Minister for Mines and Energy Geoff Wilson said today Ergon Energy would spend $130.5 million on capital works in Far North Queensland in the 2008-09 financial year.

“The Bligh Government is spending $1.9 million every hour of every day to build our state’s infrastructure,” he said.

“We are planning for and managing our growth by investing in regional Queensland’s electricity network.”

Mr Wilson said major works in the Far North would include:

·Completing the $65 million Cairns North supply reinforcement project, which involves a new zone substation and installation of 132,000 volt underground cabling,

·An $8.5 million substation at El Arish to provide a more reliable power supply to the Mission Beach area.

The planned spend is part of Ergon Energy’s $1.07 billion capital works program, the largest in the company’s history.

Installing network control technology would also reduce the impacts of power interruptions, he said.

Member for Cairns Desley Boyle welcomed the planned expenditure, saying it was essential that energy infrastructure kept pace with the steady growth in Cairns and the region.

“We’re investing in more than electricity infrastructure, we’re investing in the people who live in Cairns and the Far North, and we’re investing in the region’s future.”

The Ergon Energy network comprises more than 150,000 kilometres of electricity line, about 1 million power poles and 70,000 substations and extends from Birdsville in south west Queensland to Thursday Island in the Torres Strait, over more than 1 million square kilometres or six times the size of Victoria.

Media inquiries: Minister’s office 3224 7332.