EnergyAustralia once controlled both the energy supply network and its energy retail arm in New South Wales. In 2011, the retail arm of EnergyAustralia was sold, with the new owners retaining the name EnergyAustralia. The name of the electricity network was changed to Ausgrid.
Ausgrid is a state-owned corporation which supplies energy to homes and businesses across Sydney, the Hunter and Central Coast regions. It has been investing in a number of projects to improve the electricity network across these supply regions.
Electricity Infrastructure Program
The infrastructure program being undertaken by Ausgrid is one of the largest in Australia. Designed to deliver an upgrade of the electricity network, it includes fifty new substations, hundreds of kilometres of new cables and a $500 million investment in new technology that includes Australia’s first commercial scale ‘smart grid’.
Northern Sydney and Northern Beaches
The Ausgrid program includes a $1.2 billion investment in the five years to 2014 for Sydney’s north. The northern areas of Sydney, in particular, have seen both high density residential and commercial expansion, in part driven by the opening of the Chatswood-Parramatta rail link.
The changes in the population in Sydney’s north have led to a growth in the demand for power. The increased demand has made upgrades to the network necessary to improve reliability, and required Ausgrid to include asset replacement in their plans.
Of the $1.2 billion Ausgrid is investing in Sydney’s north, approximately $301 million has been directed to projects in Sydney’s Northern Beaches region. Residents and businesses in the Northern Beaches area are acutely aware of the problems, particularly power outages that have resulted from an ageing infrastructure and a network unable to cope with increased electricity demands.
The works being undertaken in the Northern Beaches region have included a Belrose reliability upgrade, a new North Balgowlah zone substation and new cables.
New cables have been laid in two main areas:
– between Frenchs Forest and North Balgowlah
– between Sydney East and the Terrey Hills zone substation.
Significant commercial expansion in and around Terrey Hills has driven the need for better network delivery in that area.
Belrose Reliability Upgrade
The Belrose, Frenchs Forest and Davidson areas have seen an increasing demand for electricity, which has resulted in the area being plagued by power outages. A $2.5 million upgrade to the electricity supply in these areas will reduce the number of blackouts and manage the increasing demand for power now and in the future.
Some work has already been completed with the project, with new underground cables, substations and power lines expected to be completed this year.
New North Balgowlah Zone Substation
The existing Balgowlah zone substation is on the corner of Boyle and Griffiths Streets, Balgowlah. It will be replaced by the new substation in Quirk Rd, North Balgowlah. Work on the new zone electricity substation has been completed.
The new substation can be expected to supply electricity to homes and businesses in Balgowlah, Balgowlah Heights, Clontarf, Fairlight, Manly, Manly Vale, North Balgowlah and Seaforth, initially.
Ausgrid has demonstrated their commitment to the energy market by focussing investment projects to ensure community energy supply and safety. They have embarked on one of the largest infrastructure programs to renew and replace Australia’s largest network of electricity substations, poles and wires to ensure the uninterrupted supply of electricity in their delivery area.
The focus of the infrastructure projects in Sydney, especially in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, has been on strengthening the network to make it more reliable and less subject to blackouts – works welcomed by both business and residents in our area.