Premier Gallop said the plant was an integral part of the government's long-term plan to replace ageing power stations with modern, efficient and reliable generating plant.

"Our goal is to guarantee long-term security and reliability of electricity supply with a balance of gas and coal fired generation, and for that to occur we need to replace ageing plant with advanced, efficient equipment."

However, this announcement came just over a week after Western Power admitted it had rescheduled overhauls and new investment planned by its generation division and 125,000 homes and businesses went without power for two and a half hours when the aging Collie Power Station shutdown.

Prior to the Collie plant failure Western Power said it might defer the construction of a new $350 million power plant in the south west as there is a number of smaller generators planned for construction over the next few years. The company's alternate plan was to work on extending the life of the current generators beyond their planned retirement date.

However, credit where credit is due. The power station has been built and is only the third of its kind in Australia to use a combination of both gas and steam to generate electricity, enough power for about 240,000 homes.

One third of the power is generated from a steam turbine using waste heat from a gas turbine.

The power station's innovative technology was about 60% more efficient than existing gas-fired and thermal power stations. The plant's high efficiency reduced the total cost of generation due to significantly lower fuel consumption.

Twelve more regional power stations are in the pipeline in the West Kimberley, Mid-West and Great Southern, with six due for completion by early 2004.

The Government has also commissioned a new 260-megawatt power station to be built at Kemerton early next year. The $250 million power station will provide Western Power with electricity at times of peak demand in summer and winter.