When is Time to Upgrade Your Old Body Corporate Switch Board?
In December 2017, new national metering rules took effect that have created greater market competition and increased innovation in product design and service delivery creating better options for everyone. Which is a good thing!
But there’s a catch… If you have an old-style asbestos or timber particle backing board in your switchboard box and/or porcelain fuses, it’s no longer suitable. It will cause you issues when you need to upgrade to a new digital smart meter.
WHY? – Old style switchboards are not compliant with the current standards required by any potential new energy provider. Smart digital meters need to be installed to comply with the new national metering code, as retailers cannot run their power through the old-style meters anymore or install them in uncompliant metering enclosures.
SAFETY!! – Basically, if you have an old metering enclosure with porcelain fuses and chipboard backing…It’s unsafe, its beyond its serviceable life and needs to be brought up to the current standard.
RISK – If you are an Onsite Manager, Strata Manager or Landlord you carry a certain level of risk, either as the PCBU or as the legal owner, it is in your best interest to assess foreseeable risk and act on reducing it. You have a duty of care.
SO – If you do not have the right type of switchboard to accept these meters it may end up costing you dearly; in money, risk and electrical supply downtime. We think it’s better to plan for this so you can warn the consumers of the electricity in your premises that there will be an outage, when it will happen and for how long.
Don’t wait for an inevitable failure! Act now before a crisis.
Don’t wait for an inevitable switchboard failure… It is likely that your property will not have any power for several days or even weeks whilst new switchboards are installed. To avoid this, it is best to be proactive and plan the amount of power downtime.
What can you do?
If your switchboard has porcelain fuses installed, no metering isolation links, or old timber/asbestos metering enclosures you will be asked to undertake remedial works at your own cost to ensure the site is safe, accessible and suitable for a new digital meter installation.
If you are unsure and need assistance determining whether your switchboard needs upgrading, then contact us for an obligation free audit.
Article provided by Chris Lehmann from Tradesmen On Time Electrical Contractors
Leave a Reply
I’m glad that this article talked about the importance of knowing your switchboards to prevent making mistakes. I remember when my cousin mentioned to me that they are looking for a reliable electrical service that can do switchboard upgrades for their workplace and asked if I have any idea what is the best option to do. Thanks to this informative article, I’ll be sure to tell him that consulting a well-known commercial electrical service can help them with their concerns. https://www.cablingandwireless.com.au/electrical-work