General News
5 March, 2023
Power line pop-up talk
AUSTRALIA Energy Market Operator will hold pop-up "consultation" in Boort this Thursday morning. AEMO's new preferred route to build transmission lines connecting Victoria and New South Wales was announced just under two weeks ago and will run...
AUSTRALIA Energy Market Operator will hold pop-up "consultation" in Boort this Thursday morning.
AEMO's new preferred route to build transmission lines connecting Victoria and New South Wales was announced just under two weeks ago and will run through the Loddon Shire.
The list of pop-up consultations is found through trawling the AEMO website dropdowns and Boort is the only Loddon location listed.
The website says: "A series of webinars, briefings and community drop-in sessions prior to submissions closing to raise awareness of, and support understanding of the additional work being undertaken to assess potential connection opportunities between VNI West and WRL. These sessions are designed to consult further with stakeholders, Traditional Owners and communities, giving AVP and Transgrid an opportunity to listen to a broad range of views and gather valuable information before a final decision on the preferred option is made."
AEMO has allowed six weeks for the consultation process.
In response to Loddon Herald questions this afternoon, AEMO said the Boort consultation session has been promoted through a range of channels. An advertisement in the Loddon Herald that included a QR code to the project webpage was cited as was social media, website, direct emails to stakeholders, phone calls.
The AEMO facebook page currently shows the last post as being in August 2022.
AEMO says no pop-up sessions are planned for Wedderburn or Pyramid Hill
"Option 5 is not the confirmed option – stakeholder feedback led to assessing alternative locations for the terminal station. We’re still consulting and will provide a recommendation in the Project Assessment Conclusion Reports in May. If the project proceeds to development, additional consultation (such as an Environment Effect Statement) on the proposed route will be undertaken with the local community," it said in response to Loddon Herald questions today.