Before you switch back on after a flood
If water got into power points, the switchboard or appliances, leave them off. Call the SES on 132 500 for help and Endeavour Energy on 131 003 if lines are down. A licensed electrician should test the wiring before anything that got wet is used.
Emu Plains, briefly
Beside the Nepean
Infrastructure NSW says the March 2021 flood peaked at 24.2 metres AHD at Penrith, about a 1 in 20 chance per year. The June 1867 flood reached 27.5 metres there.
Endeavour Energy area
Emu Plains is in Penrith City, which Endeavour Energy lists as part of its area. It moved from Blue Mountains City Council to Penrith in 1963.
Mostly houses
82.1% of homes were separate houses in 2021, and 22.4% were rented.
Some very old buildings
St Paul's Anglican Church dates from 1848, the former Arms of Australia Inn from 1833 and the railway station from 1883.
Solar from 30 November
Postcode 2750 is in stage 2 of Endeavour's flexible exports rollout.
Why long-held homes deserve a look
When a house has had the same owner for decades, the switchboard often has too. Older boards may still run rewireable ceramic fuses instead of circuit breakers, and may not have a safety switch on every circuit.
NSW Fair Trading recommends that homes built before 2000 have a licensed electrician check whether safety switches are fitted. If the board behind your switches is black or dark brown and made before 1987, it may contain asbestos, which changes how the electrician approaches the job.
If it were our place
If you've owned your Emu Plains home a long time and never had the switchboard checked, do that before anything new goes in. In a low-lying street, ask the electrician whether outdoor power and the pool pump circuit have safety switch protection. Tell us the job; if a licence-checked local does that work, we'll match you.
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.