HumeLink Alliance challenges TransGrid decision on transmission line

The HumeLink Alliance, comprising southern NSW property owners, including around Crookwell and Taralga, has also challenged proponent, TransGrid's assertions that undergrounding the line is too costly.

TransGrid is proposing to build the 500 kilovolt line between Maragle and Bannaby, connecting the Snowy 2.0 hydroelectric scheme.

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The $3.3 billion project involves construction of 65 metre high towers along 70m easements. The towers would be about 400 metres apart.

TransGrid recently released its undergrounding report, completed at community request.

"The cost of undergrounding the HumeLink transmission lines is estimated to be $11.5 billion at least three times more than the entire project's current cost of $3.3 billion," the company said in a statement.

"This is unsustainable as the additional cost will be passed on to commercial, industrial and private electricity consumers, at a time of great concern about escalating electricity prices.

"The additional expenditure would curtail expenditure on other transmission projects essential for connecting alternative, renewable energy to consumers. This is because there is only a finite amount of money available to rewire the nation to deliver alternative, renewable power."

The company maintained undergrounding transmission lines would delay the project's completion by up to five years, thereby threatening timely connection of renewable energy. Further, HumeLink had to be connected by 2026 to secure the network before "ageing power stations were decommissioned."

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The Alliance has branded this a "furphy" and has picked apart the underground report. Members also sit on a steering committee, which submitted a formal response on the report.

Member Mike Katz said his group had no confidence in the document "and nor should governments."

"First Transgrid push out exaggerated costings in a report they quickly retracted and now they replace with a report that includes so many flaws that it can't seriously be relied on," he said.

The company had initially estimated $21.5 million per kilometre to take a single circuit 500KV cable underground but Mr Katz said the revised Transgrid report admitted this was wrong, and the cost was closer to $11.4m/km.

Now, the latest independent report had costed it at $6.5m to $7.5m/km.

The Alliance argues that, when averaged, the cost of fully placing the line underground was $8bn at today's costs.

Mr Katz, from Gurrundah, near Goulburn, said it should not be up to TransGrid to decide not to underground the line. The infrastructure will run through his property but he says the impact is much wider.

"The task of government is to look at the long-term and TransGrid's analysis only looks at the short-term," he said.

"With 360km of line there is a high probability of it causing bushfire at some point. The cost of that is huge when compared to putting the line underground," he said.

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Mr Katz has highlighted savings from fewer outages, lower maintenance and reduction in energy losses from transmission, by placing the line underground. He said all European countries had opted for this method for these very reasons, coupled with environmental considerations.

In response, TransGrid argues cable installation would involve a large amount of excavation and "significant impacts, based on the sensitivities of any particular area."

Asked whether the Alliance had any hope of swaying governments' minds, given the Australian Energy Market Regulator last month approved $322 million for HumeLink's stage one early works, Mr Katz said the amount was less than 10 per cent of the project cost.

"If some of that work is not used in the final project, it's not the end of the world," he said.

"Governments of either sway are not afraid of revisiting decisions that are manifestly wrong."

He has also rejected suggestions there was a time imperative for TransGrid to build the infrastructure. Mr Katz said this argument was flawed because Snowy 2.0, with which it was connecting, had been delayed by two years.

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He also rebutted the company's claims that construction delays and undergrounding would result in higher electricity prices, saying higher power costs were a "given," regardless of the method.

The Alliance has stepped up its representations to government on the matter, including to Goulburn MP Wendy Tuckerman and federal Hume MP, Angus Taylor.

"We are simply not prepared to let this multi-billion-dollar debacle proceed in its current form and fail future generations of Australians," he said.

The total project is subject to the Australian Energy Regulator's approval.

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