Ergon Energy will start construction of a state of the art new $12M electricity substation at Woodstock next month.
The new 66,000/11,000 volt facility will replace an old substation that had come to the end of its economic life General Manager Service Delivery Northern Paul Ryan said.
“The present substation has been in operation since the 1950’s and has served the community well. But like any piece of infrastructure it can only be repaired and equipment updated for so long until it is more economical to build a new one,” he said.
Civil works will start next to the existing substation site in a predominately rural area near the Flinders Highway.
Mr Ryan said the new substation is expected to be finished in June next year. It will then be connected to Ergon’s network and linked to existing substations at Charters Towers and Stuart.
“It will supply power to about 500 customers in the area and the site is big enough to cater for future expansion if required. Importantly it is expected to improve reliability of power supply to customers in the Woodstock area,” he said.
The old substation will be demolished and removed by approximately December 2014.
Mr Ryan said the facility will be built to a one in two hundred year flood level (Q200) with the ground level being increased by approximately 450 – 500mm to reduce the risk of flooding.
He went on to say “There will be a small number of planned interruptions to local power supply when existing powerlines near the substation are moved and re-aligned to allow for construction of the new substation.
“Our customers will be notified in writing in advance of this work to enable them to plan around this event. Our crews will work quickly to undertake this work and reinstate power.”
