Increasing the risk of bushfres through cost-cutting measures

New high voltage power lines in the state’s south pose an unacceptable bushfre risk to communities, NSW Farmers has warned.

Despite multiple fndings and reports of power lines causing serious bushfres and disrupting frefghting efforts, the NSW Government is continuing to allow developers to go ahead with more overhead transmission lines in fre-affected parts of the state’s south.

NSW Farmers Energy Transition Working Group chair Reg Kidd said the Government had to explain why it was allowing Transgrid to build more overhead power lines when there was compelling evidence they increased the risk of bushfres.

“Transgrid have identifed ‘a high degree of bushfre risk along parts of the route’ for their HumeLink project,” Mr Kidd said.

“Almost half of the Black Saturday fres were caused by power lines and the inquiry into the Black Summer fres found power lines were a suspected cause of the more damaging fres.

“Communities need to be told if they’re being put at risk so Sydney can have more renewable electricity, and they deserve to know how they will be kept safe when the next fre season arrives.”

According to a Wollongong University study, there was strong evidence the consequences of fres caused by transmission were worse than fres from other causes, and that fres caused by electrical faults were more prevalent and burned larger areas during elevated fre danger conditions. The total economic cost of bushfres was set to almost double in the next 40 years, according to a conservative estimate from Deloitte, to about $1.3 billion per year by 2060. For context, the damage from the Black

Summer fres alone was estimated at $230 billion.

While proponents said overhead powerlines were cheaper than running lines underground, Mr Kidd said, those claims did not stack up when compared to the damage caused by bushfres.

“We have lost hundreds of people to these horrifc bushfres, and the economic cost is in the hundreds of billions,” Mr Kidd said.

“We need to improve the understanding of disaster risks – such as from overhead transmission lines – and then collaborate and coordinate to build resilience and address the long-term costs of natural disasters.

“Underground power lines might cost more now, but we would argue that if they save lives and improve frefghting efforts then that is money well spent.”