Powerlink has finished work on a 37km transmission line in Brisbane’s southside, ensuring the line will continue to operate safely and reliably for its remaining 40-year service life. The project took about three months to complete and supported nine jobs. Powerlink crews replaced 1,225 insulator strings and steelwork on 105 transmission towers between Belmont and Bundamba Substations. Crews successfully completed […]
United Energy has successfully trialled a new covered powerline system that replaces bare powerlines to protect them from the effects of extreme weather and improve bushfire safety in Cape Schanck. The two-year trial was held in partnership with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, as part of a project to research and develop a safer Victorian electricity network. […]
Ausgrid has cancelled planned outages for maintenance at locations across its network due to the catastrophic fire danger forecast for the Greater Sydney and Greater Hunter. High temperatures, strong winds and low humidity are forecast to create extremely dangerous conditions. Ausgrid Chief Operating Officer, Trevor Armstrong, said that given the forecast conditions, a decision has been taken to cancel most […]
Essential Energy has mobilised more than 150 personnel from across New South Wales to restore power to thousands of homes and businesses impacted by the unprecedented number of severe fires burning across north-east New South Wales. With a number of fires still burning and extreme conditions forecast, Essential Energy has warned more customers could be affected in areas where the […]
The future of the threatened western ringtail possum looks brighter following a proactive approach to install possum guards on Western Power’s overhead network in the south-west region of Western Australia. Western ringtail possums are known to use the overhead power network to move from one habitat to another. This sometimes leads to contact with live lines and unfortunately possum death, […]
Ergon Energy and Energex, as part of Energy Queensland, have won a Safe Work Award for a lifesaving tool to help improve safety around powerlines on work sites in the air and on the ground. The online mapping application lookupandlive.com.au pinpoints the location of 178,000km of overhead powerlines and 1.7 million poles across Queensland. Ergon Energy Community Safety Manager, Aaron […]
Innovative technology that has been proven to automatically restore power within one minute of a fault is now being further developed by United Energy to deal with more complex network issues. Known as Fault Location, Isolation and Service Restoration (FLISR), the technology was developed by distribution service provider United Energy and has been in operation around 90 times since 2017, […]
Work has begun on a $3.8 million project to rejuvenate a 47-year-old transmission line in Brisbane by replacing hundreds of its insulators. Energy Minister, Dr Anthony Lynham, said Powerlink crews were progressively replacing insulator strings and steelwork on 105 transmission towers along a 37km line between Belmont and Bundamba substations. “This is a cost-effective solution to maintain network performance and […]
A Power and Water Corporation trial of devices used to anticipate and locate faults on long stretches of overhead powerlines in Darwin’s rural area is set to help improve power supply and reliability for customers. The distribution fault anticipation (DFA) project, which saw six DFA devices installed on feeders in Darwin’s rural area, was also shortlisted for Energy Networks Australia’s […]
Ausgrid has completed a comprehensive safety program to ensure the electricity network is ready for what is already proving to be a very busy bushfire season. Ausgrid Chief Operating Officer, Trevor Armstrong, said the program included more than 190,000 air and ground inspections. “Safety is our number one priority and these inspections are a key part of our annual bushfire […]
Works are underway on a critical Powerlink transmission line perched on a steep Far North Queensland mountainside, as part of a $6 million specialised maintenance project. Queensland Energy Minister, Dr Anthony Lynham, said crews started on site in mid-August, working on the 50-year-old towers that bring electricity from Barron Gorge Power Station to the Cairns area. “This four kilometres of […]
From 8 July 2019, Queenslanders will have the opportunity to comment on the proposed $1 billion CopperString powerline, with draft terms of reference for the project’s environmental impact statement (EIS) released by the state’s independent Coordinator-General. The 1100km, 275kVA overhead, high-voltage electricity transmission line will connect the North West Minerals Province and Mount Isa to the National Electricity Market grid […]
The 2019-20 Queensland Budget has highlighted the need for affordable, reliable energy as the state heads towards 50 per cent renewables by 2030, through new funding for energy programs Queensland Energy Minister, Dr Anthony Lynham, said the government is investing $2 billion to deliver its Affordable Energy Plan which will help queensland families reduce their energy costs and limit power […]
The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has recommended a range of regulatory changes to enable distribution network businesses to supply their customers with standalone power systems where it is cheaper than maintaining a connection to the grid. The reforms would provide consumers with the same protections, reliability standards and access to competitive retail offers via their retailer of choice as […]
Powerlink has recently completed a $3.4 million replacement of steel bolts and insulators in Central Queensland after inspections identified some corrosion had occurred. The replacements were conducted across a 290km stretch of transmission line between Broadsound, Nebo and Bouldercombe substations. Powerlink Chief Executive, Merryn York, said regular inspections along this key stretch of network in Central Queensland ensured the safe, […]
