An easement is a right to access, occupy and use part of the land owned by another person for a particular purpose. For example, the construction and operation of a transmission line.

The project will include approximately 190km of new transmission line infrastructure between Bulgana and Sydenham, a new terminal station to the north of Ballarat and several minor electricity infrastructure upgrades across western Victoria.

Why can’t existing infrastructure be used/upgraded to deliver the required transmission capacity?

AEMO is responsible for operating Australia’s largest gas and electricity markets and power systems.

AusNet Services and its commercial division, Mondo, will build, own, operate and maintain the new infrastructure and minor upgrade works required for the project.

In 2017 the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) commenced a Regulatory Investment Test for Transmission (RIT-T) to identify the most economical way of addressing limitations in the western Victoria transmission network.

The design, route and location of the new infrastructure, including transmission lines, towers and a terminal station, will be determined once community engagement and detailed environmental, heritage and social investigations have been completed.

The Western Victoria Transmission Network Project will see major economic investment in western Victoria, creating new jobs, during and after construction.

The current electricity network in western Victoria is congested and unable to take on all of the proposed renewable energy generated by wind and solar farms. This means renewable energy generators connected to the existing infrastructure, and future renewable generators that could be connected to the network, are not able to operate at full capacity. [...]