Underground electricity supply pits

An underground electricity supply application refers to the installation of new pit or pits. Pits are usually installed on the boundary line of a premise to facilitate the supply of electricity via an underground service to that site. United Energy will not always be able to accommodate your preferred pit location, and reserves the right to vary its location (e.g. where other authorities’ underground assets exist). We will inform you if that is the case.

Where a pit already exists but needs to be altered, use the ‘New and increased supply’ application.

In most cases your electricity pit will be installed within 30 business days. If additional information is required to determine the electricity pit location we will contact you, when this occurs, your application is placed on hold pending your response. We will inform you if further permits are required from water, road or gas authorities as this may cause a delay in the installation timeframe.

Once the pit has been installed:

• please engage a qualified Registered Electrical Contractor (REC) to install the mains from the point of supply (pit) to the main switchboard.
• our field contractors will return within 6-8 weeks to complete permanent repairs such as applying any necessary topsoil and grass and/or returning ‘hard surfaces’ to as near as possible to original.
• a certificate of compliance will be issued shortly after the installation and when payment and compliance obligations have been met

The ‘Underground Electricity Supply’ application form has now been added to United Energy’s online connection application service. Please use the instructions provided below to assist you in completing the form. The new and improved application form brings many benefits to our customers, such as:

• The form has been optimised to only ask you questions that are relevant to your situation, based on the profile of the applicant (REC vs non-REC) and the answers provided to the questions on the form – saving you time to complete the form.
• Guidance on the attachments that need to be submitted, based on your answers.
• When available, the cost of the installation will be displayed during the application process.
• Where additional information or an attachment will be required from you, you will be sent a notification via a method of communication selected at registration. You will be able to upload them directly into the application form.
• You can pay the fees using BPoint directly via form.
  
• Draft applications can be saved for up to 7 days.

Note: Some pit applications may need further review and assessment by our Customer Projects team. Where this is the case, we will endeavour to provide you an offer within 20 business days. This includes but not limited to:

• sites over 100 amps (these require United Energy to investigate supply availability)
• existing conductors are underground at your location
• use of supply is ‘Private Mains on Public Land’
• pit location is on a road reserve

Note: A separate application is required for each type of installation i.e. underground estate vs standard pole to pit.

Electrical assets on public land

Under the Electricity Safety Act 1998, United Energy is required to maintain a register of third-party electrical assets located on public property such as road reserves that are connected to our network. This information is accessible by United Energy, our contractors as well as members of the public via the Dial Before You Dig (Dial 1100) service. Accordingly, for public safety, it is critical that the register is kept up to date and the information contained within it is clear, accurate and can be easily used.

To register your underground electrical asset(s) and the above referred information in UE’s third-party asset register, you are required to provide that information in a compatible electronic “PDF” file format from an approved UE template. If your organisation or contractor does not have the skills to provide this information in the required format, there are third-party drafting providers available to provide that service.

Where an underground electricity pit is to be installed to connect private mains on a public land, a Private Mains drawing must be attached to the application. The Private Mains drawing needs to be on the approved UE template, with the Point of Supply and cable location clearly identified and detailed, and title block fields populated. Refer to the Related Documents section for the templates and instructions on how to correctly complete the drawings.

While the provision of underground asset information in accordance with the matters set out above may seem onerous, we note that it is your obligation under the Electrical Safety Act 1998, as the asset owner to do so, ensuring the protection of your asset and the safety of the public alike. Please also be advised that your installation will not be energised until United Energy is satisfied that the above requirements have been satisfied (including the incorporation into our third-party asset register) and approval has been provided by a United Energy approved officer.