September 2011 Update

Eastern Terminal Project

Western Power’s Eastern Terminal project remains deferred. Current information from Western Power’s website states that the new switchyard ‘will not be required until 2017 at the earliest’.

The South East Terminal, due for construction at Oldbury south of Armadale, and linked to an upgraded Wells (Boddington) to Hacketts Gully line will not be required “for at least three years” (as of September 2011). Western Power’s information indicates that this project has not progressed to regulatory approval stage ‘due to the uncertainty regarding the timeframe for new generation in the area and that alternative generation developments have deferred the need for this network reinforcement’.

The most recent Western Power information session held in Forrestfield in November 2010 saw the release of the Corporation’s Annual Planning Report. This report and the new generation of Western Power personnel present at that session indicate that there has been some philosophical changes in Western Power’s management of power transmission. For instance, the current unconstrained network access model is to be replaced with a constrained access model which optimises the economic return from the transmission and distribution network. This means that reinforcements (new lines and switchyards) would no longer be driven by the need for all generators to be able to export the maximum amount of power for which they are contracted, but rather to generate sufficient power to meet load requirements.

Further,  South West Integrated System (SWIS) power is transmitted using a 330kV transmission system linked in parallel with an underlying 132 kV system. Western Power’s new approach is to unparallel the 330kV and 132 kV transmission systems at various points in the network to improve the utilisation of the 330kV transmission network. At least one Western Power representative at the Forrestfield session said this was currently as low as 30 percent!

We feel these changes are significant in the management of and transmission of power. The SETS Group remains vigilant in monitoring Western Power’s plans for our area and will, when required, inform our supporters of any developments that may affect the above timelines.

Shire of Kalamunda Elections

September 2011, SOUTH - EAST WARD

Councillor Frank Lindsey who co-founded the SETS Group to oppose Western Power’s Eastern Terminal project, and who is the only Kalamunda Shire Councillor living in and representing the eastern section of the shire is standing for re-election in the South - East Ward.

Frank played a key role in our campaign and was instrumental in activating the Shire’s opposition to Western Power’s plan. It will be very important in combating any attempt by Western Power to reactivate their plans in the near term that Frank’s expertise is retained on the Kalamunda Council. Here is Frank's re-election flyer (911.13 kb) for your information and consideration.

Griffin Coal – Bluewaters Power Stations  

When Griffin Coal lost their contract to supply Verve power stations with Collie Coal, the management of Griffin Coal undertook the construction of the Bluewaters Power Stations based on an economic model that saw Griffin Coal supply coal to Bluewaters at very low prices. Much of Bluewaters  power goes to the Boddington gold mine whose owners paid for the upgrade of the Collie to Boddington transmission line. It is reported that only ten percent of Bluewaters generation goes to the state’s electricity grid.

The receivership of both Griffin Coal and Bluewaters in 2010 and the subsequent sale of these two companies (Griffin Coal to the Indian owned, Lanco Infratech, and Bluewaters to Japanese owned, Kansai Electric Power and Sumitomo Corporation) has seemingly further muddied the waters as far as the SWIS Reinforcement project is concerned.

Lanco Infratech has found itself straddled with a supply contract that is uneconomic for Griffin Coal. It was reported in June 2011 that Lanco Infratech wants to export as much coal as possible to India and was even prepared to pay a damages penalty rather than supply coal to Bluewaters. It was only on the intervention of Premier Barnett that this crisis was averted, but negotiations are yet to resolve this situation.

One can only speculate that if the reinforcement of the SWIS (by the upgrade of the Boddington to Hacketts Gully line and construction of the Eastern Terminal at a cost of 190 million dollars) had been completed by the Western Power timeline of Summer 2010, Western Australian taxpayers may now be facing the prospect of owning an expensive white elephant!

Thanks for your continued support.

John Davenport
Co-convenor SETS Group

Firstly, let us apologise for disturbing you during these festive holidays.

Unfortunately Western Power has once again shown their disregard for an agreed community consultation, by the release of a submission paper over the Christmas break in regards to Eastern Terminal (the South West Transmission reinforcement). Please go to the following link to learn more: http://westernpower.com.au/mainContent/projects/currentProjects/South-west.html.

We feel this indignity deserves a round of requests for the Minister for Energy to address our concerns over Western Power"s latest failure to properly consult with our community.

Simply use the letter wizard on this page and generate your personalised letter. This should take no longer than 5 minutes. You will be able to preview the letter and if you are happy with it you can then either print it out and mail it via post or you can forward it via e-mail onto the Minister for Energy. We encourage you to also send a copy of your letter to the Western Power Major Projects Coordinator Ian Buchanan.

Your letter will be much more powerful if you personalise it, so please enter your own comments and concerns in the areas provided.

Thanks for your response to this important issue, once again.

Addresses:

Honourable Peter Collier BA DipEd MLC
11th Floor
Dumas House
2 Havelock Street
WEST PERTH WA 6005
Email: Minister.Collier@dpc.wa.gov.au

NPD Submissions
Manager
Network Planning & Development
Western Power Corporation
GPO Box L921
Perth WA 6842
Email: npdsubmissions@westernpower.com.au

If you don't have Adobe Acrobat on your computer, click on the following link to download this software for free. If you wish to make additional modificiations, you can copy the text of your letter from Adobe and paste it into your word processing application such as MS Word. 

We know you're concerned about Eastern Terminal and the so called "fresh start".  You've probably read in the newspaper and on our website about Western Power's "fresh start", and "focus group".  If you're as concerned as we are about the sincerity of this move, we encourage you to write to your local politicians to express your concerns.

We've made it easy for you with a new letter wizard here - http://stopeasternterminal.org.au/page/Dont-be-disempowered!.aspx, or click the big red button on the home page.  You can send a pro-forma letter as provided, or you can add your own thoughts if you wish.  All of the relevant politicians are provided for you, and there is another page with all of their contact details, incase you'd rather contact them directly.

It will only take you 5 minutes.  Please consider taking time out of your day to make a difference.

The SETS group encourages concerned community members to continue to write, email, telephone and visit their local members, and the new Minister for Energy to ask questions and express their views on the Eastern Terminal issue. 

For your information, here are the relevant politicians and their contact details:

	Peter Collier Minister for Energy  Email: Minister.Collier@dpc.wa.gov.au   Telephone: 9213 7150 Address: 11th Floor, Dumas House, 2 Havelock Street, WEST PERTH WA 6005
	John Day Member for Kalamunda Minister for Planning, Culture and the Arts  Email: jday@mp.wa.gov.au Telephone: 9293 4747 Address: 16 Mead Street, Kalamunda WA 6076 Postal: PO Box 610, Kalamunda 6926
	Helen Morton Member for the East Metropolitan Region  Email: helen.morton@mp.wa.gov.au Telephone: 9452 8311 Address: Unit 2, 201-205 Burslem Drive, MADDINGTON WA 6109
	Tony Simpson Member for Darling Range Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Child Protection; Community Services; Seniors and Volunteering Email: darlingrange@mp.wa.gov.au Telephone: 9525 4822 Address: Suite 5 / 837 South West Hwy, Byford Western Australia Postal:  PO Box 56, Byford Western Australia 6122