Urban development

Urban development projects on the CitiPower network typically relate to medium and high density residential developments or new industrial and commercial developments.

A complex service abolishment is required to remove any supply to a building which is not supplied via an overhead service or a service pit.

They include direct feed underground cables, or disconnecting the customer supply from within a substation on the property.

Typical timeframes to abolish these supplies are 3-4 months

Early removal of the existing supply can allow builders to safely commence demolition without delay, thereby saving both time and money on the project.

Where an existing substation exists on the property, there can be significant work to transfer load to allow its removal.

Once a scope has been determined, it can typically take 8-9 months for the removal of the substation.

Similar to complex service abolishment’s, the early removal of the existing substation can save significant time and money on the project as the builder is not delayed in commencing their demolition works, or incurring additional costs working around the substation.

A Works Protection Notice will be required for demolition of a building around a live CitiPower indoor substation.

The work to provide a temporary supply can be the same as required for a permanent supply project as they have similar requirements for design, Road Management Consent, soil testing and construction works.

Common temporary supply sizes

• 160A. Subject to system capacity can be provided within 2-3 months.
• 300A. A single 240mm² LV cable from a neighbouring substation requires 8-9 months to provide. This can be reduced to 3-4 months if the developer elects to prepare CitiPower construction drawings as part of their early planning.
• 600A. Two 240mm² LV cables from a neighbouring substation requires 8-9 months to provide. This can be reduced to 3-4 months if the developer elects an upfront design.

Whilst the above are standard servicing capacity of a connection, minimising the capacity of the temporary supply can limit upstream works and minimise additional costs. All offers for supplies above 40A 3 phase will need to be checked to confirm there is capacity in the electricity network.

The early scoping and design of the temporary supply solution allows the builder to make accurate predictions on temporary supply and generator costs when tendering, and avoid potential impacts resulting from delays in the temporary supply provision.

The minimum requirement in order that we can provide an estimate for the temporary supply, is the amount of supply and the proposed location on the site.

Relocations of adjacent overhead powerlines can be required to obtain a certificate of occupancy for the new buildings, and enabling safe construction of buildings.

To obtain a Certificate of Occupancy from the council, the customer has the option to modify their building to ensure it remains outside the minimum clearances from the powerline. Find more information on minimum clearances here.

Construction within the No Go Zone surrounding overhead powerlines can result in WorkSafe halting construction on the site. Visit the No Go Zone page for more information. The timeframe to investigate options and remove the powerlines can be up to 12 months. The customer identifying the loading zone, scaffold and crane positions during early planning, will allow CitiPower to assist with scopes and costs for the removal of powerlines to allow the development to be safely constructed.

Where relocation of CitiPower assets impact other assets such as Tramways, Council Lighting, Pay TV, and Telstra, the customer is responsible for arranging and funding the other authorities works.

To minimise costs, the investigation for relocating the powerline to the final building, and the relocations required to enable construction can all be completed in parallel to the investigation of the permanent supply of the final building.

Street lighting maintenance and running costs are funded by Councils and VicRoads. CitiPower is responsible for the operation, maintenance and replacement activities.

Customers requesting new street lighting are required to contact their local council and/or VicRoads. It is important that the required lighting category is specified by the road manager (Council/VicRoads) and the ongoing entity responsible for the street lighting operation and maintenance changes.

Where a customer wants CitiPower to disconnect, remove or modify existing street lighting, they will need to provide written approval from the Council and/or VicRoads for the requested changes.

The preferred method of supply differs dependent on the amount of required supply.

• 160A/phase    Preferred method is a cable to a service pit on the property boundary.
• 300A/phase – A dedicated mains cable to a Connection Facility (pillar) located on the customer’s property. This is subject to enough capacity in the surrounding supply system.
• 700A/phase – A compact indoor substation or kiosk located on the customer’s property.
• Above 700A/phase – Full size indoor substation or kiosk located on the customer’s property.

In all cases, the method of supply needs to be confirmed as there can be constraints on the system which can affect the method of supply.

Total duration for supply available via electrical cable works can be 6-9 months, whilst the design and fitout of a substation on the customer’s property can be 12 months from the customer accepting the supply offer.

Undertaking upfront design can reduce this timeframe, and provide electrical substation requirements for the customer to incorporate into their structural drawings to assist in planning and tendering.

The construction portion of the works can take 12-14 weeks from the provision of a Prescribed Certificate of Electrical Safety and VEDN audit for cable connections, or the successful handover of the substation room. Bringing these items forward in the builder’s construction program can assist in early connection of supply.

Each project requires an application to be submitted to CitiPower via mySupply.

Distribution businesses regularly meet with the Essential Services Commission (ESC) to discuss the timely connections of new homes in Victoria. Minutes of these meetings can be found on the ESC website.