The Western Australia government is aiming to improve the reliability of electricity supply in the Goldfields region following a supercell thunderstorm in mid-January 2024 that caused unprecedented damage to Western Power’s network.

To prevent future incidents, Western Power will start a non-co-optimised essential system services (NCESS) procurement process that should commence for up to 150MW of reliability services and additional system strength services for the Goldfields.

“The Cook government is committed to enhancing the reliability and security of power supply in the Goldfields region,” WA energy minister Reece Whitby says.

“The procurement process will seek to encourage development and deployment of innovative non-network solutions to maintain reliable supply to the Goldfields and meet customer expectations for increased renewable energy in the South West Interconnected System.”

Established as part of the state government’s Energy Transformation Strategy published in 2022, the NCESS framework enables the Australian Energy Market Operator, Western Power or the Coordinator of Energy to identify the need for services not already available through existing market mechanisms and procure them transparently and efficiently.

Western Power will commence the NCESS procurement process; additional generation is expected to be available by 2026.