Furnissdale substation land acquisition
The surrounding suburbs in the Shire of Murray require reinforcement of the electricity network to allow for increased energy demand, resulting from population and development growth in the area. To ensure reliable service for the area, we are proposing to build a new 132,000 volt (132 kV) community zone substation at 74 Matthie Rd, Barragup.
Project update – August 2010
As part of our regular review of load projections and forecast planning for our network, the South West Interconnected System, we are required to review all projects and to prioritise projects that will ensure the reliability and security of our network. One of these projects is to find a solution to manage the increasing energy demand in the Shire of Murray.
At this stage the solution is to establish a new zone substation at 74 Matthie Rd Barragup, which is currently required in service in 2016. In order to manage the potential future visual impact caused by the substation, we have begun planting vegetation which will create natural screening of the site from neighbours.
While forecasts currently indicate that a solution is required in the future it is important to point out that forecasting so far into the future can sometimes result in unforeseen scheduling or load demand changes occurring due to events such as new technologies becoming available, increased demand side management practices being integrated into the community or even unexpected and rapid growth affecting the initial forecasting indicators.
Background
There are many interconnecting pieces of infrastructure that make up our electricity network - taking the power from generators, such as coal or gas fired power stations and wind farms, and delivering it through to your homes and businesses. Three of the most common types of infrastructure that we use to deliver power to your community are; transmission lines, substations and distribution lines.
Energy created by power generators is delivered to your community via high voltage transmission lines. Your local community substation then converts the power to a lower voltage, making it compatible to travel directly to your homes and businesses via low voltage distribution lines.
A new zone substation can accommodate the growth of around 6000 homes in a community. Given the growth planned for the Shire of Murray in the coming years and the current substation capacity in this area, it is forecast that a new substation will be required by end of 2016.
Contact us
For more information about this project, please contact Project Officer Mark Stevens, on 9326 4144 or mark.stevens@westernpower.com.au.
