The community reaction to the Western Victoria Transmission Network has not been positive, to say the least - with the coronavirus pandemic preventing early consultation face-to-face, landowners in the wide area of interest were approached one-by-one by the company, or received letters which sparked immediate alarm.

As well as the signs on fences from Creswick to Bacchus Marsh, cars proudly sport bumper stickers opposing the project, and dozens of community groups have formed.

AN APPROXIMATE MAP OF THE AREA OF INTEREST

AusNet, the company building the project - about 75 kilometres of 500kv powerlines between Sydenham and a new terminal station north of Ballarat, and then another stretch of high voltage lines from that terminal to Bulgana, north of Ararat - delivered in-person drop-in sessions across the district in the past two weeks, following several online Q&A sessions with project team members.

But getting accurate information out to the public is proving difficult - independently, Moorabool Shire Council has set up their own online sessions with experts in land acquisition, and commissioned a report on building the powerlines underground.

READ THE REPORT HERE

Part of the apprehension is that there is still no route determined for the project, only a wide area of interest which takes in most of Moorabool, as well as parts of Hepburn and Ballarat shires.

AusNet has encouraged community members to use an interactive online map to point out where significant areas are, to help determine the project corridor - this aspect of consultation will close on October 30, with more than 2800 points placed on the map so far.

According to the company, the aim is to understand where the most sensitive areas are so construction can avoid them.

But community members and opposition groups, and in particular farmers, have said they don't want the towers anywhere near their properties - the interruption to farming businesses, potential effects on soil, and the "visual pollution" are reasons cited to build the powerlines underground instead.

A narrowed-down project corridor is expected to be announced sometime in November, based on the community feedback received.

At this stage, according to AusNet, a community reference group will be formed, which will "provide a forum to discuss, manage and, if possible, mitigate and minimise any local impacts associated with the Project".

IS DANIEL ANDREWS BUILDING THESE POWERLINES?

No, this is not a state government project.

There has been increased investment in renewable energy to the west of the state, and the state's grid is currently set-up for most of the electricity to be generated in the Latrobe Valley.

An independent federal body, the Australian Energy Market Operator, decided the state needs to expand its transmission capacity and link into the national grid and investigated the best and most cost-effective way to do it.

In 2019, it was determined an overhead line would be best, and tendered the project, which AusNet won.

The state government will have to sign off on an Environmental Effects Statement, which is a comprehensive survey that will take about 12 months, covering how the project will affect environmental, social, cultural, and economic factors.

WHO'S PAYING FOR THIS?

Long story short, we will be.

AusNet will build, own, and operate the new powerlines and terminal station, and will pay for construction through electricity bills.

That means us, electricity consumers, will pay a bit more per month when construction's finished - in an online Q&A in July, an AusNet representative said "(consumers) pay for (the new infrastructure) through their tariffs, their network tariffs that go on their bill on a quarterly basis, all electrical infrastructure is paid that way".

CAN'T THEY JUST BE BUILT UNDERGROUND?

Well, we'd have to pay more.

The independent report commissioned by Moorabool Shire Council concluded building the powerlines underground would be technically feasible but pretty expensive.

AusNet has consistently estimated base costs for building the high voltage lines underground would be about 10 times more expensive - the Moorabool report (available online) states the following:

"If it is not commercially viable to install the entire 75km route underground, certain segments could be installed underground although this would require an aboveground transition station at each end. To install a portion of the route underground is not a simple solution but it is a technically feasible option."

The longest high-voltage underground powerline in the world is 40km long, near Tokyo - this would be a world-first if the project went underground here, but given AusNet was tendered to build overhead lines, it's unlikely to happen.

The independent report also mentions the possibility of building bits of the line underground if it has to go near particularly sensitive areas, but that would mean more disruption on farms - at each end, you'd need to build connection points, which also require more land.

WHAT'S BEING DONE ABOUT THIS?

AusNet's consistently said it is committed to engaging with the community, but has acknowledged it's hard with health restrictions in place and some mistakes have been made.

