A new purpose-designed facility in Sydney’s Lower North Shore will provide residents with improved responses to power outages thanks to an investment from Ausgrid, which will also contribute staff from four of its existing sites.
The state-of-the-art depot includes space for over 100 field workers, room for more than 171 trucks, emergency and personal vehicles as well as office space for over 120 staff.
Chief Operating Officer, Trevor Armstrong, said the facility was built after Transport for NSW acquired Ausgrid’s Chatswood depot for the Sydney Metro project.
“Ausgrid took the opportunity to consolidate our sites across North Sydney to see how we can deliver a more efficient service to our customers,” Mr Armstrong said.
“This new facility will provide modern and fit-for-purpose facilities for more than 150 staff and bringing them together allows us to leverage that scale to help improve responses to outages and emergencies.
“Ausgrid selected the site based on its size and proximity to major arterials roads such as the M1 and Warringah Freeway which will provide easier access for our crews to respond during emergencies in the CBD.
“We will have more of our people together in one place and for our customers that means we will be able to respond to outages faster.”
Existing Ausgrid sites at Artarmon, Gore Hill, Castle Cove and Pymble have been consolidated into the new single site.
The Pymble depot was bought in 1926 and is more than 90 years old, the Gore Hill site is almost 50 years old and all have reached the end of their working life.
The new depot is part of a wider program of investment to plan for the future needs of the electricity network.
“This project is part of our commitment to deliver reliable, sustainable and affordable services to our customers and will ensure we are able to cater to future demand from population growth on the Lower North Shore,” Mr Armstrong said.
