Kingsford to Randwick cable project

Our substation in Randwick is currently serviced by 132,000 volt underground cables from substations in Waterloo and Double Bay. The cables from Waterloo are nearing the end of their service life and need to be replaced to maintain a reliable electricity supply to customers.

Ausgrid is planning to retire the Waterloo substation in the next few years so we aren't able to install any new cables along the same route as the existing ones. The most cost effective solution for this project was to install new cables and spare conduits (plastic pipes) from the closest supply point to Randwick that has available 132kV connection points. That is our Kingsford substation.

The installation of the new cables and spare conduits is now finished and restoration work is underway. We are planning to retire the existing cables from Double Bay in the mid-2020’s.

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

Construction work to install the new cables and spare conduits is now complete. This involved trenching in streets between our substations in Kingsford and Randwick and boring under Alison Road, between the upper and lower sections of St Marks Road in Randwick. 

Now that construction is finished, work is underway along the cable route to permanently restore traffic islands, roundabouts and pedestrian crossings impacted by the work. Permanent restoration of the impacted areas of roads is also underway, in consultation with Randwick City Council.

Work to retire the existing 132,000 volt cables between our substations in Waterloo and Randwick will begin in late 2019 and extend into 2020.

Ausgrid will keep residents, businesses and other stakeholders updated as the project progresses.

There are a number of considerations to factor in while planning cable routes. These include:

• community impacts
• availability of space around existing utility services
• environmental and heritage impacts
• cost (minimising the impact on electricity bills)
• technical feasibility
• traffic impacts.

Under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, Ausgrid is the nominated determining authority for assessing and approving works for the Kingsford to Randwick cable project.

As part of this process, an environmental assessment (known as a Review of Environmental Factors or REF) was prepared. The REF assessed the potential environmental impacts associated with the construction and operation of the new cables and included a range of specialist studies and feedback from the community, councils and other authorities.

The REF was on public exhibition for comment from Friday 7 September to Thursday 27 September 2018. Ausgrid considered all feedback received as part of the process of assessing the project for construction. The final REF can be viewed in the 'Review of Environmental Factors' section below.

 

Kingsford to Randwick Cable Project REF

Appendix A - Drawings and Plans

Appendix B - Consultation Documents

Appendix C - Magnetic Field Assessment

Appendix D - Qualitative Noise Assessment

Appendix E - Geotechnical investigations

Appendix F - Arborist report

REF Determination Report

A summary of the community consultation undertaken for the project, including all feedback received is at the bottom of this page.

Ausgrid welcomes questions or comments about the project at any time. Please contact us on 1800 604 765, or at majorprojects@ausgrid.com.au

Work to install the new 132,000 volt cable and spare conduits through streets in Randwick and Kingsford is complete. This involved:

• digging trenches in roads to lay conduits (plastic pipes) to accommodate the new cables
• 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 once the overall project is complete.

The project also involved an underbore of Alison Road in Randwick, at the St Marks Road intersection. 

Work to retire the existing cables between our substations in Waterloo and Randwick will start in late 2019.  This will involve some work at various locations along that cable route and at the substations themselves, including:

• excavating existing joint bays along the cable route
• removing cable equipment
• disconnecting the cables.

Work is underway along the cable route to permanently restore traffic islands, roundabouts and pedestrian crossings impacted by construction. The permanent restoration of the impacted areas of roads along the cable route is also underway, in consultation with Randwick City Council.