will the minister make representations to
the City of Karratha to cease this practice?
UNDERGROUND POWER PROJECT
836. Hon STEPHEN DAWSON to the
Leader of the House representing the Minister for Energy:
I refer to the Pilbara underground power project.
(1) Is the
minister aware that the City of Karratha will be charging ratepayers extra to
cover cost overruns on the PUPP?
(2) Does the
minister support the view that the original agreement for ratepayers and the
City of Karratha to share costs was on the basis of an estimated cost provided
by the state government?
(3) Given that
the state government is responsible for the original flawed estimate, will the
minister undertake for the state government to bear the increased cost rather
than forcing ratepayers to pay extra?
(4) Does the
minister support the City of Karratha charging ratepayers for undergrounding
work before the work is carried out?
(5) If no to (4), will the minister make representations to
the City of Karratha to cease this practice?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for some notice of this
question.
(1) The
funding arrangements for the Pilbara underground power project are as follows:
75 per cent of the cost is funded from royalties for regions, with the
remaining 25 per cent by the City of Karratha. The City of Karratha has chosen
to recoup its contribution through a levy to those ratepayers who will benefit
from the increased reliability and safety brought about by PUPP. A joint letter
from City of Karratha, Horizon Power and Pilbara Cities was sent to ratepayers
in 2011, which stated that the estimated residential contribution towards the
project would be $3 300 and the PUPP contribution per residential lot in
Karratha that has been invoiced to ratepayers is $3 468. This amounts to an
increase of around five per cent relative to forecast—or less than
inflation for the period.
(2) Yes.
question.
(1) The
funding arrangements for the Pilbara underground power project are as follows:
75 per cent of the cost is funded from royalties for regions, with the
remaining 25 per cent by the City of Karratha. The City of Karratha has chosen
to recoup its contribution through a levy to those ratepayers who will benefit
from the increased reliability and safety brought about by PUPP. A joint letter
from City of Karratha, Horizon Power and Pilbara Cities was sent to ratepayers
in 2011, which stated that the estimated residential contribution towards the
project would be $3 300 and the PUPP contribution per residential lot in
Karratha that has been invoiced to ratepayers is $3 468. This amounts to an
increase of around five per cent relative to forecast—or less than
inflation for the period.
(2) Yes.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.