Doncaster's houses and network
Built by project builders
Doncaster and Templestowe's population tripled between 1950 and 1960, and project builders developed much of Doncaster in the 1960s and 1970s.
Apartments on the hill
27.3% of occupied homes were flats or apartments in 2021, and United Energy expects demand around Doncaster Hill to keep growing.
Underground cables
United Energy says its earliest underground cables in the Doncaster and Templestowe area, up to 37 years old, are failing from water treeing, and most of its cable replacement will happen here.
United Energy supplies Doncaster
Its Doncaster zone substation supplies Doncaster, Doncaster East and Doncaster Hill. Faults go to United Energy on 13 20 99.
Power out? Work out whose problem it is
Look down the street
If the neighbours are dark too, it's the network. Call United Energy on 13 20 99 or check its outage map. Underground cable faults are theirs to find and fix.
Check your own board
If it's just you, look for a tripped safety switch and flip it back on once.
Unplug and retry
If it trips again, unplug everything, reset, then plug things back in one at a time to find the culprit.
Call an electrician
If it trips with nothing plugged in, leave it off. A burning smell you can't trace is a 000 call.
What a 50-year-old board usually needs
A 1960s or 1970s board may have no safety switches at all, and little spare room for new circuits. Adding a heat pump, an induction cooktop or an EV charger is often the point where it has to change.
Homes built or renovated before 1990 likely contain asbestos somewhere, and WorkSafe Victoria lists switchboard backing boards as a typical spot. A careful electrician checks before drilling.
Where we'd start
In a Doncaster project home, we'd have the switchboard assessed before any renovation or new appliance, and ask for room on the new board for the next ten years of plans. If your street has underground power and outages keep happening, report every one to United Energy so it's on their record.
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.