Dalyellup Substation and transmission line

Project region

Bunbury-Busselton-Margaret River Project Suite

Project status

Current

Project update & workshop invite May 2012

Western Power has engaged contractors to conduct a Black Cockatoo and Western Ringtail Possum survey, within the Centenary Road portion of the proposed line corridor, as it may be necessary to avoid clearing specific trees within this area. This information, along with expressed stakeholder and community concerns and ideas, will inform the development of a set of line route options within the corridor.

These options will be analysed over the coming months and will be further evaluated during an options deliberation workshop with stakeholder and community members, with the goal of choosing a preferred line route by July 2012. Western Power would like to invite you, and any other interested community members, to an options deliberation workshop to consider specific line route options.

Please find the workshop details below:

Date: Thursday 31 May 2012
Venue: Dalyellup Community Centre
Time: 5.30pm - 8pm
Refreshments provided

The session will commence with a presentation about the project and the line route options under consideration in this workshop. We will then break into small groups to workshop the options with the purpose of identifying and understanding community priorities and preferences. An independent facilitator will be used and your feedback will be captured.

Please RSVP to Joanne on 1800 012 498 (free call) or email rsvp@bodhialliance.com.au

Project update March 2012

The initial community engagement session for the Dalyellup Substation was held in Dalyellup on 1 March 2012 and a site visit was conducted 2 March 2012. Feedback was collected relating to the indicative line route as shown on the map available in the project fact sheet, which can be downloaded here (PDF 1.5 Mb). Western Power will now finalise a set of line route options consisting of variations to the indicative route based on feedback provided from stakeholders and community members. 

These options will be analysed over the coming months and will be further evaluated during options deliberation workshops with stakeholder and community members, with the goal of choosing a preferred line route by July 2012.

A summary of the 1 March 2012 session can be found here (PDF 96 kb).

Project description

Dalyellup aerial map

The demand for electricity is increasing within the Greater Bunbury Area. The proposed Dalyellup Substation is designed to provide capacity to address the growing electricity demand, particularly in the area south of Bunbury. A site for the substation, originally selected in early 2010 with stakeholder and community input, has been purchased on Centenary Road, Dalyellup.

The substation needs to be connected to somewhere near the Picton Substation by a double circuit 132 000 volt transmission line (eight wires on one set of poles). The key decision to be made in the near future is the location at which to connect the substation into the existing electricity grid and route the transmission line will follow.

One option we are exploring is to place the transmission line along the unmade Centenary Road reserve, then joining corridors with the planned Bunbury Outer Ring Road and Port Access Road to take the lines up to Picton Substation. The decision is yet to be been made and we are open to alternatives.

The project will improve reliability of power supply to the Dalyellup, Usher and Gelorup areas due to the shorter feeder length (compared to the length of feeders currently running from Bunbury Harbour Substation). The project will also take load off the Bunbury Harbour Substation, alleviating impending capacity constraints on that substation.

Proposed timeline

  • Community and stakeholder engagement ‘kick-off’ sessions - last week of February 2012 Completed 
  • Options analysis to select preferred line route (including community and stakeholder input) – May to July 2012
  • Spring surveys to identify rare flora along proposed transmission line route – spring 2012
  • Required-in-service date for the substation – November 2016

Please note that these dates are indicative only and will be updated as the project progresses.

Approvals

As preferred options are not known given the early stage of the project, approval requirements are yet to be determined. Environmental approvals are expected to be required for major infrastructure development within this area, given the presence of rare flora, threatened species, including Carnaby’s Cockatoos, and wetlands. This project is likely to be subject to a Regulatory Test,  applied by the Economic Regulation Authority, once the preferred option is known.

Further information

Community and stakeholder engagement

Contact us

To make any enquiries or to be added to our community contact list for this project, please contact our customer service centre on:
Phone: 13 10 87
Email: enquiry@westernpower.com.au

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