Financial Outcomes
Cost of Services
The Authority’s total cost of services for the financial year amounted to $7.546 million as compared with a budget of $8.774 million. The difference of $1.228 million is mainly attributable to lower than anticipated employee expenditure and lower expenditure on services and supplies. The chart (above) compares the total cost of services by type of expenditure with that budgeted for the financial year.
Cost of Services
Costs for the year were lower than anticipated partly due to delays in appointing new staff and on account of some activities relating to the approval of Western Power’s access arrangement not being able to be finalised.
By comparison with the 2004–05 financial year, total cost of services increased by $885,000 reflecting increased levels of activity mainly relating to the introduction of independent regulation in the electricity area including the licensing of electricity industry participants. A detailed comparison of the cost of services with the 2004–05 financial year is given in the chart (above).
Income from sources other than Government declined by $413,000 as compared with that originally estimated. By comparison with 2004–05, this reduction was even more significant at $737,000. The reduction in income reflects lower levels of activity in areas where the Authority recovers its costs from industry.
In contrast, as a result of overall increases in activity, the amount of income received from the Government increased by an amount of $2.365 million. The increased levels of activity are mainly attributable to those related to the regulation of the electricity industry including licensing.