Ausgrid has started work on a new dual 132-kV feeder route under the streets of Sydney’s eastern suburbs to link its proposed new switching station in Surry Hills to two new zone substations in Bondi and Rose Bay. The two feeders will carry six transmission cables which will be the backbone of the local electricity network that supplies power to about 40,000 customers in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

Transmission cable crews recently completed the first section of work to install about 1 km of conduit through Sydney’s Centennial Park. Five sets of specialist cable crews will now work simultaneously to trench 3 km west from Centennial Park towards Ausgrid’s proposed Riley Street subtransmission switching station in Surry Hills, and four km east towards the new 132/11-kV Rose Bay zone substation. The cables will also connect into the new 132/11-kV Waverley zone substation in Bondi, which is currently in construction and expected to be in operation in 2013.

General Manager Transmission Trevor Armstrong said Sydney’s eastern suburbs were served by one of the most established electricity networks in Australia. “Much of this network was built in the 1950s and 1960s at a time when the needs of Sydney residents were much different to the technology driven world today,” Armstrong said. “This existing infrastructure has served the community well for the past 50 years but is now approaching the time for replacement.

“Annual peak demand for power across these suburbs is expected to grow at about 4.5 per cent over the next five years driven by an increase in air conditioners and electrical appliances. Crews including builders, engineers, substation technicians and cable jointers will help construct this vital feeder route and important zone substations to meet this increasing demand,” said Armstrong.

The Waverley and Rose Bay zone substations will each feature two 50-MVA transformers, 28 panels of 11-kV switchgear and 132-kV GIS bus bars rated at 1600 amps Crews are expected to complete the new feeder route in early 2013 as part of Ausgrid’s $1.27 billion investment over five years in the Sydney east electricity network.