The Hunter Transmission project is the 110-kilometre northern section of the Sydney Ring. It involves building a new above-ground 500 kilovolt (kV) transmission line between Bayswater and Eraring in the Hunter region to connect the State’s existing 500 kV transmission lines.
The HTP will close the northern loop between existing transmission lines:
- two 500 kV transmission lines in the east, which connect the power stations on the Central Coast (Eraring and Vales Point) via Eraring to the Kemps Creek substation in Western Sydney, and
- two 500 kV transmission lines in the west, which connect Bayswater Power Station in the Upper Hunter to Mt Piper Power Station near Lithgow, and Bannaby substation in the Southern Tablelands.
The Hunter Transmission Project's preliminary corridor is divided into three sections:
- HTP North – Bayswater to Broke. Most of the northern section of the preliminary corridor runs through the Hunter Valley Operations Mining Complex, industrial land and Department of Defence land.
- HTP Central – Pokolbin to Corrabare. Much of the central section of the preliminary corridor runs through the Pokolbin and Corrabare State forests.
- HTP South – Olney to Eraring. The southern section of the preliminary corridor runs mostly through the Olney State Forest and includes a substation in the forest.
Design and construction of this project will be procured via a competitive, open market tender process.
Key Dates
| Dec 2022 | Project Announcement |
| 2024 | EOIs Open |
| Dec 2024 | Shortlisted Bidders Announced |
| Dec 2028 | Expected Construction Completion |
Funding contributions
|
In December 2022, the Federal Government confirmed that the Hunter Transmission Project would be one of eight projects to receive funding until the combined $7.8 billion Federal and NSW funding package. The package is funded by $4.7 billion from the Commonwealth’s Rewiring the Nation plan and $3.1 billion from the NSW Transmission Acceleration Facility. |
Procurement
| Procuring Agency: | EnergyCo |
| Shortlist: | Transmission line package: an ACCIONA and Genus Joint Venture; Downer Utilities Australia; a Gamuda and Seymour Whyte Joint Venture; and a UGL Engineering and CPB Contractors Joint Venture. Substation package: an ACCIONA and Genus Joint Venture; Consolidated Power Projects Australia; and UGL Engineering. |
| Procurement note: | EnergyCo has shortlisted contractors to participate in the tender processes for two work packages, the transmission line package, and the substations/switching stations package. |
PROJECT HISTORY
| Jun 2022 | AEMO's 2022 Integrated Systems Plan lists the project as 'actionable' and estimates the costs of the project at $0.9 billion ±50%. |
| Jul 2022 | The NSW Minister for Planning declared the project as Critical State Significant Infrastructure via the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Hunter Transmission Project) Order 2022. |
| Dec 2022 | The Federal and NSW Governments announced a $7.8 billion deal to support eight critical transmission and REZ projects, including Sydney Ring - Hunter Transmission Project. |
| Jun 2023 | Transgrid released its System Security Roadmap confirming that the expected delivery date for the project is 2028. Transgrid also confirmed the project was declared Critical State Significant Infrastructure (CSSI) and will progress as a Priority Transmission Infrastructure Project (PTIP) under the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act 2020 (NSW). The Southern Sydney Ring network option may subsequently proceed, through the NSW, ISP or RIT‑T framework. |
| Aug 2023 | Transgrid released its Transmission Annual Planning Report 2023, indicating the length of the project is 110 kilometres. |
| Nov 2023 | The project's overview document is released, updating the expected length of the project to 115 km. |
| Dec 2023 | AEMO's draft 2024 ISP lists the project as 'actionable'. An updated construction completion timeline identifies the Hunter Transmission Project is expected to be completed by December 2027. |
| Feb 2024 | The NSW Government issued a Request for Tender (RFT) for project control services for the Hunter Transmission Project, closing on 18 March 2024. The services would include scheduling, cost advisory, and project controls management and integration. |
| May 2024 | EnergyCo released a revised corridor for the HTP following public consultation. The revised corridor reduced the number of private landholders affected by the project from 78 to 25. |
| Jun 2024 | EnergyCo commenced a pre-registration process for the design and construction of the project, closing on 7 June. |
| Jun 2024 | The 2024 Integrated System Plan provided an updated cost and timeline for the project. The project expected to be completed by December 2028, one year later than the draft 2024 ISP, and the total estimated cost increasing to $1.1 billion (+/- 50 per cent) from $926 million in the draft ISP. |
| Aug 2024 | The NSW Government issued the Planning Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements for the project. |
| Dec 2024 | EnergyCo announced the shortlist for a transmission line package and a substation package of works for the design and construction of the project. |
Estimated Total Cost
(2024)
Sector
Energy
Procurement approach
Other |
Location
New South Wales |
Resources
Government resources
2024/05/09 Preferred routeEnvironmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Hunter Transmission Project) Order 2022
2024 Integrated Systems Plan
SEARs Issued
