Residents have been receiving incorrect notices from a major energy company.
AusNet has issued a ‘It’s time to check your private lines’ notice to several residents in the Mitchell Shire area, despite many of these residents not owning a private overhead electric line (POEL) or private aerial line (PAL).
In the notice, the company urges anyone who believes they do not own a POEL or PAL to contact them via 1300 365 075—the number of a small, unrelated private business.
While AusNet apologised for the misprint, a spokesperson for the company stated that issuing the notice itself was a legal requirement.
“As part of AusNet’s regulatory obligations, we are required to send letters annually to customers with private electrical assets, reminding them to ensure these assets are maintained by a professional,” they said.
“In some instances, customers may be unaware they have a private electrical asset on their property, the asset status may have changed (e.g. recent undergrounding) or our asset registry may require updating or realignment to a different neighbouring property. This often occurs with farm subdividing.
“We encourage customers to contact us if they believe they received the letter in error, and we can investigate further.”
With the Fire Danger Period now in effect, however, the notice serves as a general reminder to all residents who have some form of overhead electrical line—whether a POEL, PAL, or service line—to ensure that they are well maintained with a minimum ground clearance, and are free from contact with trees or shrubs.
Residents are reminded not to attempt pruning trees in contact with electrical lines, as branches may be live. Instead, if a line requires repairs or trees near the line require pruning, a Level 2 Electrician or authorised powerline pruning contractor must be contacted to carry out the works.
For general enquiries relating to AusNet, customers should contact 1300 360 795.
