12/21/2008 7:12:28 PM

Hi.....As a Hills resident and sympathetic to the expressed concerns of Stop The Eastern Terminal Sub-Station Action Group, I'm neither a member nor specifically a supporter of the Action Group.

Anyone with some knowledge of power transmission lines would appreciate the logic of pulling out an existing single circuit 132 kV power transmission line and replacing it with a much greater capacity double circuit 330 kV transmission line(linking the SW's power generating hub at Collie and main load-demand centre of Perth).

This would be done in an already-cleared corridor, where the easement has alrady been secured, and where Native Title and EPA clearances wont be an issue.

On reaching Hacketts Gully in the Perth Hills, where the cleared route already intercepts the existing 330 kV transmission line that comes into the Hills from the coastal plain at Gosnells (and runs back onto the coastal plain at Bellvue).......it is also logical to tie-in the new Collie line to the existing "Gosnells" line, enabling the additional new power to continue through the existing 330 kV line to the coastal plain Terminal sub-station at Malaga.

It is also quite logical for that tie-in to be via a SWITCH YARD, either directly at Hacketts Gully or not too far from this powerline junction. A switch yard enables power to be redirected at such a junction, when there is a malfunction in the transmission network.....preventing a prolonged regional power outage. A direct tie-in without a switching facility doesn't assist with supply security.

As Hills residents and bush and landscape lovers, WHAT WE DON'T WANT is a Terminal in the Hills that becomes a sub-station, for these have transformers that drop 330 kV power down to lower voltages......and then radiate this to a network of district sub-stations via a web of sub-transmission lines.

What is lacking is trust. Today's Western Power officials can assure us that a Western Terminal SWITCH YARD in the Hills will not become a future SUB-STATION......but they have no control over the next generation of agency officials. In the future another group of officials may see good reason to expand a Terminal switch yard in the Hills to become a Terminal sub-station with its array of sub-transmission lines blighting the Perth Hills landscape.

In this climate of mis-trust and poor planning, the best place to TERMINATE the new Collie-Perth 330 kV transmission line is on the coastal plain at Perth in the first instance, where the load demand is. There it can be linked into other 330 kV lines via a switch yard and this could have a strategic location for development also as a Terminal sub-station.

The new Collie to Perth 330 kV transmission line WILL be built in the existing 132 kV corridor via Boddington. It has been calculated, however, that the extra power it will carry will be needed in Perth in 2-3 year's time....and has already been contracted for delivery. Thus, to get the powerline out of the Hills to a coastal plain TERMINAL will mean re-locating the Perth end of the line through forested catchment, orchards and paddocks somewhere between Byford and Bellvue!

Wherever this option is to happen, it will impact on someone's favourite part of the Hills, and their "backyard". But this is the discussion of options that all of the Hills community needs to engage in.....and there will be a community loser- perhaps those who fail to become involved!

Graeme Rundle

12/30/2008 2:25:26 AM

Hi…. Graeme

It is logical to upgrade a transmission line within an already existing power line corridor – yes that is true. Except that this line should arguably never have been built in that locatin in the first place. The 165km power line corridor traverses three Priority 1 Water Catchment areas, all of it within extreme bush fire risk areas, and a number of endangered habitat’s for both flora and fauna. From the “quick and nasty” environmental reports done (of which there is only one), weed infiltration is already in strong evidence and there is just no way for Western Power to be able to mitigate the creeping effects of that, nor the very likely Dieback spread that will result as it works to “upgrade” this line through the winter months (against all advice from the experts).

What is not logical is the construction of a power line which will not only pave the way for an additional transmission line in 2017 and even more clearing (as referred to in WP own correspondence), but used to justify the 100% power cost increases over the next three years. Where is the logic of continuing with a contract of a 1,000MW of coal fired power that will enslave Perth to a total dominance of coal fired power generation in an carbon trading future (meaning we as tax payers will be made to pay for the burden of this in addition to the power cost increases)? As another implication to this point, WA export industries will be punished for this burden in a growing environmental impact levied economy such as the current “food miles” concept operating in the European Union.

Western Power also seems to have conveniently missed the point in that the economic circumstances have changed dramatically! The IMO’s projections that were questionable 3 months ago (because they were mainly based on the projected power needs of hypothetical projects) are now completely unsubstantiated in fact. It is difficult to predict how long the economic crisis will go for but many experts say that we haven’t seen the worst of it yet. There is no doubt that we will see job losses and further project cancellations in Western Australia than we have seen so far.

Western Power continues to this day to pay little or no attention to energy demand side management that whilst is a legal requirement for the entity, it is not in their financial interest to do so. However, a focused demand side management program, combined with much more modest growth scenarios, should negate the need for any expansion of the transmission network. The hundreds of million of dollars Western Power is looking for, logically would be better spent by our Government on helping our economy transition into a clean energy future, through available “ready to go” technology like wave power generation, solar power generation, wind and thermal.

You speak about the next generation of Western Power agency officials…..well they have come, and surprise, surprise, they are still working towards the terribly flawed 20 year old planning objective (of which our members have a hard copy). There is no doubt that their 20 year old plan to build a TERMINAL substation in pristine bushland is continuing. I personally believe the SETS fight is not about mistrust by a bunch of NIMBY hillbillies, but an informed campaign to educate the community and wider population to the facts. I believe Western Power’s 20 year history of poor planning and mis-management on this project is costly to not only the greater environment of Western Australia, but also to us tax payers. Trying to convince the community that ET is good for us, while its every action “disempowers” us, is incorrigible to say the least.

Toni Warden