History of electricity supply in Queensland

The provision of electricity in Queensland (Australia's second largest state in terms of physical area) required a considerable degree of pioneering, innovation, and commitment.

Queensland is the most decentralised mainland state, and initial local generation and distribution was the only viable option for the supply of electricity in many instances.

Within a decade of the statewide network being completed, the establishment of the NEM provided new commercial opportunities for generators and improved reliability of supply.

In 1882, a demonstration of what electricity could do was conducted with eight arc lights along Queen Street in Brisbane, the capital and largest city in Queensland.

White and in 1888 built a power house in Edison Lane behind the General Post Office with a generating capacity of 30 kW.

Local power stations began operating in Dalby and Longreach in 1921, Townsville in 1922 using coal from Collinsville supplied by the newly opened railway line, and Home Hill in the same year for Queensland's first significant irrigation program.

No longer able to expand its customer base in Brisbane, CEL commenced a program of rural electrification, which by 1933 was supplying the Lockyer Valley, by 1935 had connected to Cleveland, Tingalpa, Beenleigh, Coomera, Tamborine and Waterford and towns within Pine Shire such as Strathpine and Petrie, and by 1936 extended to Mt Cotton, Bethania, Pimpama, Ormeau, Kingston, Dayboro, Samford and Redcliffe.

Stand alone power stations continued to be built, opening in Nambour and Winton in 1927, Murgon in 1929, Clermont in 1930 and Killarney in 1931, the year that Oakey was supplied from Toowoomba.

Erwood was reported to have said: "In wartime anything is possible, but this came as a complete surprise to me[11] On 17 January 1938, the SECQ was established, and quickly began to strengthen CEL by actively ensuring that all the other electricity undertakings in South East Queensland were absorbed into the one entity.

By 1940, CEL had acquired the generating and distribution assets at Ipswich, Southport, Nambour, Coolangatta, Gympie, Redcliffe, Boonah, Beaudesert and Highfields, and the Tweed Shire in northern New South Wales.

The SECQ commissioned construction of transmission lines to Kilcoy, from Townsville to Stuart, Dalby to Jandowae and Cairns to Mossman in 1938, and encouraged the Maroochy Shire Council to connect Maroochydore to the CEL north coast 33 kV line then under construction to Nambour via Caboolture, Woodford, Maleny and Mapleton.

Despite the materials shortages experienced during WW2, the length of transmission lines constructed in Queensland by 1945 had increased 88% to 771 km, supplying nearly 48,000 customers.

The interconnection of the Darling Downs area from Toowoomba also commenced in 1946, with Stanthorpe and Killarney connected that year, Pittsworth and Millmerran the following year, Acland in 1948 and Goombungee in 1949, the supply to the Darling Downs area being boosted with the construction of the first 110 kV line from the CEL network to Postmans Ridge (near Toowoomba) in 1950.

At Mt Isa, the first stage of the Mica Creek Power Station was commissioned in 1960, coal being transported there as a 'back load' in wagons used to haul metal ingots from the smelter to Townsville that would otherwise be empty on the return journey.

Powerhouses opened in Charleville, Augathella, Quilpie, Aramac and Muttaburra in 1952 under this scheme, as did Jericho's in 1953 and those in Morven, Tambo, Bollon, Yuleba, Baralaba, Capella, Kilkivan and Texas in 1954.

1975 also saw Queensland's first 275 kV transmission line opened from the Callide station to Brisbane, the same year power was connected to one of the last settlements without an electricity supply, Karara and its 33 customers.

Network transmission lines reached Barcaldine and Longreach in 1985, Roma (from Tarong power station) in 1986, St George, Charleville and Quilpie in 1987, and Cunnamulla in 1988.

As if to complete the circle of history, a 22 kV transmission line was also commissioned to Thargomindah in 1988, ensuring that settlement continues to be able to claim the record of being the longest provider of a supply of electricity for public purposes in Queensland anywhere outside Brisbane.

In far western Thargomindah, late in the 19th century, the civic fathers set up the first natural gas powered generating station in the world.

[24] Later, in Dalby, on the Darling Downs a much larger suction gas engine was installed in a power house by Myall Creek to supply the town.

In the major metropolitan areas of Brisbane, Gold Coast and Toowoomba, private companies provided supply and this continued into the 1950s.

These basically covered the high population areas of the east coast, leaving supply in the west in the hands of the various local councils.

Because of the de-centralisation of government departments in Queensland, the headquarters for the SWQEB was established at Dalby, with that region's power house, operating systems, and customer billing taken over immediately.

The electricity facilities of the seven surrounding council areas were gradually absorbed, but meter reading and customer billing in each of these continued for some time as local operations.

Customer billing for the area covered by the SWQEB that was formerly within the SEAQ was administered on a bureau basis by SEQEB, which was based in Brisbane.

Although Thornley departed to become administrator of the sacked Melbourne City Council before a solution was found, he established teams to work on individual aspects of the issue, which were making progress.

A new board was appointed, and after some staff reorganisation, was able to pull the teams' work together and produce accounts which passed the Auditor General's scrutiny for the first time in several years.

Approximately 75% of the growth in generating capacity in Australia since the creation of the NEM has been in Queensland, from both traditional and recently developed energy sources.

New coal fired base load stations have opened at Callide C (2001), Millmerran (2002), Tarong (2003) and Kogan Creek (2007), the latter being the largest single generator in Australia.

Gas fired base load stations have opened at Oakey (2000), Swanbank (2002), Yabulu (near Townsville, 2004), Braemar (2006), Darling Downs and Condamine (both 2010) and Diamantina (2014).