Private poles and powerline repair costs

Overhead powerlines that aren’t inspected and properly maintained can become a serious bushfire risk. Ausgrid carry out regular patrols to check private poles and overhead powerlines across our network area for potential bushfire hazards.

If any hazards are identified, property owners will be given a defect notice outlining what work is required and the time in which it must be done. It will be your responsibility to arrange and pay for any work required.

You will need to arrange for a licensed electrician to repair any damaged electrical assets, such as broken electrical equipment or wires, or poles which are rotting, corroded or leaning excessively. If branches, trees, shrubs or vegetation need to be cleared, you will need to engage a tree trimming contractor who is qualified to work around the electricity network to safely remove the vegetation.

If the work is not completed, Ausgrid may either enter the property to carry out any required rectification works or disconnect the property’s power supply to remove any safety risk. If we carry out the work, we will recover the reasonable cost of doing the work from the property owner. 

We recognise that there are members of the community who experience financial stress and hardship. Our Customer Assistance Framework has been developed to assist customers in financial hardship who need to pay Ausgrid directly for bushfire safety rectification work or damage to our network. Find out more.

Pole inspections and maintenance 

It is your responsibility to arrange for regular inspections to check for defects and fix any defects found. It is also your responsibility to determine which company is appropriate for carrying out pole inspection and treatment requirements. Ausgrid's authorisation relates only to a person's training to carry out pole inspection and/or treatment work on Ausgrid's power poles and is not an endorsement or recommendation about their skills or suitability to carry out pole inspection, tree trimming or other works on your property.

How much will it cost to repair damaged poles and wires?

The cost of repairing a defect will vary depending on the extent of the damage and other factors such as access to your property and powerlines.  

The following images provide examples of common defects and a range of indicative costs that customers may be charged when engaging qualified contractors to complete the work required by the notice. These are estimates only and do not allow for issues such as difficult access or specialised equipment, or include potential additional costs for service searches, design, transfer and reinstatement of services to private poles, traffic control or rock excavation.

Conductor replacement
$3,600 - $6,000

Conductor retensioning
$1,800 - $2,800

Crossarm replacement
$1,800 -  $3,000

Installation of LV spreaders
$1,200 -  $1,800

Insulator replacement
$1,500 - $2,500

Vegetation management 
1st span $560
2nd span $350
Additional spans $200.

Note: a span is the wire between two poles. 

Pole replacement
Steel pole $3000 - $5000
Steel pole with meter box $3500 - $5500
Large timber pole $7500 - $14500
Large timber pole with meter box $9500 - $16000

Please note:

• Steel poles are used in typically urban areas
• Large timber poles are used in typically rural areas and cater for additional clearance requirements
• Location, construction requirements, and site environment accounts for variable replacement estimates