Home›Questions on Notice›QoN 1028

❓ Hon Steve Martin questions the PTA on the power demand of transitioning the Transperth bus fleet to electric, and whether Western Power can accommodate the increased demand without raising residential power costs, considering home battery uptake. The PTA provides power demand figures but only states they are in regular communication with Western Power.

AnsweredQoN 1028Legislative Council

Asked

3 December 2025

Member

Hon Steve Martin

Portfolio

Transport

QuestionView source ↗

I refer to the plan, discussed in questions on notice 607 and 746, to power the Public Transport Authority's (PTA) new electric buses "...using the Western Power network which is supported by thousands of residential homes with solar panels which produce excess power into the grid", and I ask: (a) noting the plans to transition the fleet of approximately 1,700 Transperth buses to electric, what has PTA calculated as the yearly additional power demand on the Western Power network, for each of the following years: (i) 2025-26; (ii) 2026-27; (iii) 2027-28; and (iv) 2028-29; (b) has the PTA received confirmation from Western Power, or through any other source including its own work, that the demand for power will: (i) be able to be accommodated; and (ii) not place upward pressure on residential power costs; and (c) in relation to (b), has this forecasting work factored in the expected uptake of residential home battery systems (storing excess power) over the next few years?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered

24 February 2026

Responded by

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Transport

Response time

6 days

(a)        (i)         6.384 gigawatts (GW).
(ii)        16.452GW.
(iii)       25.164GW.
(iv)       30.768GW.
(b)-(c) The PTA and Western Power are in regular communication regarding the program of works to enable PTA depots to accommodate electric buses.

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