New connections

Start by talking to an electrical contractor, they will need to undertake work at your premises and complete relevant paperwork for your proposed new connection. An electrical contractor can provide technical information about your premises that will assist with the connection process.

If you are unsure if there is power available to connect your premises, you can submit an enquiry via our Customer Self Service. If you’re not comfortable with the questions on the enquiry form, you can speak to your electrical contractor for advice or request they submit the enquiry on your behalf.

To get power connected, a Connect Application needs to be submitted and an offer will be made for acceptance to start a new connection contract with us. There are Basic and Negotiated Applications, your type of application will be determined by the information provided about the new connection required at your premises.

As a customer, you can submit your Connect Application yourself through our Customer Self Service. If you’re not quite sure about the information you need to provide, we recommend talking to your electrical contractor who can submit the application on your behalf.

If you are an electrical contractor operating on behalf of a customer, you will need to submit the Connect Application through our Electrical Partners Portal.

Note: During the connection process we will typically contact the person who makes the application.

Read more on Basic and Negotiated Applications in our FAQs.

You can check the progress of your application via Track Service Orders.

Once the Connect Application has been submitted, we will review the application and provide a Connection Offer. The offer must be accepted for your new connection to proceed.

Basic Connection

If your connection service type is assessed as basic, the application can be fast-tracked when submitting online by ensuring the Expedite Application box is ticked. The connection contract will automatically be created based on the terms of our Model Standing Offer (PDF 902.5 kb).

If your application is assessed as basic, but is not expedited, we’ll make a Basic Connection Offer within 10 business days (or other date agreed with you). You will have 45 business days to accept our offer. Your connection contract starts when the offer is accepted.

Negotiated Connection

If your connection service type is unable to be assessed as basic, then it’s classed as negotiated.

We’ll contact the person who applied to discuss the terms of your connection contract. There may be additional costs which will need to be accepted at this time. We’ll aim to make a Negotiated Connection Offer within 65 business days of your application. You'll have 20 business days to accept the offer. Your connection contract starts once the offer is accepted.

Do you live in a remote area? All new connection applications submitted in isolated communities need to be investigated before it can be determined if they will be basic or negotiated.

Read more about connection service types, offers and contracts in our FAQs.

Your electrical contractor will need to know who you choose as your electricity retailer. Your electrical contractor will complete an Electrical Work Request (EWR) to provide us with this and other information about your connection.

The EWR is final confirmation that your premises is ready for a power connection. The EWR will also notify your electricity retailer of your new connection request. Your electricity retailer will then contact you to set up an account.

Your electricity account needs to be set up before we can connect you. Once this is done, your electricity retailer will send us a service order requesting us to connect your premises.

If you're in an isolated community, your electricity retailer will be Ergon Retail.

Your retailer will also send a service order to their nominated metering provider to arrange installation of your new meter. For more information on meters please speak with your electricity retailer.

Your electricity retailer or electrical contractor will be able to advise you when we’ll visit your premises to connect it to our network. We must do this within set timeframes (see below), unless we must alter our network to connect you or need to organise an appointment for your connection.

A metering provider will also need to visit your premises to install a meter. They'll usually do this after our visit as your meter cannot be installed until electricity supply is available. The metering provider will ensure the power is on to your premises before they leave.

Note: We will need access to the service connection point and meter box during our visit.

For a summary of this connection process, check out our Connect to the network checklist (PDF 377.5 kb).