Member for Wagga Wagga Dr Joe McGirr has written to two state ministers regarding design standards for the HumeLink project. Photo: Shri Gayathirie Rajen.
Following the collapse of seven Transgrid towers near Broken Hill, Member for Wagga Dr Joe McGirr has called on the NSW Government to do its homework prior to approving the HumeLink environmental impact statement (EIS).
Seven Transgrid towers were brought down in a storm on 17 October, leaving 20,000 people in the Broken Hill area without power. The events prompted Dr McGirr to write to two state ministers leading the HumeLink project.
In his letters to Planning Minister Paul Scully and Energy Minister Penny Sharpe, Dr McGirr said it was critical to ensure the HumeLink towers would be able to withstand extreme weather.
“I have been told that Transgrid designs its transmission towers in accordance with Australian design standards, including consideration of severe weather such as downdraft and tornados,” he said.
“But if this is the case, why did the towers fall in western NSW, causing so much hardship to so many people, and how can we be sure the HumeLink towers will be safe, especially given the climate change-driven risk of even more extreme weather in the future?
“At up to 76 metres in height, the towers will be higher than those in the west and will be sited in elevated, windy areas with huge bushfire risks – so our community needs to be assured that the HumeLink towers will not also be at risk of failure.”
Dr McGirr said this risk would not exist if the HumeLink power lines were to be undergrounded, but the decision to run the power lines on massive towers was creating new concerns.
“I understand the HumeLink towers will also be designed to cope with ice loads, but the questions remain: Why did the Broken Hill towers fail and how can we ensure a similar disaster will not happen here?” he said.
“I have sought an update on inquiries into the collapse and have asked the ministers to make sure that the causes of that failure are fully considered in the assessment of the HumeLink EIS.
“It may seem unlikely that such a disaster could happen twice, but the consequences of another failure are immense so if the integrity of the HumeLink towers cannot be guaranteed, they should not be built.”
Following the collapse, the Australian Energy Regulator and the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal are investigating whether Transgrid has breached its licence conditions.
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