Bid to move unsightly substations

He has called on the council to engage with Ausgrid to ensure that the substations are not located in unsightly and prominent locations in front of developments.
Cr Zhakia asked that more consideration be given to the location and nature of fire services and electricity substations during the assessment of development applications and require developers to produce details, and make space available, where appropriate for these services to be integrated within the building design.
Several developments across the City of Canterbury Bankstown, have recently been constructed where, following construction, fire services and substations have been installed to service these developments prominently in front of the building.
“This detracts from the visual aesthetic of the street and results in poor outcomes for local residents,” Cr Zhakia said.
A council spokesperson said the locations of the utility was up to Ausgrid, and the council could lodge objections but legislation allowed it to install them wherever they wanted.
“Our preference is for Ausgrid to locate them on its land or land owned by the customer to be serviced by any new substation, such as a hospital or school,” he said.
“We feel it’s not appropriate to install them on verges or nature strips in residential roads.”
An Ausgrid spokesperson said the kiosk substations played an important role in energy supply, converting power from a high voltage to the low voltage that could be used directly by households and helped minimise the number of powerlines in the area.
“There are strict requirements which determine the location of the kiosk substations, for example they are not allowed to be installed within buildings, on building roofs, in chambers, or in covered parking areas or garages,” she said.
“Ausgrid works through the location options with the customer or developer, to ensure its placement meets both our Network Standards and the customer’s needs.”