Historical transitions of Western Australia's electricity system, 1880-2016

We present a historical analysis of the evolution of southern Western Australia's electricity system between the 1880"²s and 2016. By applying a multi-level perspective (MLP), we identify historic actions that impact the system's ability to successfully transition towards higher rates of distributed energy. The adopted methodology seeks to address geographic and temporal weaknesses in the MLP approach. We found that the system is at a definitive branching point between a de/re-alignment (radical change) or reconfiguration (incremental change) pathway as up to 50% of the network's energy requirement comes from distributed energy. Political and policy decision-making inertia at local, national and international levels increases the chances of returning to a decentralized electricity system reminiscent of those in place during the early 1900"²s. The management of the transition in this small islanded system can provide lessons for larger systems that are yet to experience significant impacts from distributed energy.