Cables on our gable. Need to replace the timber but wires attached

Brilliant, Whitey, thanks for that. I will keep my very unqualified fingers away from them.

In Victoria, when I had the meter replaced, my sparky ordered a disconnection from the power distributer.

They come and disconnect and then reconnect it. If it’s a quick job, I think they can wait and it’s a lot cheaper. Otherwise you pay to disconnect and then for them to come and reconnect.

Give the power supplier a call - you might be able to order it directly.

When I was painting near my cables, I called the distributer (Jemena) for a ‘tiger tail’ to cover the wires - and a guy came around for free and put a ‘tiger tail’ on the wire near the roof. He said if he could do it with the ladder it would be free, if it was too tall, I would need a ‘truck appointment’ (around $200).

I can't see the type of attachment but I suspect it is a J hook which is not used now in Queensland and most states rules are similar. You will need a eyebolt.
The cost will not be minor as they will have to disconnect at the pole as just disconnecting on the fascia and leaving live tails is not done nowdays nor is working off ladders so some form of access will need to be provided at both ends so a JLG type of machine will be needed.
Up here the supply authority does the disconnect and reconnect at the pole and the electrician works at the house end.

Pg 62 could be of interest. https://www.ergon.com.au/__data/asse...3R509-QECM.pdf

Just don't call a plumber, unless they cleaning up after the bill from the electrician ;-)

Hi Triodz

Use this site to find your distributer - mine is Jemena. They are the ones who send the trucks to disconnect etc.

https://www.aer.gov.au/consumers/who...butor/victoria

You can get to the distributer website from there.

For example Jemena has a good explanation of truck appointments as follows:

Q: What is a Truck Appointment and when do I need to arrange one?

Answer: A truck appointment is a standard 1 hour period Jemena field crews will be dedicated to the works at the site which will have prearranged times. Multiple appointments can also be arranged if the required works will take more than this one hour period.
If there is no clear and unhindered access for the works to be done, these appointments are used to co-ordinate access requirements or if co-ordination between multiple parties is needed. An example is if your electrician is also required to be present when the works are carried out.
Truck appointment will be required for the installation of Current Transformer(CT) meter and Internal Switchboard connections where crew needs to access the site to complete the safety tests.

Q: How do I know how many Truck Appointments I will need?

Answer: As these appointments are 1 hour timeframes, for scenarios where co-ordination is required with your electrician, it will depend on the amount of work being performed.

Q: Can a Truck Appointment speed up my job to happen earlier?

Answer: Not necessarily, in some cases it may actually cause a delay. Most appointments are booked for a few weeks into the future, and depending on the time of year all available appointment windows can sometimes be booked out up to a month in the future. So a New Connection that could be done within 10 business days can be delayed to the next available appointment in a month’s time.

Q: What happens if my Truck Appointment is not successful?

Answer: If crews attend the site and are unable to complete the works due to access issues, or safety concerns, the job will incur a Wasted Truck Visit charge, Depending on the reason for not being able to complete the works, the request may be closed out and new orders will be required to be raised when ready for a reattempt.

Originally Posted by joynz

In Victoria, when I had the meter replaced, my sparky ordered a disconnection from the power distributer.

They come and disconnect and then reconnect it. If it’s a quick job, I think they can wait and it’s a lot cheaper. Otherwise you pay to disconnect and then for them to come and reconnect.

Give the power supplier a call - you might be able to order it directly.

When I was painting near my cables, I called the supplier for a ‘tiger tail’ to cover the wires - and a guy came around for free and put a ‘tiger tail’ on the wire near the roof. He said if he could do it with the ladder it would be free, if it was too tall, I would need a ‘truck appointment’ ($200).

^ This is good VIC based advice.

One tip that may help you get it free of distributor charges is that the wire height at your boundary no longer meets regulations. If on inspection they need to raise it (e.g. on a short pole at the facia, (actual name eludes me)) they may disconnect/reconnect for free for "safety reasons". But the electrician will charge , obviously

Originally Posted by r3nov8or

they need to raise it (e.g. on a short pole at the facia, (actual name eludes me))

You were pretty close it is a "Riser"

Originally Posted by Bros

You were pretty close it is a "Riser"