THE announcement Essential Energy is to upgrade the Orange network to improve the power supply to the city’s central business district is welcome news - particularly to the business owners who have been affected by outages in the last couple of years.
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There is no doubt Orange’s growth over the last few years, particularly in north Orange and now to the south where in recent years the new hospital has been built, has put an extra strain on the network.
Business owners in Orange who have experienced several blackouts over the last couple of years have not been happy with the experience of having to close their doors until power has been restored. This includes eateries facing the prospect of having to discard food from fridges and freezers.
Much has changed in terms of electricity consumption in Orange over the last few years with a growing number of houses relying solely on reverse cycle heating and cooling, and a large number of new houses attached to the grid while we have enjoyed strong building growth.
This is a huge challenge for any energy provider.
However, with the recent approval of the redevelopment of south-west Orange the network will require even more capacity.
Added to this is the opening expected in the next few months of an expansive new nursing home opposite the hospital.
Also in the pipeline is a new development nearby before the Regional Planning Authority that will involve a motel, private hospital, medical precinct, retail and accommodation development - all requiring power to function.
Running alongside the debate about energy prices and supply is the discussion on renewable energy, however we still have a long way to go in converting households to renewable energy.
In the meantime we look forward to the system being shored up with this latest work.