BASSENDEAN, Kalamunda and Swan local governments confirm they are members of WALGA’s energy sales agreement (ESA), which has a membership of more than 50 local authorities.

In Power purchase agreement: What is it? (Echo News, March 14) and Northam backs another round of WALGA agreement (Echo News, April 18) both Mundaring and Northam said they had also signed on.

Bassendean acting chief executive Paul White said the town had five sites under the ESA.

Mr White said the sites produced zero tonnes of carbon because it was offset by the purchase of NaturalPower, a GreenPower product by Synergy.

“The town has purchased 100 per cent NaturalPower since September 2021 to meet the council plan targets for carbon neutrality by 2030,” he said.

Kalamunda Mayor Margaret Thomas said the city had 13 sites under the agreement but couldn’t reveal which sites.

In 2022 the city recorded 289 tonnes of carbon between July to December, 542 tonnes in 2023, 970 tonnes in 2024 and 142 tonnes from January to March in 2025.

Ms Thomas said the total cost to purchase the renewable energy from Synergy in 2022 from July to December was $28,594, $69,801 in 2023 and $66,657 in 2024.

“Network infrastructure charges from Western Power have led to overall cost increases between 18 to 47 per cent,” she said.

“The city has budgeted an additional $100,000 for 2025-26 to meet anticipated energy and street lighting costs, an approximate 13 per cent year-on-year increase.”

Swan Mayor Tanya Richardson said the city had 28 sites included under the WALGA agreement.

She said the sites produced a total of 4528 tonnes of carbon between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2024.

Mundaring chief executive Jason Whiteaker said costs for renewable energy varied slightly each year but substantial savings were achieved.

Mr Whiteaker did not specify an amount for each year since the shire signed the agreement in 2022.

Under the new 2025-2028 agreement, he said rates were locked in at 13 per cent below the current open market prices.

“The final cost will depend on the overall electricity consumption across our sites, but the locked-in discount provides excellent financial predictability,” Mr Whiteaker said.

Bassendean and Kalamunda could not reveal the costs of purchasing the renewable energy from Synergy because the information was commercial in confidence.

Echo News asked Synergy whether sites were powered by fossil fuels or carbon in the event of fluctuations in the supply of wind energy but a response is yet to be received. WALGA has been contacted for comment.