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Powerlink has published a Project Assessment Conclusions Report (PACR) to address the primary plant and secondary system condition risks at Ingham South Substation.
Ingham South Substation was established in 2005 to replace the original Ingham substation equipment and provide an injection point into the Ergon Energy (part of the Energy Queensland Group) distribution network. Planning studies have confirmed there is an enduring need for Ingham South Substation to maintain the supply of electricity to the Ingham area and meet regulatory requirements of reliable supply.
The primary plant and secondary systems at Ingham South Substation have been identified as being in poor condition or at the end of their technical service lives, with identified obsolescence issues. The condition of the substation’s primary plant – the equipment through which the electrical power passes – has significantly deteriorated, with a high number of associated defects and obsolescence issues, increasing the risk to supply in the Ingham area. Manufacturer support for the type of primary plant used at the site has ceased and there are now limited spares available. This poses a significant risk to Powerlink’s ability to undertake emergency replacement works as there is no direct like-for-like replacement option.
Secondary systems are the control, protection and communications equipment that are necessary to operate the transmission network and prevent damage to primary plant when adverse events occur. Much of the secondary systems equipment at Ingham South Substation is nearing the end of technical service life and has become or will soon become obsolete, where manufacturer support is no longer available and spares are limited or not available. The National Electricity Rules (NER) require Powerlink to provide sufficient secondary systems, including redundancies, to ensure the transmission system is adequately protected.
In June 2025 Powerlink published a Project Specification Consultation Report (PSCR) identifying the proposed preferred option to address the risks and claiming exemption from producing a Project Assessment Draft Report as allowed for under clause 5.16.4(z1) of the National Electricity Rules.
There were no submissions received in response to the PSCR, which closed in September 2025. As a result, no additional credible options that could deliver a material market benefit have been identified and the outcomes of the economic analysis contained in the PACR remain unchanged from those published in the PSCR.
The PACR recommends implementation of Option 1, replacement of hybrid switchgear modules in-situ with air insulated switchgear and replacement of secondary systems in a new control building on the existing substation platform by 2028, as the preferred solution to address risks at Ingham South substation. The indicative capital cost of the RIT-T project is $25.60 million in 2024/25 prices.
Under this option, design work will commence in early 2026, with installation and commissioning of the new primary plant and secondary systems completed by February 2028.
In the context of engagement activities with customers and the general community, Powerlink has assessed this RIT-T project as ‘minor’ on the RIT-T stakeholder engagement matrix.
A copy of the PACR is available below.