Line down, pole leaning, or a cable dug up?
Treat it as live. Keep yourself and others at least 10 metres away, call 111, then call your lines company. Aurora Energy gives the same advice for a damaged underground cable as for a fallen overhead line. Anyone in a vehicle that a line has landed on should stay put until it's made safe, as Orion advises.
Why people put their supply underground
Trees, storms and looks are the usual reasons. An overhead service line through trees is a regular casualty in high winds, and keeping branches off your own line is your job on most networks, not the lines company's. An underground cable takes that worry away and tidies the view.
It's also common during a renovation, a subdivision or a new garage, or alongside a supply upgrade for an EV charger or heat pump, since the trench and new cable can be sized for what's coming.
How a conversion works
Lines companies treat it as a change to your connection. Orion's connection process covers converting an overhead supply to underground, Powerco lists moving service mains underground among its connection changes, MainPower has an amend power supply form for it, and Westpower handles overhead to underground conversions through your electrical contractor's works request.
Your electrician applies, or helps you apply, then lays the new cable in a trench from the point of supply to your meter board and arranges the inspection. The lines company or its approved contractor makes the final connection. If a pole on your land won't be needed any more, ask who removes it and when.
Because it's mains work, it's high-risk. Expect a Certificate of Compliance, a Record of Inspection from a licensed electrical inspector, and an Electrical Safety Certificate at the end.
Private power poles
If a pole on your land carries only your supply, it's very likely yours. Aurora Energy says property owners are responsible for the low-voltage lines and poles on their land and recommends an inspection every five years. PowerNet describes your side the same way, poles, cables and fuses included, up to the isolating fuse on the boundary or the nearest pole.
Leaning, cracking, rot at ground level, a loose cross-arm or a line that sags lower each year are signs a pole needs attention. Don't try to prop or repair it. An electrician who works on mains can assess it, and some lines companies want their approved contractor for service line work.
Digging near cables and lines
Before any digging, find out where underground cables run on your property, your own included. Near the lines company's equipment, check its rules: MainPower says nobody should dig within 5 metres of one of its poles without a close approach consent, and mobile plant must stay at least 4 metres from overhead lines.
If you hit a cable, stop, get everyone clear and treat it as live. Call 111 if anyone's hurt or there's any danger, then the lines company.
Yours to do, and the electrician's
You can
- Keep trees on your land clear of your service line, using an arborist qualified to work near lines.
- Book a safety disconnection through your lines company or retailer when trees near the line need cutting.
- Look over any private pole from the ground once a year for lean, rot or cracks.
- Mark where underground cables run on your property plan.
Leave to a licensed electrician
- Laying and terminating the new service cable.
- Applying to the lines company for the conversion.
- Arranging the licensed electrical inspector.
- Assessing or replacing a private pole, or the line it carries.
What a good quote should cover
- Where the trench runs, and how the cable is protected in the ground.
- Who digs, and who puts the lawn, path or driveway back.
- Who applies to the lines company, and how long it's taking right now.
- Who removes the old overhead line, and any pole that's no longer needed.
- The certificates: a CoC, an ESC and a Record of Inspection.
What we'd weigh up
If our service line ran through trees or hung off a tired private pole, we'd get undergrounding quoted before the next storm season rather than keep patching it. We'd also combine it with any supply upgrade we had in mind, so the trench only gets dug once.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.