Transmission Lines
Very soon Australia’s most pristine and productive country will be covered in a ‘spiderweb’ network of high voltage transmission lines.
In order to connect the proposed Dungowan Pumped Hydro Energy Storage (PHES) power plant to the grid, French multinational EDF plans to build kilometres of huge 330kV high voltage transmission lines through private property, koala habitat and remnant forests. EDF's power lines are separate from the 500kV lines that EnergyCo wants to force on communities like Dungowan and Woolomin.
EDF is a private company and cannot take your land or force an easement on you.
You can say NO to EDF's transmission lines running over your property.
Many landholders already have.
EDF is finding it hard to find enough landholders willing to agree to these monstrosities on their land. They are collecting data about every single property in a vast area from Ogunbil to Nundle in the south and to Moonbi in the north. This includes communities such as Duncans Creek, Limbri, Mulla Creek and beyond.
EDF is trying to find a path to the New England highway, and labelling each property 'red', 'amber' or 'green' to denote the likelihood of owners wanting to host towers.
In a community consultation meeting in March 2025, EDF conceded that if they cannot connect their pumped hydro to the grid, then the project is dead. So, encourage all your neighbours to tell EDF that they don’t want transmission lines on their property.
Make no mistake, if EDF build high voltage transmission lines (HVTL) on your property, you could lose control of your easement land. There have been documented incidents of police turning up on a farmer’s doorstep to investigate trespass of an easement (on their own land!) after a proponent’s complaint. And padlock changes to lock the landowner out of their own land, biosecurity breaches, escaped livestock due to contractors failing to close gates, dead livestock due to inappropriate fencing installed by HVTL contractors…the list goes on and on.
Apart from being an eyesore, HVTL towers and wires present a bushfire risk and a firefighting risk. The lines have been known to arc when there is ash from a bushfire in the air, making them dangerous for RFS crews. The lines also make a loud audible hum. Go stand next to one and listen.
The greater Tamworth region, and our area in particular, is a popular tourist destination for those who want to relax and experience authentic rural life. The visual beauty of our unique pristine landscape provides country lifestyle ‘Instagram’ moments wherever you look—which as we know, is a magnet to travellers. Visitors contribute more than $50 million to the local economy. With a vandalised landscape, its likely a lot of tourism dollars will be lost.