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Powercor BFM Strategy Plan 2013-2014 Final.doc Powercor Australia

Administrator: Gerrard Nolan Bushfire Mitigation Manager

Document Owner: Garry Audley General Manager Electricity Networks

Document No: 05-M810 Issue: 1 Issue Date: 1/7/2013 of 42

BUSHFIRE MITIGATION

STRATEGY PLAN 2013-2014

Electricity Safety (Bushfire Mitigation) Regulations 2003

1st JULY 2013 – 30th JUNE 2014





CONTACTS & APPROVALS

Powercor Australia Ltd

Address: 40 Market St, Melbourne Telephone: 132 206

Person Responsible Gerrard Nolan for Plan Preparation: Position: Bushfire Mitigation Manager Address: 740 – 742 Ballarat Rd Ardeer 3022 Telephone: 132 206

Person(s) Responsible Ross Irving for Plan Implementation: Position: Manager Network Compliance Address: Level 7, 40 Market St, Melbourne Telephone: 132 206

Powercor Emergency Contact Number For immediate action (24hrs): 132 412

Recommended Approved

Ross Irving Garry Audley

Manager Network Compliance General Manager Electricity Networks

Signature: Signature:

Date: Date:

Document Revision History

Issue Revision Summary Reviewer Date

1 Plan submitted to ESV G.Nolan

2





TABLE OF CONTENTS APPENDICES: ............................................................................................................................................................ 4

1 COMPLIANCE INFORMATION................................................................................................................... 5

2 KEY CHANGES FROM 2012/2013 PLAN..................................................................................................... 7

3 ABBREVIATIONS............................................................................................................................................ 8

3A DEFINITIONS.............................................................................................................................................. 9

4 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 9

4.1 LEGISLATION ......................................................................................................................................... 9 4.2 POWERCOR AUSTRALIA.................................................................................................................... 10

5 OBJECTIVES.................................................................................................................................................. 11

6 SCOPE.............................................................................................................................................................. 11

6.1 REFERENCE DOCUMENTS ................................................................................................................. 12 6.2 ELECTRICAL NETWORK MAP ........................................................................................................... 13 6.3 BUSHFIRE RISK AREAS ...................................................................................................................... 15

7 MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE ................................................................................................................... 16

8 POLICIES AND STRATEGIES.................................................................................................................... 17

8.1 MONITORING ASSET CONDITION.................................................................................................... 18 8.2 PRIORITY CLASSIFICATIONS............................................................................................................ 20 8.3 REMEDIAL MAINTENANCE............................................................................................................... 21 8.4 ASSET REPLACEMENT/MODIFICATION ......................................................................................... 21 8.5 VEGETATION MANAGEMENT........................................................................................................... 22 8.6 POELS...................................................................................................................................................... 23 8.7 NEW TECHNOLOGIES/INITIATIVES................................................................................................. 24 8.8 RESOURCING........................................................................................................................................ 25 8.9 TRAINING .............................................................................................................................................. 26 8.10 LIAISON WITH OTHER ORGANISATIONS ....................................................................................... 29 8.11 PUBLIC AWARENESS .......................................................................................................................... 30 8.12 ASSISTANCE PROVIDED TO FIRE AGENCIES................................................................................. 31 8.13 TOTAL FIRE BAN DAYS ...................................................................................................................... 34 8.14 DECLARED FIRE DANGER PERIOD .................................................................................................. 34 8.15 FIRE MANAGEMENT ........................................................................................................................... 35

9 PROGRAM TIMING ..................................................................................................................................... 35

10 FIRE INVESTIGATION................................................................................................................................ 35

11 KEY MEASURES ........................................................................................................................................... 36

11.1 BFM INDEX............................................................................................................................................ 36 11.2 FIRE STARTS ......................................................................................................................................... 36 11.3 ASSET FAILURES ................................................................................................................................. 36 11.3 BFM MILESTONES ............................................................................................................................... 37

12 REPORTING AND MONITORING............................................................................................................. 37

12.1 AUDITING.............................................................................................................................................. 39

13 REVIEWING................................................................................................................................................... 42





APPENDICES:

