ENERGEX completes powerlines and cables upgrade in Gatton

Friday, Jan 15, 2010

Around 800 homes and businesses in parts of Gatton and surrounding areas are now benefiting from a recently completed ENERGEX upgrade to the local electricity network.

The $700,000-plus project included the installation of new underground cables and the upgrade of existing overhead powerlines in Woodlands Road and Rangeview Road.

The network upgrade will allow for current and future growth in the Gatton, Grantham, Lower Tenthill, Placid Hills, Ringwood, Veradilla, and Woodlands areas. The upgrade will also assist meet the power demand increases by commercial customers in the Gatton industrial estate.

ENERGEX figures show the average South East Queensland home now uses between 50 and 70 per cent more power than they did just 10 years ago.

According to ENERGEX Network Program Group Manager Kevin Ball the upward spiral in demand is due to a significant increase in domestic lifestyle products.

“The uptake of energy demanding domestic appliances such as affordable home air-conditioning and large-screen televisions has certainly been a driving force behind this upgrade,” he said.

“Likewise the commercial growth we’ve seen in the area has also placed additional requirements on the power network.”

This local network upgrade follows a massive boost to electricity supplies in the Lockyer Valley region about 18 months ago with the completion of two projects, collectively worth more than $20 million, substantially improving capacity and reliability in the area.

Those works involved the establishment of a new major bulk supply substation at Fords Road, the construction of a replacement zone substation adjacent to the ENERGEX depot in Woodlands Street and a range of associated local powerline upgrades.

Mr Ball said ENERGEX technicians now had more switching options to restore power faster after unexpected damage to the network caused by storms, wild weather, vehicles hitting power poles or underground cables being accidentally damaged.

The project is part of a record $4 billion-plus five-year capital expenditure program currently being undertaken by ENERGEX. In the 2009-10 financial year ENERGEX is investing around $940 million on upgrades to its electricity network while a further $360 million-plus has been set aside to maintain and operate the network – that’s an overall average of more than $3 million a day.

Source: ENERGEX