Essential Energy employees and authorised contractors may need to enter your property to read your meter, inspect electricity assets, manage vegetation near powerlines, or maintain and repair our electricity network.
Our network assets are often located within easements over private land. Easements help protect Essential Energy's legal right to have electricity infrastructure located on a property and allow us to access our network when required.
More information: Easements
Why we may need to access your property
Essential Energy employees and authorised contractors may need to enter your property to:
- read your electricity meter
- inspect the electricity network, including Essential Energy assets and some privately-owned power poles and powerlines
- manage vegetation growing near powerlines
- undertake planned network maintenance
- repair damaged powerlines, power poles or other network equipment.
Provisions under the Electricity Supply Act 1995 (NSW) allow Essential Energy employees and authorised contractors to enter properties when required to inspect and maintain electricity works.
Asset inspections
We regularly inspect electricity assets, including power poles and powerlines, to help keep the electricity network safe and reliable.
The type of inspection will depend on the asset and its location. Our asset inspectors may:
- visually inspect power poles, powerlines and other network equipment
- inspect the condition of a power pole at and below ground level
- disturb or excavate a small area around the base of a pole where required
- check for deterioration or damage
- use a drone to inspect electricity assets from above.
We may also inspect some privately-owned power poles and powerlines.
You generally do not need to be at the property while an asset inspection is carried out, provided our inspector can safely access the electricity assets.
If you have been notified about an upcoming inspection, your notification may include the inspector's name, contact details and information about the planned visit. You can contact the inspector directly if you need to discuss access to your property.
There is no cost to you for an Essential Energy asset inspection.
More information: Drone technology
Before we access your property
Where possible, we will let you know in advance when we need to access your property for planned network inspections or maintenance.
Our employees and authorised contractors are expected to take care when entering your property and follow procedures to minimise biosecurity risks.
If there are specific biosecurity risks or access requirements we need to know about, please let us know before our visit.
More information: Biosecurity
How to identify our employees and contractors
Essential Energy employees and authorised contractors carry photo identification. You can ask to see their identification before allowing them access to your property.
If you have received a letter or SMS from Essential Energy about an upcoming visit and would like to confirm it is genuine, you can contact us.
Property access concerns or special requirements
If you have concerns about access to your property, special access requirements or questions about a planned visit please contact us.
