MainPower teams and contractors descended on Hanmer Springs Village over two long and often wet days last week to upgrade and maintain electricity assets in the area.
As part of its long-term plan to upgrade the 33kV line and build a new substation, MainPower worked with the Hanmer Springs community and businesses for more than 15 months to arrange the two-day power outage to the village. Around 50 MainPower employees and contractors worked in the area on Tuesday and Wednesday last week completing multiple jobs to improve the reliability of the network and increase the quality of the power available in the region.
The lines company provided uninterrupted power to many of the businesses in the central business area including the supermarket and library, thanks to the use of five generators stationed around the village. While much of the village experienced outages throughout both days, the work carried out by the company allowed for the replacement of overhead lines and poles in locations that can’t be worked on in live electricity conditions. Essential maintenance and repairs were also completed on substations, kiosks and cables.
The diverse terrain and challenging weather conditions caused only one minor delay on the second day, with power back on 15 minutes later than promised. A broken pump that couldn’t be repaired on site necessitated a long trip for one MainPower team to provide a replacement – despite the sites being 250 metres apart, the delivery trip took around an hour through multiple gates, valleys and peaks, and rough terrain.
When finished, the new line section will be larger, stronger, and more able to withstand storms and interference from wildlife with an expected reduction in unplanned outages impacting the region. The new substation will replace aging assets, maintain reliability and allow further regional growth.
MainPower wishes to thank everyone in the Hanmer Springs area for their understanding and consideration during this important work. These changes allow for future electrification opportunities, such as increased use of electric heating sources, new commercial loads, electric vehicle uptake, and other changes which support decarbonisation.
To improve resilience of the power supply for the Hanmer Springs area, onsite generators are currently being considered alongside the new substation build. Further details of this proposal can be found on the MainPower website.
