Six points on one path

From pole to switchboard: the path power takes in Carlton

This guide follows electricity into a house one point at a time: the pole, the span of line to the house, the meter box, the switchboard, the wiring in the walls and the power point. At each point it sets out, in plain words, what Victorian law and Energy Safe Victoria say, and who may do the work.

A guide published by Dotto from the official sources listed at the foot of each page. General information about Victoria only; Energy Safe Victoria is the state’s electrical safety regulator and the place to check.

A cutaway drawing of an inner-city terrace house front. A copper-coloured line runs from a timber pole at the kerb, across one span to a bracket on the house, down to the meter box, into the switchboard, through the wiring inside the wall and out to a power point. Six numbered markers sit along it: 1 the pole, 2 the span, 3 the meter box, 4 the switchboard, 5 the wiring in the walls, 6 the power point. 1 2 3 4 5 6

The path, cut open: the pole, the span, the meter box, the switchboard, the wiring in the walls and a power point. A drawing of the idea, not of any particular house.

If lives are in dangerEnergy Safe Victoria’s first instruction: “Electricity can kill in an instant. If lives are in danger, call 000.” For a fallen powerline, its steps, including how far to keep away, are on its electrical emergencies page.

The path, point by point

Each point on the drawing is one guide. They follow the electricity in, from the street to the power point.

  1. 1 · The polePrivate poles and lines

    When the poles and wires on a property are the owner’s to maintain, how often the distributor inspects them, and what a defect notice asks for.

  2. 2 · The spanYour service line

    The single span from the pole to the house, the point of supply, and why who owns a line and who maintains it are separate questions.

  3. 3 · The meter boxWho is licensed for what in Victoria

    Registered Electrical Contractors, A Grade electricians, inspectors and restricted workers, and what each licence allows.

  4. 4 · The switchboardGenerators and your switchboard

    Why a generator never goes into a power point or the switchboard without a dedicated inlet, and who may connect one.

  5. 5 · Inside the wallsOlder wiring

    When Energy Safe Victoria says wiring should be checked, the signs CitiPower says to act on, and who does the check.

  6. 6 · The power pointWhat counts as electrical work

    Victoria’s legal definition, the line between fixed and plug-in equipment, and why changing a power point is not a DIY job.

Where the network ends and the house begins

Energy Safe Victoria calls the handover the point of supply: “the changeover point from the electricity distribution network to the electrical installation, where the property owner becomes responsible for the maintenance and repair of the electrical installation including the private electric lines on their property.”

Where that point falls depends on how the line reaches the property, and Victoria’s Electricity Safety Act has the distribution company fix the point itself when it considers the usual definition doesn’t fit. So this guide never says where it sits on your house. Energy Safe’s advice, if you are not sure of the arrangement on your property, is to contact your electricity distribution company; for the city and inner suburbs, the Victorian Government lists CitiPower.

One rule along the whole path

From the span to the power point, the work is for licensed people. Energy Safe Victoria puts the householder’s part in two sentences: “If you are planning to have electrical installation work done, you must engage a registered electrical contractor (REC). They will send a licensed and qualified electrician to do the work to the required standards.”

And it leaves no room for small jobs: “Electrical work isn’t a DIY job, even for small jobs such as changing power points or light switches.”

How the guides are written

Every fact comes from Victorian legislation, the Victorian Government, Energy Safe Victoria, Consumer Affairs Victoria, the CFA or CitiPower’s own pages, and each is named where it is used. Where two official pages describe the same thing differently, such as how often a private line is inspected, both are shown rather than blended into one figure. The sources for each page are listed at its foot.

A registered electrical contractor can look at your own house front, from the point of attachment to the switchboard, and tell you what is there and what it needs.