TransGrid and Country Energy have completed a $90 million upgrade of the electricity network between Coffs Harbour and Kempsey to help secure a reliable supply of electricity to the New South Wales Mid North Coast.
The project involved works to upgrade a power line to operate at 132,000 volts.
The upgrade has enabled the 110-kilometre line to carry more power to Kempsey and continue its supply of electricity to Country Energy substations between Coffs Harbour and Kempsey.
It has also increased the number of 132,000 volt lines supplying the Mid North Coast from four to five, helping maintain high levels of reliability for customers in the region, and lower the risk of outages across the network during high demand.
Nambucca 132/66kV Substation
To accommodate the line’s conversion, substations at Kempsey, Nambucca and Coffs Harbour were upgraded and new substations were built at Boambee South, Raleigh and Macksville. The new Macksville substation replaced an existing 50-year-old substation at Newee Creek.
Four kilometres of new 132,000 volt transmission line was constructed and five kilometres of existing line was upgraded to connect the new substations to the Coffs Harbour to Kempsey power line.
More than 60 staff from Positron, Powerserve and Downer EDI were contracted to complete the project, which was a key part of TransGrid’s annual capital works program.
The project team and the community faced a number of challenges during the project, including a one-in-five-hundred-year flood and three one-in-one-hundred year floods.
Following the severe weather events, extensive remediation works were undertaken at the Boambee South substation site, which was submerged under 1.5 metres of water during the biggest floods in March and April 2009.
A range of innovative techniques were employed for the project, including the careful selection of colours for tall structures and the architectural design of control buildings to ensure they fitted in with the natural landscape.
New transformers were also specially designed, built with sand-filled walls to act as in-built sound barriers.
The Coffs Harbour to Kempsey Project began in May 2008 and was completed in July 2010.
Remediation works at the southern end of the line, including grass planting, are expected to be completed in September.