North Katoomba and Lawson Improvements

A 10-year blueprint to improve power reliability in the Blue Mountains

Integral Energy’s 10-year infrastructure blueprint to deliver improved reliability for Blue Mountains residents and businesses was launched in 2005 by local member and Minister for the Environment, Bob Debus MP.

 

The blueprint, outlined in Network 2016, includes a number of improvements to existing infrastructure in its Blue Mountains network to deliver a series of benefits, including:

 

• A secure and more reliable supply of energy for the 19,500 households and businesses in the upper Blue Mountains, reducing the incidence and length of power outages.
• Ensuring that the supply of power into the Blue Mountains can continue to meet demand as it increases – preventing future blackouts.
• Improvements to the visual amenity of the Lawson substation.

 

Integral Energy’s Chief Executive Officer Richard Powis said that Integral Energy would be investing $18 million into the Blue Mountains through the Network 2015 improvements.

 

Key improvements include:

• Refurbishing Integral Energy’s portion of the 50-year-old Lawson transmission substation, jointly operated by Integral Energy and RailCorp, to improve reliability in the area, as well as its visual appearance
• Installation of an additional transformer and connection at the Katoomba North transmission substation to reduce the incidence, length and impact of any power outages in that region
• Improving the reliability of the Springwood and Blackheath substations
• The essential electricity link between Springwood and Hazelbrook is also around half a century old and reaching the end of its working life. It will require refurbishment some time in the future
• The works on Katoomba North and Lawson substations are expected to be complete by 2007-08. The improvements at Springwood and Blackheath substations are due for completion in the next 12 months. At this stage, no specific timeframe has been set for the refurbishment of the Springwood to Hazelbrook link.
• Integral Energy also announced that it was entering into partnership with the Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute to undertake a study of how energy demand can be further managed in the Lawson area.
• Integral Energy's main contact for these improvement works is Mark Bean, the Environmental Specialist in our Environment Services Branch. Mark can be contacted at mark.bean@integral.com.au Download the North Katoomba & Lawson Improvements Fact Sheet >>