Resilience works reenergise Ingham Substation

When the rains come down and the rivers rise, it’s not only roads and homes that suffer inundation and destruction and need vital disaster assistance.

Critical infrastructure like electrical substations built on low-lying areas are particularly vulnerable to inundation as, famously, electricity and floodwaters don’t mix.

In situations like this, the Queensland Reconstruction Authority’s (QRA) response must be swift, agile and effective.

In early 2025, days of torrential rain in swamped the north Queensland town of Ingham, flooding the community and putting the Ingham Substation at risk.

Known locally as T157 Ingham South, the substation sits on low-lying land between two creeks.

When the creeks flooded, the substation went under more than a metre of water. 

Major damage to the marshalling boxes and transformers, which had been turned off ahead of time, left the Ingham community without power for more than a week.

QRA, Ergon Energy, and Hinchinbrook Shire Council worked together to help Ingham rebuild as quickly as possible.

QRA led the way identifying a funding mechanism to both repair the damage and reconstruct T157 Ingham South to ensure the next inevitable flood would not have anywhere near the same calamitous impact on the north Queensland community.

Using efficiencies derived from Queensland’s joint Commonwealth-state funded Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) reconstruction program, QRA swiftly allocated $1.61 million in flood protection enhancements for the substation.

Efficiencies are realised when the actual cost of a reconstruction project is less than the adjusted estimated reconstruction cost for the same project. 

QRA’s effective management of more than $30 billion in works since 2011 means funding can be made available for vital community projects when the need arises.

Ergon used flood data collected by QRA to raise the height of the critical infrastructure above February 2025 flood levels, improving the Ingham Substation’s flood resilience.

Ergon also installed a sophisticated flood monitoring system and upgraded communications to their network control centre to monitor water levels within the substation in real time and ensure the high-voltage site is secure for the community’s safety.

These resilience upgrades do more than just protect poles and wires, the uninterrupted energy supply they now guarantee also protects people's homes, businesses, and jobs. 

Effective disaster management is not a one-size-fits all approach.

What works for flood-prone areas such as Ingham, may be very different from what works for areas at risk of bushfires or cyclones.

Tailoring responses to match community requirements, deploying funding and working with local leaders, allows QRA to ensure priorities stay locally led, regionally coordinated, and state supported.

For the Ingham community, QRA’s placement of flood resilience at the top of regional planning priorities has translated into having a secure electricity supply and one less worry when the next flood comes.