TransGrid and UGL’s Western 500 kV Project has been awarded the 2011 Engineering Excellence Award for Infrastructure Projects.
TransGrid Executive General Manager of Capital Program Delivery, Mr Gerard Reiter said he was delighted TransGrid and UGL won the Infrastructure Projects category late last week.
“Few electrical engineers will ever have the opportunity to work on a development the size and importance of the Western 500kV Project,” said Mr Reiter.
“The Western 500 kV Project is New South Wales’ biggest 500 kV development and the National Electricity Market’s largest ever demand management project,” he said.
Through careful project staging and collaborative project management, TransGrid and UGL delivered four new 500/330 kV substations within required timeframes and 2.4 per cent under budget.
The implementation of a market leading demand management program also led TransGrid to defer project construction for one year, delivering NSW consumers a cost saving of $14 million.
“The completion of The Western 500 kV Project millions of dollars under budget and three months ahead of schedule is a real and rare achievement. It could not have been accomplished without a great team of people,” said Mr Reiter.
“The award is a reflection of the hard work and dedication of TransGrid’s Capital Program Delivery and Network Planning teams, as well as UGL’s Power Systems team,” he said.
The Western 500 kV Project was also awarded Highly Commended status in the Project Management category.