TCV has today published a report narrowing the VNI West area of interest to an approximately 2km wide draft corridor between Bulgana and the Murray River north of Kerang.

In the project’s next phase we will work closely with people in and around the draft corridor to find the best location for the final 70-120m easement for this transmission infrastructure.

Draft corridor

The draft corridor for VNI West has narrowed the area of interest from up to 50 km wide to about 2km wide.

It will run from Bulgana to the Murray River, where it will connect to Transgrid’s section of the project in NSW.

This essential transmission project will harness clean, low cost electricity from Victoria and NSW, improving the security and reliability of electricity supply in both states.

VNI West is essential to meet growing demand for electricity and to help bridge the looming supply gap as our aging coal-fired generators retire.

Transmission Company Victoria (TCV) is responsible for developing the Victorian section of VNI West, and since May it has been working to narrow down the broad 5 km - 50 km wide area of interest for the project.

Almost 400 people attended TCV community meetings in July and TCV has regular workshops and meetings with Traditional Owners, local councils and important stakeholders across the project area.

An interactive map featuring the area of interest for VNI West was visited more than 4,000 times between May and August and contributed to shaping the draft corridor.

Hundreds of people posted more than 2,300 comments on the map, identifying important features, including landmarks, cultural sites, agricultural infrastructure and sensitive habitats.

The process to narrow the wide area of interest to a draft corridor incorporated insights and feedback from communities and landholders as well as initial input from Traditional Owners and environmental, technical and engineering studies.

To coincide with the release of the report on the draft corridor, TCV has updated the project’s online interactive map, which now shows where the draft corridor sits within the broader area of interest.

This enables people to input their address details and see where their property is, in relation to the draft corridor.

Not all the properties that are currently in the draft corridor will be in the final route for the transmission lines, which is not yet decided. The final easement will be approximately 70-120m wide.

Important areas of land use such as residential areas are largely avoided and the draft corridor is more than 6km away from major towns, including Charlton, Boort and Kerang.

A summary of the corridor report shows the narrowed corridor along with an outline of how we have used input from our interactions and conversations with people to influence the route refinement process.

Landholder engagement

TCV’s land team has been working since August to contact landholders in the draft corridor.

Our commitment was to contact as many landholders as possible before publishing the corridor.

Where the land team had phone numbers for properties, they have called and provided information packs by mail or in person.

Landholder contact details have not been available for some properties within the corridor. In these circumstances, we have sent a letter and an information pack to the properties to advise that their land falls within the draft corridor and asked those landholders to get in touch.

Our team of landholder liaisons would like to speak with farmers, their families and property owners to build our understanding of the land in the draft corridor so that we can work with them to limit the impact of the transmission line.

If your property is in the draft corridor and you have not had any contact with our land team, TCV would like to help connect you with your landholder liaison.

You can do this by calling our phone number, 1800 824 221 or sending an email to enquiries@transmissionvictoria.com.au.

Talking with your landholder liaison does not mean you’ll have VNI West infrastructure on your property.

We have already had many conversations with landholders and the majority of these have been respectful and constructive.

The release of the narrower draft corridor marks the beginning of a new phase of focused consultation for VNI West with communities, Traditional Owners and landholders.

Our landholder liaisons will be working closely with landholders in this new phase to learn as much as possible about their farms and properties and identify the best location for the 70m–120m easement with the least impact.

A rigorous and consultative regulatory process to assess the potential environmental, cultural and social impacts of the project will take place over the next 12-18 months, with initial environmental field studies commencing soon.

Community consultation is an essential part of this process, and there will be opportunities for stakeholders and community members to make submissions and provide feedback.

Community engagement

To further narrow the corridor to actual route and easement requirements, we are committed to working closely with landholders, Traditional Owners and communities.

In coming months, the landholder liaisons will continue their discussions with landholders to find the best location for the 70m – 120m easement within the draft corridor.

To support this work, we are holding community meetings from Tuesday October 10 to Thursday October 19 in Charlton, St Arnaud, Boort, Stawell and Kerang.

Community Reference Group (CRG)

Message from the independent Chairperson of the CRG, David Hale:

“The Community Reference Group has brought together 12 individuals from across communities that may be impacted by the VNI West corridor.

“This group has not been established to rubber-stamp VNI West.

“These community members are representing the very real and valid concerns of their families, neighbours, friends and wider community networks.

The CRG is intended to be a forum for sincere and open discussion; for community members to have their questions answered and discuss with TCV how it can improve its work on the ground.”

At this stage, the CRG's community members include:

• Barry Batters
• Andrew Borg
• Colin Coates
• Max Fehring
• Rachel Lloyd
• Brad McDonald
• Marcia McIntyre
• Vaughan Toose
• Daryl Warren
• Glenden Watts
• Glenda Watts
• John Wright

If you have something you would like the CRG to raise with TCV, please get in contact through CRGchair@rmcg.com.au

There are still several spots open for CRG members and we encourage interested community members to apply through the link below.

Get in touch

If you have a question you would like to ask, please get in contact through the details below.

Email: enquiries@transmissionvictoria.com.au

Free call: 1800 824 221

Website: transmissionvictoria.com.au

Kerang Office: Shop 15, 47 Victoria Street, Patchell Plaza, Kerang.
Open 12pm to 4:30pm on Tuesdays and 9am to 1pm on Wednesdays.