A painstaking $3.8 million project is underway on Brisbane’s southside to rejuvenate a 47-year-old transmission line by replacing hundreds of its insulators.
Energy Minister Dr Anthony Lynham said Powerlink crews were progressively replacing insulator strings and steelwork on 105 transmission towers along a 37-kilometre line between Belmont and Bundamba substations.
“This is a cost effective solution to maintain network performance and secure ongoing reliable power supply between Brisbane and Ipswich,” Dr Lynham said.
“Built in 1972, this line plays a critical role in securing power supply to this area and ensuring the transmission line will continue to operate reliably for its remaining 40-year service life.”
The project supports nine jobs and should be completed by the end of the year, weather dependent.
The transmission line crosses a number of suburbs including Eight Mile Plains, Wishart, Runcorn, Drewvale, Goodna and Collingwood Park and also runs near the Gateway Motorway, Beaudesert Road, Logan Motorway, Cunningham Highway and Ipswich Motorway.
“This type of work demonstrates Powerlink’s commitment to effectively maintaining its transmission network, which provides electricity to more than four million Queenslanders.”
Powerlink Interim Chief Executive Kevin Kehl said insulators supported transmission line wires while separating them electrically from the tower.
“This specialised work will be delivered on each tower as safely and quickly as and with as little disruption as possible to landholders and the wider community,” he said.
Queensland’s publicly-owned electricity companies – Powerlink, Ergon, Energex, CS Energy, Stanwell Corp and CleanCo, will invest more than $2.2 billion on capital works in 2019-20, supporting up to 4900 jobs.
