Level 2 electrician FAQs

The network owns the wires up to the connection point at your property. From that point to your switchboard, the service line is the property owner's responsibility, which is why repairs and replacements are quoted to you rather than fixed for free by Ausgrid or Endeavour.

Yes. A new connection needs the application lodged with Ausgrid or Endeavour, consumer mains run, a compliant switchboard and metering installed, then energising. It is the same process as a new development connection, just at a single-property scale.

Treat it as urgent if it is within reach, over a driveway, or sagging noticeably lower than it used to be. A low line is a contact risk long before it falls. Keep people and vehicles clear and call us; do not try to lift or move it.

We can do the whole job including trenching, or you can have the trench open already if there is an excavator on site for other work. If you dig it yourself it has to meet depth and bedding requirements, so talk to us before you start rather than after.

It is the bracket or fixing where the overhead service line lands on your building, usually at the eaves or on a short mast above the roofline. It is the single most common thing cited on Ausgrid and Endeavour defect notices.

While the ground is already open. If you are doing a driveway, landscaping, a pool or a knockdown rebuild, the trenching cost largely disappears into work you are paying for anyway. Converting as a standalone job is the expensive way to do it.

Common signs are lights dimming when a large appliance starts, the main switch tripping under load, or an electrician telling you the cable feeding your board is smaller than the installation now needs. Older homes running modern loads are the usual case.

If it stands on your property and carries the supply from the street to your building, it is a private pole and it is yours to maintain. Poles in the street or on the verge belong to the network. If you are unsure, send a photo and we will tell you.

It depends why it is changing. Some retailer-driven changes are covered by them; owner-driven changes such as a supply upgrade, solar or a relocation are paid by the property owner. We quote the Level 2 work; your retailer covers their side.

Not if it is handled deliberately. The circuit can be carried across to the new metering arrangement. It gets lost when nobody mentions it and the new arrangement is set up without it, which is why we ask about it before the job.

Older boards were not built around modern metering. Asbestos backing, no main switch, insufficient space or non-compliant wiring all have to be dealt with before a new meter can go in safely. That is Level 2 and general electrical work, not the meter itself.

If breakers trip under normal load, or lights dim when big appliances start, the constraint is often the supply itself rather than the board. We calculate maximum demand and tell you which one is actually limiting you, rather than upgrading both by default.

It carries more total load and runs equipment designed for it: larger ducted air conditioning, workshop machinery, commercial kitchen gear and faster EV charging. For a typical home with normal appliances, single phase is usually sufficient.

For the charger itself, a general electrician can do the installation. You need a Level 2 ASP when the supply has to change to support it: bigger consumer mains, a metering change or a conversion to three phase.

It depends how it is being used and approved. A separately occupied dwelling generally needs its own metering, while an extension used by the same household often does not. The approval conditions usually settle it.

The notice states the deadline, commonly 30 days to advise your intention and 60 days for the repairs, though urgent safety items can be much shorter. Read the dates on your notice, and if it is already close, tell us when you call.

Ceramic rewireable fuses, no safety switches, a board that is full with nowhere to add a circuit, scorch marks or a persistent burning smell. Any of those is a reason to have it looked at rather than waited on.

Somewhere with safe unobstructed access from outside, clear of hazards, at a compliant height and position. The distributor sets those requirements, so the new location is chosen from what is allowed rather than purely what suits the look of the house.

Keep everyone well clear of any fallen or low wire and treat it as live. Do not touch the service line, the pole or the meter box. If there is fire or an immediate danger to life, call 000 first.

Emergency work is unplanned and urgent: the supply has failed or something is unsafe. After hours work is planned deliberately for a time outside business hours, usually so a business, building or tenancy does not lose power while it is operating.

That pattern often points to a fault on one leg of the supply or a neutral problem rather than a tripped circuit inside the house. It is a supply-side symptom, which is why a general electrician may not be able to resolve it.

Once the application is lodged and approved, the physical installation is usually a single visit. The lead time is the distributor side, so get it started as early as possible rather than the week the trades arrive.

At design stage. Where the connection point lands, where the mains run and where the meters sit all affect the site layout and the build program. Bringing it in late is what causes redesign and delay.