Power lines to go underground

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David321

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#243010 23-Nov-2018 13:08

Hi all,

Recently had a sparky at my place to quote on something, while there he also pointed out the the power line going into my house is in really bad shape (it has been for a while) and that it might be worth getting repaired one day. I know he was not after extra business as he is a friend of mine. He also mentioned that there is a chance they may end up underground at some stage anyway and if this happened they would be repaired for free anyway.

I was wondering if anyone knows if power lines above ground in residential areas are going to be put underground? I have herd this before but could not find any information on the Orion website, my street looks terrible with a huge amount of power lines (seems to have more than most streets) and it would be great if they all ended up underground.

_David_

DarthKermit

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#2132683 23-Nov-2018 13:13

What city/suburb are you in?

David321

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#2132723 23-Nov-2018 14:27

Hornby

_David_

tripper1000

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#2132800 23-Nov-2018 16:41

Overhead power line at my grandmothers place failed. The lines company replaced it at their cost.

David321

507 posts

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#2132802 23-Nov-2018 16:43

Failed as in stopped working? Mine still works but the insulation at the end is very deteriorated, I don't think they would do anything about that. More curious as to when and if it will end up underground.

_David_

DarthKermit

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#2132804 23-Nov-2018 16:45

I can't find any info stating Orion has any plans to underground their urban electricity network.

GigaFibre5

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#2132820 23-Nov-2018 18:00

hey there, i found a lot pdf pages on orion power assests, thats from April 2016 - May 2026

it maybe of interest to you

i am not sure if i can post a link

but it is in the oriongroup asset area

cheers

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Goosey

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#2132876 23-Nov-2018 18:22

Take a picture of the deteriorated line and log it with Orion.

See what they say. (afterall it is their line).

Undergrounding of services will take decades...

DarthKermit

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#2132878 23-Nov-2018 18:25

I live in Palmy North, much smaller population and size than Chch. Most of our city has now got underground power and telephone lines. Most of the city now has UFB, all of which was installed underground.

I think it took around 20 years to underground most of the power network here.

tripper1000

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#2132882 23-Nov-2018 18:44

David321: Failed as in stopped working? Mine still works but the insulation at the end is very deteriorated, I don't think they would do anything about that. More curious as to when and if it will end up underground.

The metal brackets on the house holding one of the ceramic insulators rusted away and the line lost its proper mechanical support. It was only being held up by the electrical terminal block, and was a little saggy due to now having a extra 1/2 meter of length in it. One more storm and the line would have probably pulled out of the terminal which would have lead to a live line on the ground and no power in the house. You could say it was one of those jobs that was cheaper, safer and therefore smarter to fix before complete failure.

What I was saying was that if it fails, it would likely be fixed at no cost to yourself.

I know what you mean about the unsightly insulation dangling off of the lines. The line is probably still mechanically strong, so like you say, I'm not sure if that will be enough for them to replace it. It is free to ask, so there is no harm in asking them.