Electrical Trades Union flags major safety breaches at Project EnergyConnect

A major energy project is under investigation after workers flagged safety failures, including unhygienic worksites that lack toilets, soap and sanitiser.

A major $2.3bn energy project is under investigation for a sweep of alleged workplace health and safety failures.

Workers on Project EnergyConnect, a new transmission line connecting power grids in South Australia and NSW, claim they are going without toilets, using unsafe harnesses and are at risk of being hit by falling objects.

Photographs from worksites on the NSW side of the build show sites without “exclusion zones”, designed to protect workers from falling material, a high voltage transmission line tower that is open and easily accessible to the public and safety harnesses without any tags or labels showing inspection dates.

Electrical Trades Union delegates claim some of the worksites don’t have any toilets and where there are toilets, there is not enough toilet paper to go around and the facilities lack soap and sanitiser.

The Project EnergyConnect route map. Picture: Supplied

“Apart from being provided some high-vis clothing and a vehicle, workers have largely been left to fend for themselves on the lines,” ETU national secretary Michael Wright said.

“Workers have been dodging falling objects and wearing fraying and non-compliant harnesses.

“When something goes wrong, they’ve waited an eternity for help.

“Our members have been denied basic rights, crammed in crib sheds and are lucky to score a toilet on site.”

Some of the harnesses used on Project EnergyConnect do not appear to have proper tags. Picture: Supplied

The line runs from Robertstown in South Australia to Wagga Wagga in NSW, with ElectraNet building out the South Australian leg of the project and Transgrid building the NSW portion with contractor Elecnor.

The union’s allegations concern worksites within NSW.

A Transgrid spokeswoman refused to respond to any of the allegations directed against the project’s alleged safety failures.

“Transgrid strives for best practice in all aspects of safety and, as such, we drive continual improvement regarding safety standards,” the spokeswoman said.

“They are above and beyond the required compliance levels.”

Elecnor was contacted for comment but did not respond by the time this article was published.

A photo appears to show easy public access to a Project EnergyConnect transmission tower build. Picture: Supplied

NCA NewsWire reported on the alleged breaches on Wednesday and can confirm the project is now being investigated by SafeWork NSW, the state’s workplace health and safety regulator.

NSW Work Health and Safety Minister Sophie Cotsis said she would not comment on the project’s alleged failures while the SafeWork investigation was under way but added “every worker has the right to accessible and clean amenities as part of their employers obligation to provide safe and healthy workplaces”.

Transgrid has been contacted for a response to the SafeWork investigation.

The apparent safety breakdown comes as the federal government moves to underwrite 32GW of new renewable energy generation to hit an ambitious 82 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030.

ETU safety inspectors allege multiple serious safety breaches on Project EnergyConnect worksites. Picture: Supplied

EnergyConnect is expected to feed more renewable energy into the National Energy Market and the Australian Energy Market Operator has deemed the interconnector a “required project” to fortify Australia’s eastern energy market.

Mr Wright said EnergyConnect’s “horror” record on worker safety could put Australia’s net zero ambitions at risk.

“Safety has been back of mind, wages have been suppressed and corners have been cut,” he said.

“Exploitation and unsafe working conditions are making it that much harder to attract the workforce we need to transition the nation to net zero.

“This cannot be what the energy transition looks like.”