A key river crossing on Ergon Energy’s main 66,000-volt power line between the Gayndah and Mundubbera substations in Queensland will be flood-proofed as part of a major program of work.
The line came down during the unprecedented 2013 Burnett River flood, creating a challenge for crews to stand temporary poles to begin the restoration process for customers in the Mundubbera and Eidsvold areas.
Fraser/Burnett Lines Manager, Craig Harris, said new, taller concrete poles and conductors would replace the existing structure, about 2km south of Mundubbera.
“This work will provide safe clearance from any foreseeable future floods and provide ongoing reliability of supply for customers in the North Burnett,” Mr Harris said.
“As far as we are aware, this project and work already completed will ensure the entire main line from Gayndah to Mundubbera and on to Eidsvold has clearance from the record flood height, so the power supply to the substations in these towns can be maintained if there is no structural damage to the poles or wires from debris.”
“We also have removed multiple river crossings and raised the heights of poles on the feeder and SWER lines in the North Burnett to further improve the ability of the network to withstand floods.”
Mr Harris said most of the construction work for the new crossing had been completed, but a power supply interruption was required from 9am until 3pm on Sunday 2 November so crews could safely connect, test and energise the new section of line.
“Generation will be brought in to maintain supply to some of the town areas of Mundubbera and Eidsvold, while the 1900 customers to be affected by the outage have been notified by mail,” he said.
Mr Harris said Ergon crews would take full advantage of the need for a power supply interruption by completing a range of work that otherwise would have required separate outages.
“We will do maintenance on the substations and complete repairs on the 66kV line from Gayndah to Eidsvold identified during routine aerial patrols and asset inspections,” he said.
“We will bring in about 90 staff from Bundaberg, the Fraser Coast, South Burnett, Toowoomba, Biloela, Monto, Dalby, and Chinchilla to assist the Gayndah and Mundubbera crews to carry out the extensive program of work.”
