Kingston, in brief
Growth by road
The Southern Outlet opened in 1969 and became a dual carriageway in 1990 after the population grew. The Kingston Bypass followed in 2011.
Family houses
In 2021, 89.1% of occupied homes were separate houses and just 0.8% flats; 49.3% had three bedrooms. The median age was 36.
Owners and renters
35.0% of homes had a mortgage, 32.9% were owned outright and 28.9% were rented.
Floods
Browns River floods after heavy rain in the Wellington Range, and high tides can hold the water in the river for longer. Kingston had an evacuation centre during the May 2018 flash flooding.
Bush around town
Kingborough has open dry forests to the north and east and tall wet forests to the south and west.
Adding solar in Kingston
Your electrician or solar installer can lodge the connection application with TasNetworks for you. TasNetworks says review takes about 4 to 6 weeks if no network upgrades are needed.
Under its basic rules, a single phase home can connect up to 10 kVA of inverter capacity with exports set to 10 kW, and these systems need generation control. Once the electrical contractor's work is verified, your retailer arranges the meter and the final connection.
A fixed home battery counts as electrical work in Tasmania too, so adding one later still needs a licensed electrician.
If your block has its own pole
On bigger blocks around Kingston, power can reach the house on private poles. TasNetworks treats everything from the first pole inside your boundary as private, so that pole and the lines beyond it are generally yours to look after. TasNetworks inspects them on a five-yearly cycle and says to keep vegetation at least 3 metres from overhead lines, using an authorised contractor.
Private power poles explains what that means for you.
When Browns River rises
If water is coming in, turn off the power at the main switch only if you can reach it while dry. Don't switch flood-affected equipment back on until a licensed electrician has tested it. For shocks, sparking or fallen lines, call TasNetworks on 132 004; for flood help, the SES on 132 500.
Our take for Kingston
If you're planning solar, we'd get the TasNetworks application lodged before settling on a panel layout, since review takes weeks. On a block with a private pole, we'd have an electrician look at the pole and the line to the house before the winter storms.
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.