Powering community value

Australia’s electricity network operators and peak industry body Energy Networks Australia is working with researchers from the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC to mitigate against the economic impacts of catastrophic bushfires caused by powerlines.

The Quantifying catastrophic bushfire consequence project, led by A/Prof Trent Penman at the University of Melbourne, will identify a standardised method for accurately assessing the potential costs of a bushfire by combining fire simulations with economic and decision analyses.

“This collaboration will help expand the role that the CRC has as a trusted advisor in natural hazards research and contribute to empowering key infrastructure providers to continue to invest in mitigation across Australia,” CRC CEO Dr Richard Thornton said.

The research team, which also includes Dr Veronique Florec and Kate Parkins, will develop and implement the method to quantify the costs of a catastrophic bushfire.

Phoenix Rapidfire will be used to model the fire, which will help the team estimate tangible losses after a bushfire and measure those impacts against the economics of intangible loss.

Six of the 18 electricity network operators across Australia are providing valuable datasets and engineering expertise. The group of six organisations, together with Energy Networks Australia will represent and engage with other networks to ensure a truly national representation.

The project showcases the commitment that electricity networks have in increasing the resilience of the power grid during catastrophic and cascading natural events.

“Electricity network operators take pride in being part of their community and this important research will give them a valuable insight into where infrastructure investment is most needed to protect and promote community value in areas vulnerable to bushfire,” Energy Networks Australia CEO Andrew Dillon said.    

The project is due for completion by September 2019.