The proposal will also reduce firefighter opportunities to fight any blaze effectively.
High voltage powerlines effectively stop the management of bushfires in the vicinity because the space over and under powerlines are no-go zones for firefighters.
Many dams used to refill the aerial firefighting fleet in southern NSW are not accessible. Nowadays, these are some of the commonly used methods of fire control.
THE COMMUNITY TALKS ...
BUSHFIRE: THREAT TO LIVES AND PROPERTY
These towers impede firefighting efforts on the ground and in the air and significantly increase the risk of starting bushfires. The current Transgrid proposal impacts many bushfire-prone communities, some still recovering from the Black Summer Bushfires in 2020.
THESE TOWERS START BUSHFIRES
Faults in electrical distribution networks are one of the primary sources of major bushfires. Power line-related faults cause 2-4% of all rural fires in Australia.
A STORY WHICH KEEPS ON REPEATING
In neighbouring Victoria, the threat of electricity assets and towers to bushfire-prone communities and wildlife is well recognised. The 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission highlights that the “State has a history of electricity assets causing bushfires.
In 1969 and 1977, the failure of electricity assets—including the clashing of conductors, contacting trees, and inefficient fuses—caused significant bushfires. This history was repeated on 7 February 2009, when failed electricity assets caused five of the 11 major fires that began that day; among the fires was that at Kilmore East, as a result of which 119 people died.”
Similarly, in California in the United States, its largest electricity provider has commenced undergrounding its electricity assets days after a preliminary report by the state regulators said that its equipment was responsible for several fires that destroyed the town of Paradise and killed 85 people in 2018.
While this level of scrutiny and diligence has not yet been applied in NSW, many examples of bushfires are caused by electricity assets, including in the Blue Mountains.
The tangible and intangible costs of the Victoria Black Saturday bush fires at $7.6 billion*. By extrapolation, the cost of the 2019-20 Australian bush fire season, ‘Black Summer’, has been estimated at $230 billion
* Deloitte Access Economics
The increased bushfire likelihood
Increasing the likelihood of these catastrophic costs needs to be factored into the prices of overhead transmission lines when comparing options. Conversely, decreasing the possibility of these catastrophic costs needs to be factored into the benefits of undergrounding transmission lines when comparing options.
This is why we need to Stop! Rethink
HumeLink now!
And why we as a community are increasing pressure to ensure power transmission lines are placed underground with a highly organised new structure that follows world best-practice.
STOP HUMELINK TOWERS; UNDERGROUND NOT OVERHEAD
#stoprethinkhumelink
It impacts approximately 2500 hectares of land - an area the size of Wollongong - including clear-felling areas of native forests and national parks, with severe impacts on habitat for more than 80 threatened or endangered species, greenhouse gases and global warming.
ADD YOUR VOICE
We must tell the NSW and Federal Government to stop and rethink HumeLink now!
DONATE
STOP! Rethink HumeLink Now! Is a grassroots community-based campaign, developed by HumeLink Alliance and HumeLink Action Group and self-funded by the public. Transgrid is a foreign-owned, multi-billion dollar company. We need your support to have our voices heard.
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PETITION
Add your signature to demand that HumeLink places these powerlines underground.