The pipeline’s new owners – Alinta, Alcoa and DUET – have restricted gas supplies used by Western Power for electricity generation until early next week, reviving fears of a repeat of last summer’s power shortfalls. But Western Power has said mild weather forecast until next week and fuel contingency plans meant there would be no power cuts.

The problem occurred late last week when a new engine, installed in the pipeline's compressor station number three, failed to work when it was tested. The only reason it hadn’t surfaced until now was that Western Power had been able to cover the shortfall with their generators, Arc managing director Eric Streitberg told the Securities Institute of Australia

But Arc was now back in the same position it had been in this year when a capacity shortfall on the pipeline caused Western Power to impose consumption restrictions on its customers during a summer heat wave, Streitberg said.

The fault came less than a week after the consortium took over the $1.86 billion pipeline. The new owners said the problem showed the need to expand the pipeline.

But first tranche of expansion will not be operating until 2006. So Western Power has had to import oil and upgrade an old power station at Kwinana, as well as arranging gas-swapping arrangements with other suppliers and demand-management deals with industry to prevent blackouts during the peak summer period.