Energy Infrastructure

The GSDC chairs the South East Shires Regional Power Group (SESRPG) and develops options for the subregion’s longstanding power supply issues. A focus for the stakeholder group is the possibility of the power supply being improved as a result of the Southdown mining project proceeding but the group also works on some scenarios under which the network upgrade could proceed without a major catalyst like the Southdown mine. Such a development was seen as unlikely because of the difficulty of a making a business case for such an investment under the current policy.

The GSDC is also represented on the South Coast Power Working Group. This group, which was convened by Western Power, will continue to work with stakeholders in the Denmark and Walpole districts on demand side management and embedded generation approaches. These are emerging as the best medium term options for extending the capacity of the local power supply network.