A 175-ton transformer, around half the length of an Olympic-size swimming pool, has been delivered to its new home at Powerlink’s South Pine Substation, at Brendale, Queensland Australia, Minister for Mines and Energy Geoff Wilson said today.

“The transformer is the biggest of its kind. It’s 18.3 m long, 7.3 m wide and 8.6 m high,” Wilson said. “A prime mover carried it to the substation in the early hours of the morning before the traffic built up,” he said.

The new 275kV transformers will convert high voltage electricity from the transmission grid down to a lower voltage suitable for the Energex network. “Homes and businesses in the northern suburbs will benefit from this powerful boost to their electricity supply,” he said.

“And the transformer’s not the only good news. Other work is underway at the South Pine substation to bring about an even more secure and reliable electricity supply to homes and businesses in the northern suburb,” Wilson said.

Powerlink Chief Executive Gordon Jardine said the delivery of the new transformer was part of a significant project to upgrade the South Pine bulk supply substation. “The substation, built in the 1960’s, is being upgraded and refurbished to maintain reliability of supply to customers into the future,”  Jardine said. “The work at the substation, which is being carried out progressively this year and the next, includes an extension to the east of the existing substation, on land already owned by Powerlink.

“We will also be installing new substation equipment including the transformer, and will undertake a general refurbishment of the substation with extra vegetation screening along Brendale Road.

A second similar-sized transformer will be delivered to the substation early next month as part of the substation upgrade. “I really want to thank the local community for their patience while this work is being completed,” Jardine said.