Powering Up The Pilbara:

Horizon Power is responsible for providing power to most commercial and residential customers in the regional areas of Western Australia. However, there is a separate Pilbara electricity grid, known as the North West Interconnected System (NWIS), which extends from the towns of Karratha to Port Hedland, with lines leading to Paraburdoo, Pannawonica and Yarrie.

A milestone in WA’s energy development was the North West Shelf natural gas project just off the coast near the Pilbara. The first phase of the North West Shelf Project - the provision of gas for Western Australian homes and industry - came on stream in 1984 at a cost of $2.2 billion and 20 years after petroleum exploration first started off the WA coast.

The gas from the North West Shelf Project is being used to help supply electricity to Western Power’s Pilbara customers as well as to the south west region of the state (while also providing liquefied natural gas for export). The North West Shelf Project is the largest natural resource development yet undertaken in Australia and “tapping the loneliest gas in the world” has been and still is a mighty engineering and construction achievement.

For more information about the North West Shelf Project, go to::
www.bp.com

^ back to top ^