No amount of money will ever compensate Kathy Morris and her husband Peter for what they are about to lose.
The couple's home sits on the fringe of Pokolbin state forest. The 50-acre property's dense native vegetation, much of which they have painstakingly rehabilitated, is a sanctuary for the injured native fauna they care for.
It's also in the firing line of the soon-to-be built 100-kilometre Hunter Transmission Project, which will connect Bayswater and Eraring power stations.
In recent months, Ms Morris has been coming to terms with the news that a 70-metre transmission tower will be built in the middle of her property.
Its looming presence combined with the easement around it will make the property unlivable, Ms Morris said.
It is among about 25 properties that will need to be acquired as part of the revised project corridor route released last month.
The couple have no option but to negotiate with Energy Co under the Just Terms Compensation Act, which governs government property acquisitions in NSW.
"We chose to live here and what we have worked so hard to achieve is going to be destroyed," said Ms Morris, who has lived on the property for the past eight years.
"I have no words, my soul is breaking."
The couple are expecting to receive a letter of intent from EnergyCo in coming weeks that will determine whether the government intends to buy them out or simply offer compensation for what it considers is the loss of value to their property.
"I have an expectation that I will at least get market value. If my place is worth $1.5 million then that's what I expect," Ms Morris said.
An EnergyCo spokesman said its "strong preference" was to complete any acquisition requirements on an agreed basis with landowners.
"Wherever possible, EnergyCo negotiates an easement acquisition which include landowners remaining on their land," he said.
"EnergyCo is working closely with landowners to understand how they use their land, explain the Hunter Transmission Project impacts and explain the acquisition and compensation process.
"The alignment impact is unique to each landowner, and EnergyCo is working closely and as sensitively as possible.
"There are fewer than 25 landowners impacted by the HTP transmission alignment, which is down from 78 landowners first identified in the preliminary corridor in late 2023."
Ms Morris said the Hunter Transmission Project engagement staff had acknowledged the invidious nature of the situation that she and her husband had been put in ... but their empathy only went so far.
"No one ever said 'Kathy this is a shit position but we will take care of you'," she said.
"There was no reassurance that it would be ok."
The bush regeneration work on the couple's property has been held up as an example of best practice by Local Land Services.
Despite that, Ms Morris said it had been inferred that her land was not as valuable as nearby agricultural properties.
"They told me the farms contribute to the economy but we just rehabilitate our land so that it is good for wildlife," she said.
"I've been trying to protect something that is now going to be destroyed.
"They keep on saying they won't deforest but they are going to put in a 25 by 25 metre concrete pad to install the tower on in."
The other question Ms Morris has is will whatever compensation she receives be enough to buy a similar piece of land?
"Find me 50 acres where I am off the road, on a bush block but with amenities and 17 kilometres from town," she said. "The nearest I can find is 40 minutes away and it doesn't have all of those amenities. When my neighbours bought here two years ago they did searches and the project wasn't even on the radar."