Ausgrid has contracted two specialist helicopters to carry out annual aerial inspections of the electricity network in bushfire prone parts of the Hunter, Central Coast and Sydney. Ausgrid Chief Operating Officer, Trevor Armstrong, said this year the patrols began in the Upper Hunter. “We saw this year’s bushfire danger period extended in parts of our network including the Upper Hunter, […]
Vegetation and trees form a fundamental and much-loved part of our urban and rural landscapes, but also pose very significant issues for energy utilities. As such, ongoing pruning programs to minimise the risk of outages and bushfire starts caused by the interaction between trees and powerlines are a major operational expense for utilities across Australia. SA Power Networks, the main […]
Projects involving critical infrastructure require expert project management to deliver high-quality results and to minimise risk and inconvenience to workers and the general public. The relocation of several existing 66kV sub-transmission circuits on the West Gate Tunnel Project in Melbourne was no exception, with more than 200,000 vehicles relying on the West Gate Bridge each day and disruptions creating delays […]
A 39 year-old man has died in hospital, after being electrocuted during routine maintenance work in Sydney. The Ausgrid linesman, who was a member of the Electrical Trades Union (ETU), was part of a crew from Ausgrid’s Gore Hill depot who were working on the replacement of a low voltage power pole in Lane Cove when the incident occurred. ETU […]
In January 2018, Zinfra commenced working on the operations and maintenance contract for the entire United Energy electricity network in Victoria. This contract reinforces Zinfra’s position as a leading provider of power services in Australia. The contract covers the 24/7 operations and maintenance of the United Energy electricity distribution network, servicing over 670,000 customers in Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs and the […]
The recent extreme weather conditions in New South Wales have prompted Essential Energy to undertake a range of strategies to minimise customer impact in the event of power supply interruptions. Planned outages Essential Energy’s regional teams will continue to assess planned outages on a case-by-case basis to determine if these should proceed. However, any urgent faults identified during this period […]
With over four million Queenslanders relying on Powerlink’s high voltage transmission network, the company is reaching new levels of inspection and maintenance, employing the use of helicopters to inspect towers and lines. With a transmission network spanning 1700km from north of Cairns down to the New South Wales border, Powerlink uses a team of technical experts and specialist crews to […]
Powerlink Queensland is maintaining the reliability and safety of its electricity network via helicopter inspections scheduled across Northern Queensland over the coming weeks. Inspections will take place during January through February (weather permitting) in areas including Alligator Creek, Burton, Collinsville, Moranbah and Nebo, where Powerlink’s network is located. Powerlink Chief Executive, Merryn York, said the inspections were essential to Powerlink’s […]
A tree trimming program will soon begin in Alice Springs in an effort to improve safety around powerlines. Working with the Alice Springs Town Council, a qualified arborist has identified trees that need to be trimmed, or removed, because they are too close to powerlines. Alice’s Springs Regional Manager of Power Networks, David Lardner, said managing trees and vegetation near […]
The Gladstone region is set to have a more reliable electricity supply, with 21 45m-plus high transmission towers being refitted, including four of seven ‘dolphin structures’ over the Calliope River. Member for Gladstone, Glenn Butcher, said works were underway to refit approximately 2km of existing transmission lines on an important link in Gladstone’s electricity transmission network – the connection from […]
Timber poles lose structural capacity for a number of reasons. These include decay, fungi causing shell rot and heart rot in the groundline area, insect damage, mechanical damage and deterioration/splitting of the pole tops. All these factors need to be considered when assessing a pole for its ability to continue to safely support the load potential. Logsys Power Services offers […]
A state-wide electrical safety campaign has launched in Queensland with the aim of reducing dangerous incidents resulting from contact with powerlines. Ergon Energy’s Executive General Manager Distribution, Paul Jordon, said Ergon and Energex’s joint Take Care, Stay Line Aware campaign would reinforce the risks of underground, overhead and fallen powerlines to Queenslanders. “What this campaign highlights is that we deal […]
Ausgrid has issued a warning about interfering with live electrical wires following dangerous incidents in Lake Macquarie and Port Stephens, where copper wire was stripped and stolen from power lines. Emergency crews were called to Masonite Road at Tomago in Port Stephens at around 2am on Tuesday 21 August 2018 after a fault was detected. They discovered metal guards had […]
AusNet Services will undertake large-scale maintenance works in East Gippsland, to prepare for an extended fire season expected over summer. The weekend shutdowns will provide 200 lines people with safe access to replace approximately 90 power poles, 80 cross arms and another 390 maintenance items as part of the safety enhancement program. Derek Walton, AusNet Services Customer Support Manager in […]
Ergon Energy is urging property owners planning burn-offs to be mindful of electrical infrastructure to prevent damage. Regional Field Manager Southern, Max Hogan, said damage to power poles from burn-offs could be expensive to repair and cause extended power supply interruptions to customers in neighbouring areas. Mr Hogan said the risk of damage to the network from seasonal burn-off operations […]
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