New Transformer Powering Australia’s Largest Transport Projects

1 December 2020

Ausgrid will power Australia’s largest road and public transport infrastructure projects, with the delivery of a new electricity transformer to Rozelle in the city’s inner west.

Ausgrid Chief Customer Officer Rob Amphlett Lewis said the 56 tonne transformer will provide electricity for the WestConnex motorway, Sydney Metro West and Sydney Trains.

“Not only will this transformer power these major transport projects, but it will also help cater for future residential and commercial growth in Balmain, Rozelle and The Bays precinct,” Mr Amphlett Lewis said.

“I’m delighted Ausgrid is playing a part in keeping Sydney moving, and this is another example of one of the critical jobs we’re doing during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“Getting the transformer through Sydney’s suburbs to Rozelle was an extremely complex operation, with Ausgrid crews having to raise powerlines along parts of the route to ensure there was enough clearance for the transformer to pass safely beneath them.

“The two-and-a-half-hour operation took place at night to minimise disruptions as the transformer was manoeuvred through suburban streets in Drummoyne and over the Iron Cove Bridge.

“The final leg of the journey required precision driving, with the low loader truck reversing several hundred metres down the wrong side of Victoria Road to access the WestConnex Rozelle Interchange Iron Cove Link site, before finally arriving at Ausgrid’s Rozelle substation,” Mr Amphlett Lewis said. 

It’s the third major transformer replacement on the Ausgrid network in the past two months, following successful operations in Double Bay and Turramurra.