Network testing December 2024

Frequently asked questions

• Why are you conducting these tests?

  We are required to deliver electricity to homes and businesses within a range of 216 and 253 volts.

  If the voltage is too high, customers may use more power than necessary, and it can potentially damage some appliances. If voltage is too low, customers may experience flickering lights and generally poor power quality.

  Growth in rooftop solar systems and other distributed energy resources can create challenges for networks as they can push up voltage levels in the system.

  We now use a system, known as our Dynamic Voltage Management System, to manage voltage levels in real time.

  We will be conducting this test to make sure our system is working accurately and effectively. To do this, we will be briefly increasing voltages at our zone substations so we can measure the voltage levels of every device and meter connected to the local network.

  The test is unlikely to impact your power supply.

• What are the actual voltage changes (values) that will occur at customer sites? (multiple)

  Voltage changes will differ from site to site depending on when and how customers use their electricity. For example, your neighbour might have an appliance which needs more electricity to power it than what you may have at your property. Or you might have some neighbours which feed solar into the wires in your street. This impacts the power flow and causes differences in your local network.

  We will be keeping voltage levels on the networks side within our regulated limits, which are within a range of 216 and 253 volts.

• What is voltage sensitive equipment?

  Some electrical equipment can be sensitive to voltage changes. As a precautionary approach, we are communicating with some businesses as well as customers who have essential health equipment or rooftop solar which, depending on their requirements, may be sensitive to the testing.

• Will the test definitely happen during the scheduled dates?

  We have scheduled the test for between 11 and 18 December 2024.

  Testing will run for up to 60 minutes and will be conducted between 10am and 2pm.

  Due to weather or other events, we may need to reschedule these tests. If this occurs, we will publish the new dates and notify affected customers.

• Can you exclude a customer’s site from the test?

  No, it is not possible to exclude a customer’s site from the test. As they are being conducted from our zone substations, we are not able to isolate and exclude individual properties.

• Will the test be impacted by REFCL (voltage) operations?

  No.