You inform the power co of the situation and they instantly have a legal liability if your power goes out.
Do you know more about how this works, or know where I could read about it? Searching online I wasn’t able to find anyone talking about the system or consumer-facing docs on how to notify the power company and what to expect if you do.
Does it cover damage from natural disasters? Flooding, wind, earthquakes?
Specifically, they talk about: “retailer planned interruptions”, “distributor planned interruptions”, and “unplanned interruptions”. And then they say:
The retailer can’t intentionally turn off the power except by following the rules for “retailer planned interruptions”, which include “4 business days written notice”.
Same for the distributor, for “distributor planned interruptions”
12.2.a We may make distributor planned interruptions to the supply of Energy to the Premises for the following purposes:
12.2.a.i for the maintenance, repair or augmentation of the Transmission System or the Distribution System, including maintenance of metering equipment; or
12.2.a.ii for the installation of a New Connection or a Connection Alteration to another Customer.
12.2.b If your Energy supply will be affected by a distributor planned interruption and clause 6.4(d)(iii) does not apply:
12.2.b.i we may seek your explicit consent to the Interruption occurring on a specified date; or
12.2.b.ii we may seek your explicit consent to the Interruption occurring on any day within a specified 5 Business Day range; or
12.2.b.iii otherwise, we will give you at least 4 Business Days notice of the Interruption by mail, letterbox drop, press advertisement or other appropriate means, or as specified in the Operating Protocol for your Premises.
12.3 Unplanned Interruptions
12.3.a We may interrupt the supply of Energy to your Premises in circumstances where we consider that a Customer’s Energy installation or the Distribution System poses an immediate threat of injury or material damage to any person, property or the Distribution System, including:
12.3.a.i for unplanned maintenance or repairs; or
12.3.a.ii for health or safety reasons; or
12.3.a.iii in an Emergency; or
12.3.a.iv as required by a Relevant Authority; or
12.3.a.v to shed demand for Energy because the total demand at the relevant time exceeds the total supply available; or
12.3.b If an Unplanned Interruption is made, we will use our best endeavours to restore Energy supply to the Premises as soon as possible.
12.3.c We will make information about Unplanned Interruptions (including the nature of any Emergency and, where reasonably possible, an estimate of when Energy supply will be restored) available on a 24 hour telephone information service.
So it sounds like a shutdown like the one in CA, being for safety reasons (preventing sparking a fire) might qualify under the rules for unplanned interruptions, and so not require any notice at all.
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Do you know more about how this works, or know where I could read about it? Searching online I wasn’t able to find anyone talking about the system or consumer-facing docs on how to notify the power company and what to expect if you do.
Does it cover damage from natural disasters? Flooding, wind, earthquakes?
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I found https://www.energymadeeasy.gov.au/sites/default/files/1519_AER Life Support DL Brochure_D02.pdf which seems to say:
You’re responsible for figuring out backup power for your medical equipment
If you register with your utility they have to notify you before they turn off your power, but unexpected outages can still happen.
This doesn’t sound that different from most countries? And sounds much less strict that you were describing.
Registering looks like visiting https://www.synergy.net.au/Your-home/Manage-account/Register-for-life-support or the equivalent for your utility.
I also found https://www.aemc.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/a4094ca5-dc6a-4dfb-bbe7-8aa9a3baa831/Life-Support-rule-change-RRC0009-Final-Rule-For-Publication.pdf which gives what I think are the full rules with obligations for retailers and distributors, which doesn’t change my understanding from above. The only way it looks like this would have been different in Australia is that the power company would have been required to give more notice.
Specifically, they talk about: “retailer planned interruptions”, “distributor planned interruptions”, and “unplanned interruptions”. And then they say:
The retailer can’t intentionally turn off the power except by following the rules for “retailer planned interruptions”, which include “4 business days written notice”.
Same for the distributor, for “distributor planned interruptions”
I’m having trouble finding the official rules, but I found an example commercial contract (https://www.essentialenergy.com.au/-/media/Project/EssentialEnergy/Website/Files/Our-Network/AERApprovedDeemedHV.pdf?la=en&hash=FA1892961DBA269D0B82E2416991FF9FDFAE25DD) which has:
So it sounds like a shutdown like the one in CA, being for safety reasons (preventing sparking a fire) might qualify under the rules for unplanned interruptions, and so not require any notice at all.