With Transgrid completing EnergyConnect’s final steel tower in January, the energisation timeline for the 900km-long transmission project is becoming clearer.
Firstly, Transgrid will need to complete its EnergyConnect project work, with the Dinawan substation – the final piece to the project puzzle – set for completion in early to mid-2026.
It will then look to scale EnergyConnect’s integration after 150MW transfer capacity between South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria was energised in early 2025. At the heart of this was the Buronga substation, one of the largest and most complex substations in the Southern Hemisphere.
Transgrid is liaising with the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) on how to fully integrate EnergyConnect.
“Once the physical assets are complete and ready for energisation, AEMO will then determine the steps to integrate the project into the network ensuring the earliest benefit to consumers,” Transgrid executive general manager – major projects Gordon Taylor told Energy.
EnergyConnect has an additional 650MW of transfer capacity up its sleeve, which will drive energy deployment and address inadequate interstate interconnections.
For this to be brought online, Transgrid needs to complete its commissioning processes.
“Following construction, commissioning and internetwork testing of all network elements from Robertstown, South Australia through to Wagga Wagga, NSW, the full 800MW capacity is expected to be available to the National Electricity Market by late 2027,” Taylor said.
AEMO’s Draft Integrated System Plan (ISP), released in early December, called for 6000km of additional transmission lines to meet 2050 targets.
Mentioned on numerous occasions in the Draft ISP, AEMO sees EnergyConnect as a central asset moving forward, with the potential to unlock up to 1800MW of additional renewable generation in NSW before the closure of coal-fired generators.
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