Ombudsman says transmission projects plagued by lack of trust in local communities

A lack of trust is characterising the rollout of transmission infrastructure in New South Wales (NSW), according to the state’s energy and water ombudsman.

The organisation had only been handling transmission issues for a little over six months before forming strong views on how the industry needs to be fixed.

Between December 1 and June 30, the ombudsman received 43 complaints about transmission projects as the state begins to build out the infrastructure needed by renewable energy zones (REZs).

Unsatisfactory community engagement practices was one of the top complaints, as was a lack of response to concerns such as failing to answer questions by a deadline, and not having phone lines set up to handle questions, and low transparency and information on proposed works.

Other complaints were around transmission line placement, worried about dust and traffic and construction disruption. 

“Trust-building is critical to the energy transition, and many people are telling us they have felt ignored during the consultation process,” the ombudsman’s annual report says. 

The ombudsman is limited to transmission issues and doesn’t yet handle complaints on renewable energy or battery storage, but the insights gleaned over slightly more than six months of working in the industry offer a useful insight as to the key pressure points for communities. 

Community consultation, population increase, how companies are going about acquiring land for transmission projects, and the consequences for communities of major infrastructure works are the four hot button issues the ombudsman identified. 

“Infrastructure entities are not reaching all members of the community, and community members do not feel there is genuine engagement, where their local knowledge is valued. Infrastructure developers may therefore not be trusted,” the annual report says.

“Some community members embrace increased populations because of the economic benefits; others are concerned that local venues, hospitals, trades and services will be overwhelmed.

“Landholders are finding the acquisition process for transmission easements stressful; concerns about tax implications and legal costs are significantly affecting some people’s mental health.

“There are concerns about changes to the landscape, reduction in productive farmland, traffic, transport, service interruptions and delays and the lack of coordination to minimise these impacts.”

The solution lies in better government coordination and regulations, the organisation said in a submission to the NSW Parliamentary inquiry on the impact of REZs on rural and regional communities and industries. 

It wants to see legally binding engagement standards that specify consultation timeframes and a requirement for all energy companies to have and promote internal and external dispute resolution processes. 

The submission said the definition of ‘affected landholders’ needs to include directly and indirectly impacted landholders and neighbours, as some developers have started doing but which is still at their discretion. 

And it endorses views long held by councils that consultation and regional planning must be coordinated, and one shared by Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner (AEIC) Tony Mahar that the public exhibition period for major projects should be longer, to give communities more time to educate themselves on how to respond.

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