Powerlink has recently published a ‘Project Specification Consultation Report’ (PSCR) “Maintaining reliability of supply in the Tarong and Chinchilla local areas.”
Tarong Substation was established in 1982 and forms part of the 275kV backbone servicing South East Queensland, as well as local loads in the Tarong and Chinchilla areas. The Tarong local area load includes auxiliary supply to Tarong Power Station. Chinchilla Substation was established in 1986 to supply bulk electricity to the distribution network in the area, via a double circuit 132kV transmission line from Tarong Substation.
Four transformers at Tarong are nearing the end of their respective service lives, with recent condition assessments revealing a range of increasing network and safety risks arising from their continued operation. Two of these transformers supply the local area load at Tarong while two transformers provide back-up supply to Chinchilla.
Chinchilla’s secondary systems and the majority of its primary plant are also approaching the end of their respective technical lives. In particular, the secondary systems and circuit breakers are now obsolete and no longer supported by their manufacturers, with only limited spares available.
Planning studies have confirmed an enduring need for the supply of existing electricity services to the area.
The proposed preferred option that is considered to satisfy the RIT-T involves reconfiguring Chinchilla Substation such that supply is from the Surat Basin network, by replacing selected primary plant and secondary systems, and replacing only two of the four transformers at Tarong by 2025. Powerlink is the proponent of this network option.
The indicative capital cost of the RIT T project for the preferred option is $27.9 million in 2020/21 prices.
In accordance with the requirements of the Rules, a summary of the PSCR is made available on the AEMO website. A copy of the ‘Project Specification Consultation Report’ can be obtained from the Powerlink website on the RIT-T Consultations page or by emailing networkassessments@powerlink.com.au.
Submissions on the PSCR are required by the closing date of Monday, 22 November 2021.
Any enquiries in the first instance should be directed to:
Roger Smith
Manager Network and Alternate Solutions
Powerlink Queensland
PO Box 1193
VIRGINIA, QLD 4014
Tel: (+617) 3860 2328