More chances to shape design of new substation in Ballarat East

Two community information sessions will be held this February to provide Ballarat residents more opportunities to learn about Powercor’s new zone substation and shape the facility’s exterior design.

Powercor specialists will be available to answer questions about Ballarat’s third zone substation that will support the ongoing supply of reliable, safe and affordable power to the broader region. The critical facility will be built at 203 York Street, Ballarat East and will be operating by the 2025-26 summer.

Yesterday, Powercor representatives met with community members, Member for Eureka Michaela Settle, Ballarat Mayor Des Hudson and Deputy Mayor Peter Eddy to hear their concerns and provide an update on our analysis of two alternative sites proposed by the council for the zone substation.

Powercor’s network planning team found that sites at Yarramie Court, Mitchell Park and the Ballarat Saleyards would cost an extra $22 million and $16 million respectively when compared to York Street’s overall project cost.

Powercor’s Head of Network Planning Andrew Dinning said the team was progressing work to build the zone substation at York Street and wanted to work closely with the local community to design the site’s exterior and rollout the Community Legacy Fund.

“We know that some community members will be disappointed that the council’s proposed alternative sites are not suitable. However, as an essential service we must ensure we are getting the best value for all customers within our network and we can’t justify the additional costs associated with the other sites,” Mr Dinning said.

“Both sites proposed would be significantly more expensive than York Street due to the need to build long distances of new powerline through other residential areas to integrate the sites into our existing network and provide the capacity to meet the needs of Ballarat.”

Powercor had previously analysed multiple sites across Ballarat’s west, north and east during its investigations into a location for the zone substation.

York Street was the best solution as it’s owned by Powercor, can easily be integrated with our network, can support the ongoing operations of bushfire mitigation devices located at the existing zone substations and can be delivered on time to meet the capacity requirements for a growing City of Ballarat.

The community information sessions will be held on:

• Thursday, 22 February from 4pm to 6pm; and
• Saturday, 24 February from 10am to 12pm at the York Conference Room – Sovereign Park Motor Inn – 223 Main Rd, Ballarat.

There’s no need to register. For more information on the project visit www.powercor.com.au/ballarateastzss To help shape the project visit engage.powercor.com.au/ballarateastzss.

ENDS

Background

The first stage of the York Street project will cost $30 million, with the overall project estimated at $52 million. The analysis found that, in comparison with 203 York Street:

• The Yarramie Court site would cost an extra $22 million, with the overall project cost estimated at $74 million. If the site was used, the main driver for these additional costs is the need for us to build an extra 22 kilometres of new 66kV powerlines, impacting approximately 900 residential properties across Ballarat.
• The Ballarat Saleyards site would cost an extra $16 million, with the overall project cost estimated at $68 million. If the site was used, the main driver for these additional costs would come from an extra 30 kilometres of new 22kV powerlines and extra infrastructure at existing substations.