Moorabool Shire Council has begun its 'Green and Unseen' campaign, aiming to get the powerlines built underground - it's also held information sessions with independent experts and has been lobbying other levels of government with neighbouring councils.

It's also sent letters directly to AusNet, in conjunction with Hepburn and Ballarat, strongly advocating on behalf of the community.

The state government will need to sign off on the EES for the project to go ahead, and that might not be for many months, due to seasonal surveys.

The federal government determined the project will be a controlled action under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, and referred the project to the state government.

State opposition politicians, and federal Senator Sarah Henderson, organised and attended a public Zoom meeting with AusNet in September, seeking more clarification on how the EES will be undertaken.

WHAT ABOUT BUSHFIRES?

The issue of the powerlines sparking fires in vulnerable rural communities has been raised in every online information session The Courier has attended, and the response has been consistent throughout - firefighters will be able to get to fires even if powerlines come down, and there is minimal risk that a powerline could start a fire.

In an email from AusNet representatives in August, the company stated "in its 96 year history the Transmission Network in Victoria has never been the cause of a bushfire" according to the recent Royal Commission - these powerlines are transmission assets, not distribution assets which have caused fires in the past.

HOW OFTEN DO THEY FALL OVER?

Another common concern is the towers collapsing, which AusNet reckons is rare.

Towers in Cressy did fall over in February this year, but this was because of a "freak weather event".

SO WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

The Courier asked AusNet for a detailed timeline for the next six to 12 months, and didn't receive one.

Their response is below.

"The Western Victoria Transmission Network project is a major project that will be ongoing for approximately a five year period. The Project is in the early stages of an EES and over the next 12 months the Project will be preparing the EES involving detailed assessments in response to the Minister for Planning's scoping requirements. We are currently undertaking studies to understand the constraints and opportunities across different areas.

"Over the next 12 months the following activities will be underway, some will be subject to Government guidelines around COVID-19 restrictions.

READ THE FULL RESPONSE FROM AUSNET BELOW

The Western Victoria Transmission Network project is a major project that will be ongoing for approximately a five year period. The Project is in the early stages of an EES and over the next 12 months the Project will be preparing the EES involving detailed assessments in response to the Minister for Planning's scoping requirements. We are currently undertaking studies to understand the constraints and opportunities across different areas.

Over the next 12 months the following activities will be underway, some will be subject to Government guidelines around COVID-19 restrictions.

All feedback from the community will be taken on board by the project and considered to help identify constraints for consideration as we make an informed decision to narrow down the area of interest. Specific concerns communities have raised include fire risk, and impacts to health and the environment as well as land value and visual amenity. There have also been queries about where the transmission lines will go and what the process is to select the final corridor. Community members also asked about the impacts of undergrounding compared to overhead.

We will continue to work with the community to understand and address these concerns. We are still assessing the area of interest to refine it down to the EES process.

Residents will have an opportunity to consult with the project team throughout the life of the project. The EES draft scoping requirements which inform the scope of the studies and assessments will be prepared by DELWP and exhibited for public comment. The EES process will need to consider alternatives for the project including differences in infrastructure types. We encourage community members to get involved in the EES process to have their concerns heard.

The Community Reference Group will be established once we narrow down the area of interest to allow communities and landowners directly involved with the project to form part of the group. The Community Reference group provides a forum to discuss, manage and, if possible, mitigate and minimise any local impacts associated with the Project. We really encourage community members to reach out and be involved with the Community Reference Group.

The online mapping tool will close on 30th October and the Project team are using this data to help narrow down the area of Interest. A report will be prepared to let communities know what we have heard and will be shared publicly via a project update and be available on the website. Community members will also still be able to view the map and its data on the website.

AusNet is continuing to encourage residents to mark an interactive online map of the area of interest with their concerns and feedback to help determine the route.

It's not known when the route will be finalised.

More information about the project, including the interactive map, can be found online.

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