PIAC responded to the APA’s Regulatory Investment Test for Transmission (RIT-T) Project Specification Consultation Report (the Report), for the Directlink interconnector.
Directlink is comprised of three electrical HVDC transmission lines supplying electricity between the NSW and Queensland National Energy Market (NEM) regions, with a capacity of 180MW.
The Report assessed and consulted on options for maintaining Directlink’s capacity to the end of its technical life, due to obsolescence of existing insulated gate bi-polar transistors (IGBTs) currently used in Directlink.
PIAC highlighted the risk of relying on a monopoly provider for essential components, and advised APA should provide more detail on each option’s long-term risk for consumers, including the likelihood of the rate that further replacement of transistors will be required.
