Small commercial connection
Who is this for?
For people wanting an electricity supply with a maximum demand of 250A/180kVA.
How long will it take?
3 months to provide you with a technical assessment
7-9 months to provide you with a design and quote, depending on the complexity of your project
3 months to construct, upon payment of quote and confirmation your site is ready
Timeframes indicative only and subject to change based on demand.
How much will it cost?
We'll provide a quote after we complete the scoping and design of your project.
Application fee
| Application fee (plus 0.59% credit card surcharge) | $497.42 |
Design fee
| Project complexity | Fee |
|---|---|
| Standard | $1,320 |
| Detailed | $3,300 |
| Complex | $6,600 |
* While the design fee is GST inclusive, the GST exclusive amount will be deducted from the access offer if proceeding, i.e. GST is not refunded
Other fees
| Description | Fee |
|---|---|
| Construction costs | We will provide a quote |
| Cancellation fee | $550 |
The cost of an electricity supply is dependent on how much power you require. In most cases, the cost will be based on what we call the Distribution Low Voltage Connection Scheme.
The type of connection provided will depend on the location - most customers will receive an underground connection, however in some regional areas where the traditional network had been identified for decommissioning, customers may be eligible for a stand-alone power system.
Application process
You’ve applied
1
You’ll receive a scope
2
You’ll receive design fee invoice
3
You’ll receive a quote for the delivery of the works
4
Let us know how we went
5
The services of a National Engineering Register (NER) engineer will be required to advise in general on the process to be followed, the system design, and the equipment to use.
The site’s electrical retailer is required to submit an ETAF (Electricity Transfer Application Form) to Western Power and a service request to change the site’s meter to bi-directional (required regardless of whether the generator is exporting or not). These must be completed before an Approval to Operate can be released.
What to include with your application
A CAD site plan
Your CAD plan helps us better understand your work site and location of assets. We extract data from your plan to assist us with your design.
Site plan for a small commercial connection
For a CAD site plan to be accepted, it must clearly show:
- the proposed pillar location in a visible colour on the site plan.
- the street name on which the property borders.
- the full address of the property.
- the nearest intersection (for rural properties it helps to locate the site)
In order to provide a fast, accurate quote and advice on your new connection arrangement we require a comprehensive site plan with details of your current and/or proposed site layout. This includes but is not limited to the following information being clearly marked on your plan:
- boundary or retaining walls at the side and front of the property - including depth of wall
- location of items such as letterboxes, garden beds, trees/stumps, driveways, crossovers
- detail or grades of any major inclines or slopes near the front boundary
- utility locations for water meters/pipes, gas pipes, sewer mains/connections and access points
- proposed location of new pillar/s
Example site plan
Pillar exclusion zone
The pillar needs to have an exclusion zone of 50cm from its centre. Inside or under the exclusion zone there must not be any:
- water pipes, water storage facilities or water meters
- gas pipes or meters
- telecommunication cables
- sewage, waste water, or storm water pipes
- reticulation pipes or cables
- tree roots and other vegetation
- concrete, asphalt, limestone or bedrock
Find out what underground assets may be in the vicinity by submitting a Dial Before You Dig application.
Site photos
Help us understand your current connection arrangements and more easily identify potential site-specific issues. Photos will need to include:
- The extent of the worksite
- Any obstructions in the area
Site photos for a small commercial connection
Site photos help us understand your current connection arrangements and more easily identify potential site specific issues. If you're able to supply us with a close up and wide photos it will potentially reduce application times as we won't be required to visit the site.
Neighbours authority
If your project will impact your neighbour’s property by having new assets installed or relocated on or in front of their property, you’ll need their authorisation.
Single line diagram
A single line diagram provides us with the technical information to design a connection to meet your requirements.
Statement of compliance to AS61000.3.6
Your accredited electrical contractor or consultant must submit a statement verifying that the installation complies with AS/NZS 61000.3.11, SA-SNZ TR IEC 61000.3.14 and Western Power’s Technical Rules.
Disturbing loads
The information allows us to check the impact of your loads on the network. You must comply with Power Quality limits as per AS/NZS 61000.3.11, SA-SNZ TR IEC 61000.3.14 and Western Power Technical Rules.
