Alexandria to Kingsford cable project

Ausgrid is seeking input from the community as we plan a new cable route between TransGrid’s substation in Burrows Road, Alexandria and Ausgrid’s substation in Anderson Street, Kingsford These substations are connected by an existing fluid-filled underground 132kV sub-transmission cable that is approximately 40 years old and is nearing the end of its serviceable life.

We are proposing to replace the existing cable with a new underground cable.

This project is part of a program to retire fluid-filled cables across our network.

There are several things we need to consider when planning cable routes. These include

• public health and safety
• environmental and social impacts
• traffic considerations
• technical feasibility
• available space around existing underground utility services; and
• cost (minimising impact on your electricity bills).

 

We are seeking feedback from the community so we can use local knowledge as part of the planning process. The project team will be hosting two live information webinars for the local community to find out more about the project, provide feedback on the preferred cable route and speak with the project team.

The project team will give a short presentation on why the project is needed, how the preferred route was prepared and what to expect during construction.

Community Information sessions

POSTPONED Community session one, online – Wednesday, 23 February
Time: 12:00PM-1:00PM

Community session two, online – Thursday, 24 February
Time: 6:00PM – 7:00PM  

Click here to register online

Not able to attend?

If you are unable to attend the live webinar session, a recording of the presentation is here.  Webinar recordings will be available to watch after our live sessions in March. The recorded webinar will provide information about the project to date. If you have any questions or would like to provide feedback on the preferred cable route, please contact our team via email at majorprojects@ausgrid.com.au.   

Please note, the purpose of these webinars is to provide the local community with project updates and is an opportunity for them to ask questions about the project. If you are a member of one of our local communities and you are attending in this capacity thank you for your interest. If instead you are attending as a representative of a government department or a large organisation, we ask that you do not attend these sessions so we can prioritise community members. The project team are happy to organise a specific meeting to brief you and answer your questions. 

Ausgrid is the approving authority for the work under the NSW Environmental Planning & Assessment Act.

As part of the approval process, we will be preparing an environmental assessment known as a Review of Environmental Factors (REF) to determine the potential environmental impacts of the project.

The REF will be placed on exhibition at several locations (including online) and the community will be invited to make submissions.

The community along the preferred cable route will receive a newsletter in the next few months with further details about this process.

Following the REF exhibition, Ausgrid will review all submissions and prepare a summary report. The project will then be determined for approval based on the information contained in the REF.

 This project will involve installing the new cable through streets between Alexandria and Kingsford. Retiring the existing cable between the substations would involve some work at various locations along that cable route and at the substations themselves.

This work will involve:

• Digging trenches in roads to lay conduits (plastic pipes) to accommodate the new cable.
• Backfilling trenches and temporary resurfacing of impacted areas (trenching and temporary resurfacing takes about three days outside each property depending on ground and weather conditions).
• Excavating underground joint bays at various locations along the cable route.
• Feeding in and joining sections of cable at the joint bay locations
• Permanently restoring impacted areas, in consultation with Council and Transport for NSW once the overall project is complete.

Retiring the existing cables will include:

• Excavating existing joint bays along the cable route.
• Removing cable equipment.
• Disconnecting the cables.

As with any construction site, there will be some impacts including noise and dust. Ausgrid will make every effort to keep this to a minimum and will finish the work as quickly as possible. There will be temporary traffic, access, and parking disruptions along the cable route during construction. We will make every effort to keep these to a minimum.

The timeline included on this website provides an overview of the project and community engagement stages.
After considering and addressing feedback from the community and further planning, Ausgrid will conduct ground investigations along the preferred cable route to pinpoint existing utility services.

Once this is finished, we will refine the cable route as required for environmental assessment.