Upgrade to East Warwick substation

Ergon Energy has started work on a $1 million project to replace the main supply line to East Warwick substation, Minister for Mines and Energy Geoff Wilson said today.

The Minister said the project involved building a new concrete pole to replace the existing timber-pole 33,000-volt line that runs from the Warwick bulk supply substation to East Warwick substation in Percy Street.

Mr Wilson said as well as replacing the timber poles with concrete poles, the existing wires on the line would be replaced with a new conductor.

“The 33,000-volt line is the incoming source of power for the East Warwick substation, which supplies around 5,000 customers.

“The new line will be stronger and more reliable, which is good news for the customers supplied from this substation.

“Ergon Energy will also run a fibre-optic cable along the new line so that in the future they will be able to operate equipment in the substation from remote locations.

“The work is part of an ongoing program of upgrades to the electricity network in the Warwick area that Ergon Energy is currently carrying out.”

Mr Wilson said work began this week and was expected to be completed by the end of next month.

“There will be some planned outages to parts of Warwick during the construction process.

“Ergon Energy advises that it will schedule any outages to try to minimise inconvenience to customers. For example they plan to carry out work near Scots College during the school holidays so it does not affect the students.

“Ergon Energy is also investigating whether they can use a generator in some circumstances to further reduce the impact on customers.

Customers affected by a planned outage will be sent a notification card with the details.

“And Ergon Energy thanks residents in advance for their patience and understanding while the work is being carried out,” he said.

Media Inquiries: Ellen McIntyre 3225 1819