Thursday, August 24, 2023

Issue:

Mackay and Whitsunday Life

$27.5 Million Energy Upgrade Underway

More reliable electricity is on its way to the Whitsundays following the announcement on Wednesday that a key component needed for the expansion of the Cannonvale substation is due to arrive on-site this week.

As the population in the Greater Airlie Beach Area booms, Ergon Energy have recognised a need to accommodate for the increased demand and a spokesperson said the “investment will increase the network’s capacity and improve the security of the electricity supply for 8,000 homes and businesses”.

“To cater for the projected growth in electricity demand, we need to create additional capacity and flexibility in the network to ensure a reliable power supply now and into the future,” said the spokesperson.

This week a large modular building left Brisbane, embarking on the long journey to the Cannonvale substation site on Shute Harbour Road.

Upon arrival, Ergon provided traffic control measures to ensure everyone's safety while they unloaded and installed the critical piece of equipment.

From Monday, work will start on a key communications link between the substations at Proserpine, Proserpine Mill and Cannonvale, including excavation along Faust and Dodd Streets.

When the installation of a new telecommunications pole, conduit and cables in Proserpine is complete, it will enable remote operation of the Cannonvale substation.

The overall project will refurbish and expand the Cannonvale substation and duplicate key sections of the 66,000-volt underground cable network between the Cannonvale substation and Shute Harbour, providing greater network resilience.

The existing Cannonvale substation control building will remain, and an additional modular building will be built on the site towards the TAFE.

The new substation building is designed to minimise any impact on the visual amenity of the area.

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