THE CHALLENGE | The Hume Hydro Power Station was commissioned in 1957 with 2 hydro generators that have subsequently been upgraded to 29MW each. The power station exports power to both VIC and NSW on water releases determined by the Murray Darling Basin Authority.
The Hume Hydro 66kV Substation Rebuild project requires two separate bays of the 66kV Substation to be demolished and replaced with 2 bays that will be built on metal frame
skids. These will be manufactured at Lonsdale and trucked to Albury for installation. Meticulous design and engineering is required to ensure the new replacement equipment interfaces to the existing power station.
The greatest challenge of this brownfield project is due to the age of the power station. There have been numerous owners of this asset, who have implemented different projects and upgrades over the years. This has resulted in many challenges due to outdated records and documentation, inconsistent designs, non-uniformity, etc. There are numerous instances of these challenges which need to be individually addressed and overcome.