Guys, the SWER lines which we are talking about are not consumers mains. They are high voltage distribution lines. 13kv in most states and 19kV in SA. They are generally not owned by the land owner.
http://www.ruralpower.org/swer_003_what_is.htm They were a technically limited but cheap way of getting power to rural properties. So they are widespread in the semi remote areas of Australia. Ie where we fly. They are generally a single steel (yes, that's right, steel) wire with a span of 200-250m between poles. That's why they are so hard to see. Don't mistake these for low voltage systems (240/415). Of which single phase (2 wires) or three/multi phase (3 or 4 wires and rarely 2) can be found in the country but usually near larger towns which have some permutation of a 3 phase HV supply. Regards SWK > -----Original Message----- > From: Ben Jones > > Hello all, > > SWER power lines are generally in WA 98% privately owned by > the consumer , The electricity supplyer ( Western power ) in > most of WA is liable and will maintain infrastructure up to > the "Point of attachment" (POA) ,which is usally the first > pole within 20 meters of the property boundary , on the top > of the pole the incomming grid line(s) will be joined to the > Consumer line to the property that connection is the point of > attachment , > > I had a friends farm property snap the Consumers line out of > the POA , the local linesman arrived the next day mounted the > pole undid the cover and said to the owner "Your cable has > corroded thru and snapped ....call the local electrican he > will sort it out for you ". > Then my phone rang with a frantic friend come out and fix my > incomming powerline......needles to say i had to go up the > power pole like a rat up a drain pipe and repain the live connection . > > Btw SWER = Single Wire Earth Return > > Reporting of the physical location of consumer poles and wire > was reported (many years ago) but now with the move for > Electrical Contractors to self Regulate compliance to the > standards as long as the contractor signs off that its legal > the regulators and supplies are happy , if its wrong the > legal powers to be come at the contractor at a very fast rate > and usally the contractor gets heavy fines a nice pink > "notice to corect " and loss of contractors ticket and > sometimes loss of all electrical licences . > > The best thing to do is to send out a blank proforma to all > the farmers that people know along most frequently use glider > routes and around airfields to sketch , measure and draw the > infrastructure on to a suppled topographic map and send it > back to a" central colation point " where the data can be > digitally drawn on a map and marked with notes about the > lines and transformers , in what ever drawing package that is > compatible with pda's used for glider navigation then > uploaded possible to the gfa website every month as changes > are made and new information comes to light so every one can > down load and update their PDA databases monthly > > ..........just my $ 0.02 worth yes i know it requires a bit > of leg work but in the gliding world you would be supprised > just how many local farmers do fly gliders and even powered aircraft > > > regards > > BEN > WA Licensed Electrican > > > _______________________________________________ > Aus-soaring mailing list > [email protected] > To check or change subscription details, visit: > http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring > ********************************************************************** This email and any file attachments are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please tell us immediately by return email and delete the document. The information in this email expresses the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of ETSA Utilities. ********************************************************************** _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list [email protected] To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
