What shapes electrical work in Lara
A fast 1950s and 60s
Lara's population more than doubled between 1954 and 1966, and it still has a growing residential area today.
The 1969 fires
Lara has seen both floods and grass fires. The 1969 Lara bushfires killed 18 people and destroyed 43 homes, a church and a primary school.
Young households
At the 2021 Census, 45.6% of homes had a mortgage and the median age was 37. 89.5% were separate houses.
Powercor's network
Lara is in the City of Greater Geelong, on Powercor's network. Faults and outages: 13 24 12.
Between two cities
The town sits on Hovells Creek between Melbourne and Geelong, across Corio Bay from the city.
Two kinds of Lara house
From the 1950s and 60s boom. A house from those years may still have its original switchboard, and the Victorian Government's Asbestos Hub says a home built or renovated before 1990 likely contains asbestos. WorkSafe Victoria lists switchboards and their backing, such as Zelemite, as a typical place to find it. An electrician who handles asbestos switchboards knows when a licensed removalist needs to be involved.
From the new estates. The board is modern, but solar, a battery and an EV charger all want space on it. Since October 2024, new solar on Powercor's network needs an inverter that supports CSIP-AUS, and devices that can't are set to zero export.
Either way, the job ends with a Certificate of Electrical Safety. Work on consumer mains, solar and batteries counts as prescribed work, so a licensed electrical inspector has to inspect it before it can be turned on.
Fire season and fallen lines
If a line comes down near you, stay more than 8 to 10 metres away, as Energy Safe Victoria advises, and report it to Powercor on 13 24 12 and to the police. Call 000 if lives are in danger.
What we would do in Lara
In an older Lara house, we'd have the board and its backing checked before adding air conditioning or solar. In a new one, we'd design the charger, battery and solar around the board together, so it's one plan instead of three add-ons squeezed in later.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.