Far West Project

Overview

Communities across the Far West will benefit from action to strengthen energy reliability and reduce disruption cause by power supply interruptions following a NSW Government direction to fast-track the delivery of important energy solutions for the region.

The NSW Minister for Energy and Environment issued a Ministerial Direction on 29 January 2026, classifying the Far West Project as a Priority Network Infrastructure Project under the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act 2020. The direction enables fast-tracking of new back-up distribution generation and/or storage to strengthen energy reliability and a revised agreement with Hydrostor to provide outage reserve power from its proposed Silver City Energy Storage Centre.

Transgrid is working closely with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water to deliver the Priority Network Infrastructure Project.

The project will ensure the Far West is not reliant on any single back-up power source, in accordance with a key finding of the Parliamentary inquiry into the October 2024 extreme weather event and outage. 

Under the Ministerial Direction, Transgrid will conduct a thorough procurement process to identify, develop and implement a network infrastructure solution providing back-up distribution, generation and/or storage to increase energy reliability for the Far West region. 

Transgrid will also continue to work with Hydrostor to amend the existing Network Support Agreement for its proposed Silver City Energy Storage Centre to reflect the terms of the direction. The 30-year agreement will provide 50 MW/250MWh of reserve power for the Far West during planned or unplanned outages of the region’s transmission line.

We acknowledge the significant impact that the October 2024 extreme weather event and outage had on the communities and businesses of Far West NSW.

 

Transgrid has worked hard to strengthen the Far West’s energy system and support the region’s communities.  

We have completed the rebuilding of the Far West transmission line, continuing to carry out major refurbishment works on the region’s back-up generators, improved communication and engagement with the community, and provided financial support to residents, businesses and not-for-profit groups.

Transgrid thanks the residents and businesses of Broken Hill and the Far West for their ongoing support and understanding as we work hard to strengthen the region’s energy future.

Why energy supply in Far West NSW is uniquely challenging

We know people in Broken Hill and across the Far West of NSW have understandable concerns about power reliability, particularly after the extreme weather event in October 2024 that damaged transmission infrastructure.

Supplying electricity to the Far West is different to almost anywhere else in NSW. The region is connected to the National Electricity Market by a single high-voltage transmission line that runs about 260 kilometres from Buronga to Broken Hill. In most parts of the State, electricity can flow through several different transmission routes if one line is out of service. In the Far West NSW, there is no alternative pathway.

This means that when the transmission line is offline–whether for planned maintenance or due to unexpected issues–there is no other way to bring power into Broken Hill from the grid. To manage this, two large back-up gas turbine generators are used to supply electricity locally while the line is out of service. This arrangement is unique within Transgrid’s network and reflects the engineering challenge of supplying power to a remote region over long distance.

Strengthening energy supply in the Far West is complex, but it is a high priority. That’s why we support the NSW Government’s direction to fast-track new back-up generation for the region, alongside longer-term storage solutions. These investments are about building a more resilient energy system that can better support Far West NSW communities now and into the future.

Status of GTs

The table below outlines the status of both GTs.

GT1 Available for service
GT2 Available for service

(Last updated 23 October 2024 3:07 PM AEDST)

Community engagement activities and announcements

We are committed to keeping the Far West NSW communities informed as we continue to work to strengthen the region’s energy future. This page will be updated with details of community engagement activities as they are confirmed.

Summary of support we have provided post October extreme weather event

In October 2024, Transgrid announced $2 million in support to the communities affected by the extreme weather event that impacted power supply to the Far West region of NSW.

Transgrid launched a specialised Community Partnerships Program with $500,000 in new grants for community organisations and not-for-profit groups in Far West NSW. This was in addition to a multi million-dollar community support packaged in partnership with the NSW Government.

Community Partnerships Program for Far West NSW

Our Community Partnerships Program which already operates in communities across our NSW network, provides grants to local not-for-profit organisations to fund a range of activities including improving community facilities and services. 

In November 2024,Transgrid launched a new $500,000 in funding which provided much-needed support for 78 community organisations and not-for-profit groups in the Broken Hill and Far West NSW areas, supporting local initiatives and delivering lasting social benefits to the region.

Details of the program including grant recipients are available below.

Learn more

NSW Government and Transgrid Community Support Package

In November 2024, the NSW Government and Transgrid announced a multi million-dollar community support package in response to the Broken Hill natural disaster.

The electrical outage support was made available to impacted households and small to medium-sized local businesses through Service NSW and included a $1.5 million contribution from Transgrid. 

It included: 

  • Payments of $200 to each of the residential electricity account holders impacted by the outage.

  • Payments of $200 to all eligible adults who live in Broken Hill, Central Darling Shire and the Unincorporated LGAs

  • Payments of $400 to impacted small-to-medium businesses.

Learn more

Contact us

  • Phone: 1800 222 537

Media

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Broken Hill

26 August 2025

Funding boost for Far West NSW communities

Community groups across Far West NSW are sharing in $200,000 in grants under the second round of Transgrid’s Far West NSW Community Partnerships Program, helping deliver projects that will create lasting value for the region.

Broken Hill
Broken Hill IMG_0253[1]

05 June 2025

Works on Broken Hill transmission line this weekend

Transgrid crews will be completing line works on the transmission line supplying Far West NSW this weekend.

Broken Hill
Menindee Headquarters RFS Brigade

07 February 2025

Funding boost for community initiatives across Far West NSW

Community groups across Broken Hill and Far West NSW have received a much-needed funding boost to support local initiatives and deliver lasting social benefits with improved services, facilities, events and activities.

See all news articles