AusNet Services Pole Management final report
With public and environmental safety as its highest priority, Energy Safe Victoria (ESV) has released its final report into AusNet Services Wood Pole Management:
Background
The investigation and delivery of ESV’s final report into AusNet Services’ wood pole management practices follows a similar investigation into Powercor’s practices and subsequent report, published in December 2019, and ESV’s commitment to undertaking a review of the wood pole management practices across Victorian Major Electricity Companies (MECs).
This final report into the Wood Pole Management policies and practices of AusNet Services provides a summary of the detailed technical review undertaken by ESV, including:
- objectives of the investigation,
- key findings and their implications, and
- recommendations for future undertakings
Amendments to the Draft Report
ESV has made changes to the wording of Draft Report that include defining third (3rd) party cause of pole failures and providing greater clarity on the rationale behind Major Electricity Companies (MEC’s) use of different materials for poles.
ESV response to submissions
ESV invited public feedback on the Draft report and received five submissions. A document specifically addressing the questions raised by those contributors has been produced and is available on this site.
Next steps
AusNet Services has developed a wood pole management improvement plan to address all recommendations and findings in the final report and submit this to ESV, meeting Recommendation 1 in the final report. The plan includes clear and measurable milestones that can be monitored through regulator reporting.
Timeline
| Date | Activity |
|---|---|
04 Aug 2021 | Public consultation period opens |
01 Sep 2021 | Public consultation period closes |
29 Oct 2021 | ESV publishes submissions and its response to submissions on the ESV website |
29 Oct 2021 | ESV publishes the FINAL report into AusNet Services Wood Pole Management |
Resources
ESV’s Final Report into AusNet Services Wood Pole Management:
Public submissions (redacted) in PDF format:
- Groundline Engineering:
Redacted - Groundline Engineering - AusNet Services Wood Pole Management report
- CFA:
Redacted - CFA submission - AusNet Services Wood Pole Management report
- FRV:
Redacted - FRV submission - AusNet Services Wood Pole Management report
- Kingston District Power Alliance (KDPA):
Redacted - Kingston District Power - AusNet Services Wood Pole Management report
- Individual submission:
Redacted - Individual submission - AusNet Services Wood Pole Management report
- ESV’s response to submissions:
Response to submissions_AusNet Services Wood ~ An assessment of sustainable wood pole safety outcomes
Public consultation – AusNet Services Draft Wood Pole Management Report
With public and environmental safety as its highest priority, Energy Safe Victoria (ESV) has commenced public consultation, inviting submissions on the Draft Report into AusNet Services Wood Pole Management.
Background
The investigation and delivery of ESV’s draft report into AusNet Services’ wood pole management practices follows a similar investigation into Powercor’s practices and subsequent report, published in December 2019, and ESV’s commitment to undertaking a review of the wood pole management practices for all Victorian Major Electricity Companies (MECs).
This draft report into the Wood Pole Management policies and practices of AusNet Services provides a summary of the detailed technical review undertaken by ESV, including:
- objectives of the investigation,
- key findings and their implications, and
- recommendations for future undertakings
Public consultation
ESV is committed to providing an opportunity for the Victorian public to comment on its investigations into the management of wood poles. This is an important step in providing community confidence in the safety of the electricity distribution network across Victoria.
The public consultation and submission period for the Draft Report into AusNet Services Wood Pole Management closed on 1 September 2021. ESV will release the final report as per the timeline below.
Next steps
ESV will review all submissions received, update the report as deemed appropriate and publish a final report.
All submissions and comments received by ESV in relation to this consultation are considered public documents and will be published on ESV’s website. Any personal information contained in the submissions will be redacted to protect the privacy of individuals.
Timeline
| Date | Activity |
|---|---|
| 4 August 2021 | Public consultation period opens |
| 1 September 2021 | Public consultation period closes |
| 26 November 2021 | ESV publishes submissions and its response to submissions on the ESV website |
| 26 November 2021 | ESV publishes the FINAL report into AusNet Services Wood Pole Management |
Resources
- Draft Report into AusNet Services Wood Pole Management:
ESVDraftTechnicalReport_AusNetServicesWoodPoleManagement_Aug2021
- The online submission
- The MS Word submission form:
SubmissionForm_AusNetServicesDraftPoleManagementReport
- Media release – ESV report highlights future safety risks in new AusNet pole management practices
- ESV’s Electrical incident and technical investigation reports
Date: 25/03/2023 16:55
The material in this print-out was accurate at the time of printing.
Reviewed 29 January 2023