DSE- correspondence on undergrounding- Attachment 1

As part of Murraylink Transmission Company’s (MTC) regulatory test assessment, it selected and assessed six alternative projects, four of which were network options. As part of its assessment of the cost of the alternative projects it identified varying needs for undergrounding the transmission lines.

As a result, the ACCC sought the views of the Department of Sustainability and Environment with regard to the extent, if any, to which undergrounding of transmission lines is necessary in the areas for which the proposed alternatives traverse, and the assessment process that the Department of Sustainability and Environment would undertake with regard to the location of electricity transmission lines.

In response the ACCC received a letter from the Department of Sustainability and Environment outlining their view.  A number of responses were also received in response to the Department of Sustainability and Environment letter.