Power and Water Corporation

Power and Water Corporation is a Northern Territory Government owned corporation in the Northern Territory. Power and Water is the Northern Territory's premier provider of electricity, water and sewerage services. The Power and Water Corporation was formed on 1 July 2002, taking over from the former government utility Power and Water Authority. Power and Water became the first Government – owned corporation in the Northern Territory. The corporation has more than 142,120 customers.

Electricity

Power and Water owns eight minor power stations. These include the Channel Island Power Station, on Darwin Harbour’s Middle Arm which is the largest power station in the Northern Territory and the Ron Goodin Power Station at Alice Springs, the 2nd largest power station. The Katherine Power Station and the Berrimah Power Station are linked to the Channel Island Power Station. The Darwin – Katherine system links from the Channel Island Power Station to Berrimah and Katherine power stations. Other power stations in the territory include the McArthur River Power Station, the Tennant Creek Power Station, the Brewer Estate Power Station and the Yulara Power Station.

Water industry

The water industry provides drinking water and wastewater services (including sewage treatment) to residential, commercial, and industrial sectors of the economy. The water industry includes manufacturers and suppliers of bottled water. Water privatization by companies in the water industry is becoming an issue as water security threatens local communities.

Overview

The modern water industry operates sophisticated and costly water and wastewater networks and sewage treatment plants, and typically consumes 1-2% of GDP. It is generally a natural monopoly, and as a result is usually run as a public service by a public utility which is owned by local or national government. In some countries, notably France, the UK and the Czech Republic, the water industry is regulated but services are largely operated by private companies with exclusive rights for a limited period and a well-defined geographical space.

Organizational structure

There are a variety of organizational structures for the water industry, with countries usually having one dominant traditional structure, which usually changes only gradually over time.

Water Corporation (Western Australia)

The Water Corporation is the principal supplier of water, wastewater and drainage services throughout the state of Western Australia. It is the seventh successive agency to deal with the services in Perth, Western Australia.

With offices on Perth, Bunbury, Albany, Karratha, Geraldton, Northan and Kalgoorlie, the corporation's services, projects and activities span 2.6 million square kilometres.

The corporation employs over 3,000 people and manages an asset base over $15 billion (AUD) in water supply, wastewater, drainage infrastructure and bulk water for irrigation.

The corporation is owned by the Western Australian Government and is accountable to its sole shareholder, the Minister for Water. Most of the corporation's surplus is returned to the Government as a dividend to contribute to the development of the state, with the remainder invested in capital works.

Formation

The Water Corporation was created in January 1996, in a restructure of the water industry in Western Australia.