Home›Questions on Notice›QoN 443

❓ Mr. Sprigg inquires about the cost of undergrounding a section of the 330,000-volt southern transmission line. The Minister provides detailed cost estimates for various scenarios, including the entire line and future lines.

AnsweredQoN 443Legislative Assembly

Asked

21 September 2005

Member

Mr T.R. Sprigg

Portfolio

Energy

QuestionView source ↗

Will the Minister provide an indicative costing to put underground that part of the 330,000-volt southern transmission line which runs from Bibra Lake to South Street?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered

12 October 2005

Responded by

Minister for Energy

Response time

21 days

The viability of any underground section of the 330,000 volt transmission line would depend upon the availability of a suitable site of about 50m x 80m in size to accommodate a transition station to allow the transmission line to change its configuration from underground to overhead. If a suitable site for the transition station is available, the indicative cost of putting underground a 5.2km section of the 330,000 volt double-circuit transmission line from the Southern Terminal in Bibra Lake to South Street, Leeming, including a transition station near South Street is expected to be in the order of $86 million. Underground construction of this line over the line length of approximately 13.3 km would be expected to cost in the order of $212.8 million. Based on indicative cost estimates of $16 million per kilometer, the cost of undergrounding existing 330,000 volt transmission lines in the South West Interconnected System would be approximately $13.3 billion, excluding substation costs. Based on the same cost estimates, the cost of undergrounding new 330,000 volt transmission lines required in the South West Interconnected System within the next ten years would be approximately $3.2 billion, excluding substation costs.

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