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Power and Water Corporation is the sole provider of electricity, water supply and sewerage services to almost 80,000 customers across the Northern Territory ?¨C an area of more than 1.3 million square kilometres. Power and Water Corporation is the sole provider of electricity, water supply and sewerage services to almost 80,000 customers across the Northern Territory ?¨C an area of more than 1.3 million square kilometres. Power and Water Corporation is the sole provider of electricity, water supply and sewerage services to almost 80,000 customers across the Northern Territory ?¨C an area of more than 1.3 million square kilometres.
Home  >  Newsroom  >  News and community partnerships  >  2009  >  Power Supply Update #4

Power Supply Update #4

28 Jul 2009

Drive past the Power and Water substation on busy Trower Road and you may notice changes taking shape. Excavations are underway and a new demountable style building is under construction.

Significant investment is being made in new equipment and training across Power Networks. Important substation equipment such as voltage transformers – a protection device that helps to detect faults, minimise damage to equipment and risk to customers – are being overhauled, tested and returned to service.

Power Networks is also replacing the type of circuit breaker that was the reason for damage at the Casuarina Substation last year. Work at the Trower Road site is among Power Networks’ highest priorities and it’s clear the changes go well beyond the facade.

Inside the facility, preparations are underway to install a new 11kV main switchboard. Significant excavations have enabled Power Networks teams to relocate existing cables and install new cable pits.

The new main switchboard arrived in Darwin earlier this year but still requires months of extensive testing, according to Christina Camilleri, Project Manager, Casuarina, who is working full time on the project.

Devices known as “protection relays” are being fitted to the 26 panels by Darwin-based contractor ISAS and this involves wiring and cutting out a front 'door' of the panel. Tests are then being carried out by Power Networks’ employees to ensure the wiring is best practice and the circuit breakers operate correctly.

“The zone substation is a key part of the electricity distribution network and each one is designed slightly differently,” Christina says.

“Replacement parts, especially major components such as the main switchboard, are not off the shelf items and, like anything custom-made, it needs to be rigorously tested.”

So Power Networks is building a mobile switch room at Casuarina, expanding the facility across a small area of Power and Water-owned land to ensure a smooth changeover to the new main switchboard once testing is complete.

“We’re pretty close to getting the mobile switchboard up and running,” Christina says.

“This will ensure that any risk of interruptions to power supplies across Darwin’s northern suburbs is dramatically reduced as we bring the new main switchboard on line.”

For more information: Progressing Power and Water


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The Power and Water Corporation is the Northern Territory of Australia's provider of electricity, water and sewerage services.
We are one of the largest businesses in the Territory with assets in excess of $1.2 billion and servicing around 80,000 customers.