Load breakdown
Your load breakdown allows us to assess the impact your project will have on the network. It also allows us to apply the appropriate charging policy.
Permission from your strata company (if applicable)
Your load breakdown allows us to assess the impact your project will have on the network. It also allows us to apply the appropriate charging policy.
Revenue offset
If a customer would like to be considered for revenue offset, some information is required at the technial assessment stage. See our revenue offset FAQs for more information.
Your support documents will help us determine the future increase in electricity consumption at your site so we can confidently apply revenue offset to subsidise the upfront customer contribution.
Ready to apply for a small commercial connection?
Once you’ve gotten the above, you are ready to apply. Estimated time to complete: 10 minutes
FAQs
Strata schemes typically have a single connection point to the Western Power network that determines the total allocation of available electricity supply and generation capacity to be shared by all strata lots.
This connection point has a fixed capacity, so it's important for strata lot owners and prospective purchasers to be aware of the arrangements and obligations relating to the connection, as it may restrict their ability to install equipment such as home EV charging stations, rooftop solar panels and batteries.
Before applying to connect this type of equipment, strata lot owners should first seek permission from their strata company to use an allocation of the total network capacity allocated to the strata scheme.
Failing to do this may prevent other strata lot owners from connecting their own equipment, or require the strata company to upgrade the connection to the Western Power network to accommodate the needs of all strata lot owners.
It's important to remember that the strata company is ultimately responsible for the management of the common connection to the Western Power network and the common electrical system within the strata scheme. Effective management of this shared resource will allow the benefits of renewable energy solutions to be shared by the all strata lot owners.
More information about strata titling principles can be found in Landgate's Guide to strata titles.
See also: How do I apply for solar power in a lifestyle village, large strata or other multi-residential site?
Western Power is regulated by the state government in terms of how it can earn revenue. Our revenue (through tariffs) is determined by the size of our Regulated Asset Base (RAB).
When streetlights are added to the RAB they have an economic life of 20 years. If a streetlight is replaced or upgraded to LED lighting when it is younger than 20 years old, there’s still some value in there that we haven’t recovered back yet.
Sometimes your circumstances change and you may need to cancel or change the information within your application after you have submitted it to us.
If you wish to change the scope of work in your application we will first review the change and then either:
- continue the project with the variation and invoice you for any additional materials, design work and remobilisation costs incurred. We will typically only take this approach when the change is very minor.
or
- if the change is significant we will cancel your project. You will need to submit a new application with your new requirements.
For cancelled applications we will invoice you for the costs incurred up to the point of cancellation (time and materials). If construction work has already commenced we will refund the difference from your access offer less any costs incurred.
If you require a new connection at your property within 10 years of poles and wires being decommissioned, we will connect your property in accordance with the Electricity Industry (Obligation to Connect) Regulations (2005). As the traditional overhead network will be decommissioned, any new connection at this location will be serviced by a SPS.
To ensure you are not disadvantaged by the removal of the overhead network, we will preserve the network equivalent connection costs for new connection applications for premises within 100 metres of the removed poles and wires, for a period of two years from the date of notification of our intention to decommission the network. This means, if you need a new connection at your property where network infrastructure is scheduled for removal or has already been removed, you will be able to receive that new connection at the lowest cost – either a network equivalent cost or SPS cost, whichever is lower. After the two-year period has expired, any new customers will be required to pay the full cost of an SPS connection.
The preservation of connection costs is attached to the land, not the customer. For example, in cases where an eligible customer decides to sell or subdivide their land, the new landowner(s) of the property or the subdivided land parcels are eligible for the preserved network connection costs if they have bought the property and applied for a new connection within two years of the customer communication regarding decommissioning being sent.
To be eligible to receive a new connection at the ‘lowest cost’ during this period, you will need to provide all relevant planning information (including, but not limited to, building permits, development plans and approvals or certified electrical loads) when applying for a new connection.
For more information, please contact us.
You will be charged a design fee upon lodging your application.
Once your project proceeds to construction phase the design fee, excluding GST, is deducted from the price on your Access Offer and Acceptance.