Last week, I had the opportunity to visit Powerlink’s South Pine facilities as part of an industry site visit with the EESS club. It was a fantastic chance to see how Queensland’s electricity network is managed behind the scenes, and just how much goes into keeping the lights on across the state.
One of the first things that stood out was how much of the system is automated. From a central control room, engineers can monitor, manage, and even trigger restart procedures without needing to be on-site. Crews are only called out when something genuinely needs hands-on attention. But there’s a flip side: if a line trips due to a fault, the system may automatically attempt to re-energise it…sometimes more than once. That means a fallen power line can go live again unexpectedly. It was a good reminder of why safety messages around downed lines should be taken so seriously.
Another key takeaway was how much planning goes into system redundancy. South Pine substation is large enough that they could rotate the construction footprint to maintain live capacity while working on upgrades. Not every substation has that luxury, but the whole network is designed with flexibility in mind so parts can be shut off, rerouted, or worked on without bringing the system to its knees. That level of foresight is what allows the grid to stay up during maintenance or faults.
One of the most fascinating parts of the tour was learning about how circuit breakers work. The ones we saw use a gas stored in the base of the chamber. When the breaker arms separate to interrupt current, the sudden movement forces the gas upwards to extinguish any electrical arc that might remain. It’s a brilliant design, but unfortunately, the gas is extremely harmful to the environment. Finding more sustainable alternatives is one of the big technical challenges the industry is grappling with right now.
We wrapped up the day with a tour of Powerlink’s beautiful office at Virginia and a chance to chat with some of the current grads. It was great to hear about their transition from study into industry, and to make some early connections in the field.
Grateful to Powerlink and the EESS for making the visit possible. Experiences like this make what we’re learning in lectures feel real, and they remind me why I’m so excited to be part of this industry.
