A National Electricity Market has been operating in south and eastern Australia since 1999. In anticipation of this market commencing, Queensland and New South Wales (NSW) agreed to construct a substantial electricity interconnection between the two states. Commercial service started in 2001. As the NSW transmission system was already connected to the state systems in Victoria and South Australia (SA), this project has completed the interconnection of the four states on Australia´s south and eastern seaboard. It has established one of the world´s longest alternating current systems, stretching over 4500 km from Cairns in far north Queensland to Port Augusta in South Australia.
The peak demand in NSW, Victoria and SA together is about 20.000 MW. In Queensland, it is about 6.000 MW. The new interconnector has a planned transfer capacity of up to 1.000 MW into NSW and 500 MW into Queensland.
Braemar
| Main data | |
|---|---|
| Commissioning year | 2001 |
| Controlled voltage | 275 kV |
| SVC rating | 80 Mvar inductive to 150 Mvar capacitive (1 h) / 100 Mvar capacitive (continuously) |
| Control system | Three-phase symmetrical voltage control including power oscillation damping. |
| Thyristor valves | Water cooled, indirect light firing. |
Blackwall
| Main data | |
|---|---|
| Commissioning year | 2001 |
| Controlled voltage | 275 kV |
| SVC rating | 50 Mvar inductive to 250 Mvar capacitive (1 h) / 150 Mvar (continuously). |
| Control system | Three-phase symmetrical voltage control including power oscillation damping |
| Thyristor valves | Water cooled, indirect light firing. |
