Doreen's homes and power
Late to the grid
Victorian Places calls old Doreen a rural backwater that wasn't connected to the State electricity grid until 1959. In 1999 private investors laid out Laurimar, 2500 lots on 334 hectares west of Yan Yean Road.
Two councils, two landscapes
Doreen is split between the City of Whittlesea and the Shire of Nillumbik. It's green and quite hilly, with the Yarra Ranges foothills to the east and north and the forested Plenty River to the west. Nillumbik Shire Council says bushfire is a serious risk there.
AusNet's busy Doreen substation
AusNet's Doreen zone substation supplies about 32,788 mostly residential customers in the northern growth corridor, and AusNet forecasts its overload on peak days to grow each year to 2029. A new Wollert substation is planned after 2026 to help. Faults: 13 17 99.
Almost all houses
At the 2021 Census, 94.6% of occupied homes were separate houses, 65.7% had four or more bedrooms and 58.3% were owned with a mortgage.
Getting ready for fire season in Doreen
Know where your main switch is
If you have to leave or a fire is near, everyone at home should know how to switch off at the main switch if it's safe to do so.
Save the right numbers
Fire or smoke: 000. Power out across the area or a line down: AusNet on 13 17 99, and keep more than 8 to 10 metres from fallen lines.
Plan for life support needs
If someone relies on powered medical equipment, keep AusNet's life support priority line, 1800 818 832, with your other emergency numbers.
Check smoke alarms before summer
Test each alarm. If they're the originals in a Laurimar home from the early 2000s, Fire Rescue Victoria's ten-year replacement advice says they're due.
What Doreen homeowners call an electrician for
Smoke alarm replacement leads in the older Laurimar streets, since any home built after 1 August 1997 has mains-powered alarms that a licensed electrician must replace. On the larger blocks, outdoor power, shed supplies and garden lighting come up often, and all of them are licensed work.
After a storm or a nearby fire, have an electrician look over anything outside that's been damaged or soaked before you use it again. The storm and flood damage page has the details.
Our take in Doreen
If you're on the Nillumbik side, we'd treat fire season preparation as an electrical job too: alarms tested or replaced, outdoor circuits in good order, and the main switch easy to find. On the estate side, start with the smoke alarms if they're the originals.
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.