Western Power has confirmed it is cutting 215 jobs from its operations.

The jobs will be cut through voluntary redundancies and will involve a month-long consultation process.

The company spent the day consulting staff and unions about the move.

The utility is blaming a reduction in workload, the economic slowdown and the rise of solar power for the losses.

It is understood the cuts equate to a 10 per cent reduction in network planning staff and a further 10 per cent cut to project management staff.

Sources have told the ABC they believe the cuts are just the beginning, with job losses of up to 30 per cent of the utility's 3,000-strong workforce expected.

It is not clear whether the 215 jobs will only go from head office.

The move comes as the State Government considers privatising the utility to pay down state debt.

A decision on the company's future will be included in the Government's May budget.

The company released a statement late on Monday confirming the cuts.

"Western Power is focussed on continuous improvement as customer needs and economic conditions change," it said.

"The goal is to make Western Power a leading electricity provider nationally."

It is understood the company hopes to finalise the redundancy process by May 16 and will consider holding a ballot if too many people apply.

More job cuts to come, says union

Unions said Western Power's decision to cut the jobs was the start of a push towards privatisation.

Electrical Trades Union state secretary Les McLaughlan said he believed there were more job cuts to come.

"This is just the start of the privatisation push, reducing labour. The figures they're talking about today equates to about 7 per cent of the total workforce," he said.

"But they haven't included the other 153 that's already left through attrition. So we're really talking about 10 per cent of Western Power's workforce."

Mr McLaughlan said another sign the utility was being stripped back was the decision not to employ any apprentices.

"They certainly didn't put on any apprentices last year and they've put on no apprentices this year," he said.

"It is clearly stripping the company down to get it to its lowest to make it economical to sell to someone."