Welcome to Stand-alone Power Systems
Your property is now powered by a Stand-alone Power System (SPS).
If you are a SPS customer this means that you have been disconnected from the overhead electricity network and are solely supplied via the solar (PV) generation and battery storage in the SPS. A back-up generator has also been installed to supply to supplementary power when necessary.
The SPS is an innovative renewable energy solution making the most of the available sunshine at your property.
The SPS unit will rely on renewable energy (i.e. solar and battery) up to 95 per cent of the time.
At a minimum your back-up generator will run for 15 minutes once a week as part of its maintenance cycle. The amount your generator will run per week will be impacted by things like:
- How much electricity you’re using daily
- Electricity use over night
- Environmental conditions like cloud cover
- Seasonal changes.
Gifting of consumer mains and sub mains
As part of the commissioning process, new equipment will be installed on your property which will become your responsibility to maintain, including:
- consumer mains cable
And where required:
- half pole (where your meter box has been relocated to), and
- consumer sub-mains.
Consumer mains cable
The consumer mains cable forms part of your property’s electrical installation. Following completion of the works, the consumer mains cable is gifted by Western Power to you and now belongs to you as the property owner. It is your responsibility to maintain this as the property owner. You should consult with a licensed electrical contractor and/or a cable locator prior to undertaking any works which may affect the consumer mains cable.
Half pole and consumer sub-mains
If as part of transitioning you to SPS, Western Power relocated your meter box to a half pole, the half pole and the consumer sub-mains now also belong to you. As the property owner, these are now your responsibility to maintain.
An indicative plan of the underground cable route has been attached to the inside of your meter box. Please refer to this when undertaking future works on your property so as not to disrupt the cable.
If you are not sure of the location of the cable, please take the time to check with a cable location service provider, or an electrical contractor prior to any excavation.
Removal and disconnection of redundant consumer mains
When your SPS is commissioned, any redundant consumer mains will be removed from the consumer pole. As these consumer mains belong to the property owner, our contractor will leave these neatly coiled up for you on the property.
If there are circumstances where the consumer mains cannot be safely removed, for example, redundant consumer mains that attach to and run through the roof of the house, these will be disconnected and made safe at both ends by our contractor. In this situation we would recommend removing the redundant cable next time you have your electrician on the property.
FAQs
While we manage the cost and responsibility of the ongoing operation and maintenance of SPS, customers and property owners are expected to:
- Not enter the SPS enclosure
- Provide Western Power with all necessary access to the property
- Maintain the area surrounding the SPS, including avoiding planting vegetation that once mature could shade the SPS solar panels or overhang the SPS enclosure
- If building new structures, such as sheds, ensure they are not located near the SPS enclosure. Some structures can either shade the solar panels, or contribute to heating the SPS enclosure, which can reduce the system’s reliability. Please get in touch with our team if you have any plans to build new structures in the vicinity of the SPS
- Let us know prior to installing any generation (renewable or otherwise), and
- Continue to pay Synergy for energy consumed.
Where possible, we will try to contact you prior to entering your property. If we can’t get in touch, we’ll still need to access the property. As the energy operator, we’re permitted to enter properties for these purposes. For more information, please visit Land Access Legislation.
The SPS unit uses renewable energy (i.e. solar and battery) up to 95% of the time to meet your power needs. For the remainder, a back-up generator supplements your power needs.
The amount your SPS generator will run per week will be impacted by things like:
- How much electricity you’re using daily
- Electricity use overnight
- Environmental conditions like cloud cover
- Seasonal changes
At a minimum, your back-up generator will run for 15 minutes once a week as part of its maintenance cycle.
When we install your SPS, the generator is placed, on average, 250m away from any residential buildings. This helps to minimise the noise that may come from the generator, particularly in the evenings.
You don’t need to refuel the SPS generator. We service the SPS annually (at a minimum) and receive notifications when your fuel level is low. We’ll contact you before we need to access your property to carry out any work.
You’ll need to apply for a new connection and pay the full cost of SPS instalment.
We’ll honour the network connection cost for new connection applications for two years from the date the line was transitioned to SPS, if the network connection is lower than the cost of a SPS. The two-year period commences on the date the property owner is contacted by us, and is tied to the land, not the property owner. If the property is sold during this two-year period, the new property owner can apply for a new connection at the lower connection cost.
To be eligible to receive a new connection at the ‘lowest cost’ during the two-year period, you’ll need to provide all relevant documentation and planning information including, but not limited to:
- Development plans
- Third party approvals
- Certified electrical loads
Please call our community engagement team on 9326 4140 or email sps@westernpower.com.au
SPS integration with existing customer solar panels is still being trialled.
We’re currently working towards a long-term technical solution but we do not have a confirmed solution available at this stage. It is important that you call our customer experience team on 13 10 87 or email us before submitting an application for solar panels.