$250 million back up

CitiPower is upgrading the electricity network in the CBD with work on its substation that will ensure the CBD is not without power for more than half an hour if an outage hits.

The substation work in Chinatown’s Waratah Place laneway began in February. 

CitiPower are digging four metres down to replace and connect cables winding throughout the city into the zone substation. 

When the substation is finished it will also feature a lighting display that CitiPower said would be a major draw card for the area. The Waratah Place Zone Substation is the final part of a project that included upgrades to Brunswick, Bouverie, Victoria Market and Carlton.

The substation was first commissioned in 1937. It was decommissioned and demolished in 2014, after which CitiPower built a new substation in the building.

They hosted a visual reality tour in the building in 2017, showcasing some of their state-of-the-art technology in the heritage-listed building.