Victorian electricity distribution business Powercor has applied to the Essential Services Commission (ESC) for a licence that would allow it to plan, design and build transmission infrastructure within its current distribution footprint across western, central and northern parts of the state.
Powercor says introducing competition will deliver lower costs and faster connections for major projects such as solar and wind farms.
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Powercor moves electricity to and from more than 922,000 homes and businesses across the western suburbs of Melbourne and through central and western Victoria to the South Australian and New South Wales borders.
Its network is made up of more than 77,000km of powerlines and more than 602,000 poles and associated infrastructure.
Powercor CEO Tim Rourke said a new transmission provider would provide major businesses and renewable energy proponents more choice when it comes to connecting to Victoria’s electricity grid.
“An additional provider and operator in the market will support more investment, creating the competition needed to significantly drive down transmission connection costs and reduce delivery timelines for people wanting to invest in our state and create jobs in our regional communities,” he said.
“We will be the only provider to offer a full in-house service, from design and planning to construction and maintenance, across both distribution and transmission in western Victoria.
“We are already one of the lowest cost distributors and this will be mirrored within our transmission group.”
If granted the licence, Powercor will deliver transmission infrastructure, including new terminal stations and 220kV powerlines, to connect customer-related projects to the grid.
These projects would include large-scale solar and wind generation, battery storage, data centres and commercial and industrial businesses. It will not be delivering large transmission line corridors.
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Powercor’s distribution network already supports more than 2,625MW of large-scale renewable power and is home to four of Victoria’s six Renewable Energy Zones.
The ESC will be consulting with communities and stakeholders as it reviews Powercor’s application.
