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Getting reconnected after severe weather: the paper trail
When a storm or flood damages a home’s electrics, the network may disconnect it for safety and leave a written report or card, and in the states quoted here, power comes back once a licensed electrician has checked the installation and the network has the paperwork it asks for. What that paper is called, who signs it and who arranges the reconnection differs from network to network, so this guide follows the paper.
General information from electricity networks’ and regulators’ own pages, each labelled with its network and state. The notice your network leaves, and its reconnection page, are the places to check for your home.
Why a network may switch a home off
Essential Energy, in New South Wales, explains the risk. Flood water can damage a home’s electrical installation and wiring, and even after it drains, mud and debris can conduct electricity. It can also corrode electrical connections and greatly raise the risk of a connection failing or causing a fire. So an installation that has been under flood water needs careful inspection and repair before supply is restored, and Essential Energy may have disconnected a home that shows signs of having been inundated.
SA Power Networks lists where the damage can hide: the circuits for gates, pumps, hot water services, split air conditioners, power circuits and outbuildings, through failed cable insulation, failed or degraded connections, corrosion or mud deposits.
Before anyone touches the switchboard
Queensland’s Electrical Safety Office says that where a storm or flood has damaged a property or its connecting line, the switchboard, wiring, equipment and appliances may need verification tests before reconnection, done by a licensed electrician, and that a certificate of test lets the local distribution entity reconnect the service.
The networks say the same thing from their side. Essential Energy asks you to call it before turning the power on if flood water has entered the building; its flood safety page gives the number. CitiPower and Powercor, in Victoria, say that if water entered your property you should not operate electrical appliances or switch on the power, should not plug in or use any appliance that has been in flood water until a licensed electrician has checked it, and that a licensed electrician needs to check and reconnect your electricity. The NSW SES says not to try to reconnect a damaged or disconnected supply yourself, and to take extra care around the switchboard.
If there is still time before a flood, Essential Energy suggests you could ask it to disconnect your supply in advance, which it calls a de-energisation.
The paper, network by network
| Network | What it may leave or ask for | Who acts next |
|---|---|---|
| Energex (QLD), after severe weather | An Electricity Defect Report in the meter box when it disconnects a property for safety. You don’t need to wait for one if you know your fittings or wiring were damaged, flooded or inundated. | You, your building manager or body corporate, or your landlord arranges a safety check by a licensed electrical contractor. The contractor completes and signs the report, or leaves a Certificate of Test and Compliance where no report was issued. The form is left in the meter box, and then you, or your contractor on your behalf, contact Energex to arrange reconnection. |
| SA Power Networks (SA), after the River Murray floods | A written notice once its crew has visited. If the property was not flooded, it reconnects with the main switch left off and a card in the meter board saying when you can turn it on. An ‘unsafe wiring’ tag in the switchboard means it has found wiring that may be faulty and isolated it, and for safety you must not operate the main switch yourself. Do not remove an electrical danger tag: only SA Power Networks or your electrician, as the tag says, may do that. An orange card means it could not reach the main switch or meter board, and a return visit is needed. | With an ‘unsafe wiring’ tag, a qualified electrician tests the installation, reconnects the wiring at the switchboard, restores the power and gives you a certificate of compliance (eCoC). Where the property cannot be safely reconnected at all, an electrician tests and repairs the installation and provides an eCoC before the network returns. In every case, you contact your retailer to confirm your account has been re-established. |
| United Energy (VIC), after a flood | If your property has been disconnected or inundated, you need a registered electrical contractor. | The electrician completes a safety and compliance inspection, sends a Certificate of Electrical Safety to the network once repairs are done, and arranges the reconnection with it by phone. |
The certificate’s name, state by state
Each state quoted here gives its certificate a different name. Keep it with the network’s notice.
- Queensland: a certificate of test, so the distribution entity can reconnect the service after storm or flood damage.
- Victoria: a Certificate of Electrical Safety. Energy Safe Victoria’s storms page: “Be sure to get a Certificate of Electrical Safety once the work is done.”
- New South Wales: a Certificate of Compliance for Electrical Work (CCEW), which electricians submit to Building Commission NSW and, where it applies, to the electricity network.
- South Australia: a certificate of compliance (eCoC), which SA Power Networks says your electrician provides once the work is completed.
- Western Australia: an electrical safety certificate, which your electrical contractor must give you within 28 days of electrical work other than maintenance and like-for-like replacement of equipment.
Three things the notice may not tell you
Your retailer has a step too
SA Power Networks says that if it has not left a card in your main switchboard, you should contact your retailer and ask for a reconnection service order. The network also needs safe access to your main switchboard and to the point where your home connects to its network.
The meter may be bypassed for a while
Sometimes a water-damaged meter has to be replaced. Where it is safe, SA Power Networks says it bypasses the damaged meter to get your power back without delay and asks your retailer to arrange new metering, and that the bypass is safe to use for the time being.
The phone lines may be slow
Energex reminds customers that during a storm or cyclone, or when the power is out, phone lines and mobile networks may be congested or damaged, and asks for patience. Its reconnection page sets out every step in order.
If a network has left a report, a card or a notice at your home, a licensed electrician is the person to ask. They do the safety check and any repairs, and they can tell you which paperwork your network needs back before the power returns.