Port Douglas · Douglas Shire · Cairns Northern Beaches
Cyclone electrical preparation, before and after the season
Pre-season checks, surge protection and generator readiness. And after a cyclone or a flood, the inspection and certificate your distributor needs before you can be reconnected.
- 5.0 on Google
- 24/7 emergency callout
- Licence 82270
What gets your power reconnected after a cyclone or flood?
Here is the sentence every Far North property owner should know, straight from the Electrical Safety Office: where property has been damaged, verification testing is required before reconnection, and "a licensed electrician will need to perform this task and a certificate of test will ensure your local electricity distribution entity can reconnect your service".
That is the whole thing. After inundation or serious damage, the power does not come back on because the lines are up. It comes back on when a licensed electrician has tested the installation and issued the certificate.
Before the season
- Install and test a safety switch. Know where to shut off power, gas and water
- Surge protection at the board, which matters more here than almost anywhere
- Generator changeover checked and tested while you do not need it
- Outdoor equipment, TV aerials and pool gear checked and secured
During
If the power goes out, turn off power points and unplug equipment. Move electrical equipment to higher ground if flooding threatens. Stay well clear of powerlines and watercourses. Avoid fixed telephones during a thunderstorm.
After
Stay away from switchboards damaged by water, fire or a close lightning strike, and warn others off. Report damaged powerlines to emergency services. Do not attempt repairs yourself. Water-damaged appliances should be assessed, not just dried out and plugged back in.
Source: Electrical Safety Office, electrical safety during storms. What we replace after submersion is our professional practice, not a prescribed list.
What we install
Novaris and Clipsal surge protection, and NHP or Kraus and Naimer changeover switchgear for generator readiness.
- Clipsal
- NHP
- Novaris
- Schneider Electric
Still working out what is wrong?
We have written up the fault that usually points to this work, and what it means:
Who we do it for
We do this work for homeowners, businesses, resorts, body corporates and property managers.
Before the season
What salt and wind do, and what to check
Up here the wet season finds everything you did not maintain. An hour in October is worth a week in February.
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01Salt gets into everything
Fan motors, fittings and terminations on the weather side of a building age at a different rate. Coastal rated gear is not marketing, it is the difference between five years and fifteen.
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02Check what is holding it together
Conduit, saddles and glands are what fail first, and they are what lets water into everything downstream of them.
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03A board you can work in the dark
Labelled circuits, working safety switches and a torch that lives beside it. When the power comes back after four days, you want to know what to switch on first.
Straight answers
Storm and Cyclone Preparation: your questions
My switchboard went under water. Can I just dry it out?
No. Water gets into switchgear and into the terminations, and corrosion continues long after it looks dry. It needs inspecting and testing by a licensed electrician, and your distributor will want the certificate of test before reconnecting.
When should I book a pre-cyclone season electrical check?
Before the wet, not during it. Once a system is crossing the coast every electrician in the Far North is doing emergency work, not preventative work.
Can you set a property up to run safely on a generator?
Yes. A properly installed changeover switch means the generator can carry the property without backfeeding the network, which is both illegal and lethal to line crews. We install and test them.
Where
We do this from Cape Tribulation down to Smithfield
Anywhere on our patch. Every area we cover has its own page with the access and the local conditions on it.
Need a licensed electrician who turns up?
Leave us a number and we will ring you back, or send the whole job through and we will quote it.