Directors’ report (continued) Other required legislative disclosures Observance of Western Power’s Code of Conduct Western Power’s Code of Conduct has been established to provide guidance on acting responsibly and ethically when completing tasks on behalf of Western Power. The Code of Conduct applies to all directors, executive officers and employees of Western Power, and to all contractors performing activities on behalf of Western Power. All personnel have access to Western Power’s Code of Conduct. Section 33 of the EC Act requires the Board to report to the Minister for Energy on observance of the Code of Conduct by all Western Power personnel. This report is submitted at the same time as Western Power’s annual report. All Western Power personnel receive code of conduct and conflicts of interest training upon commencement of employment and thereafter once every three years. State Records Act 2000 (WA) Western Power maintains and supports quality record keeping practices in its day-to-day business activities. Records are managed in accordance with the State Records Act 2000 (WA) and Western Power’s approved record-keeping plan. Regular reviews of Western Power’s record-keeping systems and practices are conducted to ensure they remain efficient, effective and reflect business requirements. Personnel, including contractors, are required to complete online record-keeping training prior to accessing Western Power’s information management system. Training programs are reviewed on an ongoing basis to ensure they reflect evolving business processes. Operations subject to environmental, heritage and planning regulations Western Power’s assets and associated activities are subject to State and Commonwealth environmental, heritage and planning legislation, including specific approvals, licences and permits which support regulatory compliance and maintain minimum environmental performance targets. Western Power holds a vegetation clearing purpose permit which enables self-assessment for the clearing of native vegetation under certain circumstances. Western Power limits clearing activities and impact to the environment, and only does so for network expansion and maintenance purposes. During 2024/25, nine internal clearing permits were issued. An estimated total of 0.55 hectares of native vegetation was cleared during the year under six separate internal clearing permits.
An internal audit of 2023 clearing activities was undertaken during 2024/25. There were no significant adverse findings. One process Non-Conformance and four Opportunities for Improvement were identified. Western Power maintains a licence for the bulk storage of oil at Kewdale Depot. Western Power performed an internal audit for compliance with our Kewdale oil stores permit, as required annually by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation ( DWER ). The audit, conducted in August 2024, focussed on compliance within the 2023/24 Financial Year and identified no non-compliances in accordance with the licence requirements. Western Power holds five dangerous goods licences for the storage of sulphur hexafluoride (an insulating gas used in electrical equipment). Two additional licences will need to be obtained for substations that have increased their storage of SF6 gas to quantities requiring licencing. There was one remediation notice issued by the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety during 2023/24 as a result of incomplete documentation at Kwinana Terminal. A project has commenced to address any regulatory compliance issues related to dangerous goods management, with an expected completion date of March 2026. Western Power is required to report significant environmental incidents to its regulators as soon as practicable. During 2024/25 Western Power externally reported 21 environmental incidents, three of which were oil leaks from transformers and 18 associated with fauna deaths reported due to coming in contact with Western Power assets. Spill response is undertaken at oil leak sites with further investigation and remediation managed in consultation with environmental regulators. While matters of fauna coming into contact with the network are also investigated and controls (i.e. bird diverters/ possum guards) put in place both to minimise the risk of impact or recurrence of an impact in sensitive areas. In 2024/25 a total of 213 spills were reported, of which 210 spills were from Western Power transformers. Western Power’s Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) Program continues to support environmentally conscious access and land management across the network. In 2024/25 there were 643 requests for ESA procedures (2023/24: 596 requests). Western Power also continues to investigate and implement enhancements to its waste management approach, with 126 controlled waste requests in 2024/25 (2023/24: 241 controlled waste requests). In agreement with the DWER, Western Power prepares a six-monthly report of any spills or leaks in Underground Water Pollution Control Areas ( UWPCAs ), which are in place to protect Perth’s drinking water. A total of 18 oil leaks within UWPCAs were reported to the DWER for the six months ending December 2024 all of which have been addressed through Western Power’s spill response process.
78
Western Power Annual Report 2025
Made with FlippingBook. PDF to flipbook with ease