Powerlink has recently published a ‘Project Assessment Conclusions Report’ (PACR) to address the secondary systems condition risks at Woree Substation.
Located 6km south of the Cairns Central Business District, Woree Substation is the major 132kV injection point into the Ergon Energy distribution network for Cairns. It also forms part of the far north zone transmission network, with direct connection to Chalumbin Substation. The secondary systems associated with the SVC and most of the standard substation 132kV and 275kV secondary systems at Woree Substation are reaching the end of their technical service lives, and are no longer supported by the manufacturer, with few spares available.
In October 2018 Powerlink published a ‘Project Specification Consultation Report’ (PSCR) identifying the proposed preferred option to address the condition risks and claiming exemption from producing a ‘Project Assessment Draft Report’ as allowed for under NER Clause 5.16.4(z1). This was followed by the publication of a PSCR as amended by Addendum in December 2018, containing a draft recommendation for full replacement of the SVC secondary systems by December 2022 with the staged replacement of the substation secondary systems by December 2033.
There were no submissions received in response to the PSCR, which closed in March 2019. As a result, no additional credible options that could deliver a material market benefit have been identified and the outcomes of the economic analysis and recommendation contained in the PACR remain unchanged from those published in the December 2018 PSCR.
The RIT-T project involves the full replacement of the SVC secondary systems and the replacement of selected substation secondary systems by December 2022 at an estimated capital cost of $11.29 million in 2018/19 prices. Powerlink is the proponent of this network project.
In accordance with the requirements of the Rules, a summary of the PACR has been made available on AEMO’s website. A copy of the PACR can be obtained from the Powerlink Website on the RIT-T Consultations page or by emailing networkassessments@powerlink.com.au.
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
- Summary of the PACR (242 KB, pdf)