APPENDIX A - TFB DAY ACTION PLAN 2013_2014

APPENDIX B - VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PLAN

APPENDIX C - BFM PROGRAM MILESTONES

APPENDIX D - VEHICLE FIRE EQUIPMENT & VEHICLE MOVEMENT

APPENDIX E - DECLARED FIRE DANGER PERIOD - BUSHFIRE MITIGATION

REQUIREMENTS

APPENDIX F - INSPECTING POWERLINES ON YOUR PROPERTY BROCHURE

APPENDIX G – POEL INSPECTION NOTIFICATION LETTERS

APPENDIX H – POWERCOR CONSOLIDATED BUSHFIRE MITIGATION INDEX OF FIRE

PREPAREDNESS





1 COMPLIANCE INFORMATION

The purpose of this section is to provide assistance to quickly identify the specific items required in Regulation 5A of the “Electricity Safety (Bushfire Mitigation) Regulations 2003”.

Reg. 5A - Prescribed particulars for bushfire mitigation plans—major electricity companies.

Powercor Plan

5A(a) the name, address and telephone number of the major electricity company;

Contacts & Approvals

5A(b) the name, position, address and telephone number of the person who was responsible for the preparation of the plan;


5A(c) the name, position, address and telephone number of the persons who are responsible for carrying out the plan;


5A(d) the telephone number of a person who can be contacted in an emergency that requires action by the major electricity company to mitigate the danger of bushfire;


5A(e) the bushfire mitigation policy of the major electricity company to minimise the risk of fire ignition from its supply networks;

Section 8

Section 8.1 to Section 8.8

5A(f) the objectives of the plan to achieve the mitigation of bushfire danger;

Section 5

5A(g) a description, map or plan of the land to which the bushfire mitigation plan applies, identifying all hazardous bushfire risk areas and the location of all the major electricity company's supply networks in those areas;

Section 6.2, Section 6.3

5A(h) the preventative strategies to be adopted by the major electricity company to minimise the risk of the major electricity company's supply networks starting fires;

Section 8.1 to Section 8.8

5A(i) a list of all works required for the strategies referred to in paragraph (h) to be undertaken and the date by which the works are to be completed;

Section 9

5A(j) a plan for inspection that ensures that all of the major electricity company's supply networks are inspected at regular intervals of no longer than 37 months;

Section 8.1

5A(k) details of the processes and procedures for ensuring that only persons who have satisfactorily completed a training course approved by Energy Safe Victoria are assigned to carry out the inspections referred to in paragraph (j);

Section 8.9





5A(l) the operation and maintenance plans for the major electricity company's supply networks— (i) in the event of a fire; and (ii) during any day that has been declared to be a

day of total fire ban under the Country Fire Authority Act 1958; and

(iii) during a fire danger period;

Section 8.15 Section 8.13 Section 8.14

5A(m) the investigations, analysis and methodology to be adopted by the major electricity company for the prevention of fire ignition from its supply networks;

Section 11.3

5A(n) details of the processes and procedures by which the major electricity company will—

(i) monitor and audit the implementation of the bushfire mitigation plan;

(ii) identify any deficiencies in the plan or the plan's implementation;

(iii) monitor and audit the effectiveness of inspections carried out under the plan;

(iv) improve the plan and the plan's implementation if any deficiencies are identified under subparagraph (ii);

(v) ensure that any training necessary for persons assigned to perform functions under the plan is provided;

(vi) monitor and audit the competence of the persons assigned to carry out inspections under the plan;

Section 12 and Section 12.1

Section 13 Section 12.1

Section 13

Section 8.9 Section 12.1

5A(o) the policy of the major electricity company in relation to the assistance to be provided to fire control authorities in the investigation of fires near the major electricity company's supply networks;

Section 8.12

5A(p) details of processes and procedures for enhancing public awareness of—

(i) the responsibilities of the owners of private overhead electric lines in relation to mitigation of bushfire danger; and

(ii) the obligation of the major electricity company to inspect private overhead electric lines within its distribution area.

Section 8.6 and Section 8.11

Section 8.6





2 KEY CHANGES FROM 2012/2013 PLAN

Section Change Comment

8.4 Section updated to reflect the current situation relating to the installation of New Generation Electronic Automatic Circuit Reclosers (ACRs) to Single Wire Earth Return (SWER) lines.

The installation program for the fitting of 179 New Generation Electronic Automatic Circuit Reclosers (ACRs) to Single Wire Earth Return (SWER) lines has been completed.





3 ABBREVIATIONS

Term Description ABC Aerial Bundled Cable ACR Auto Circuit Recloser AI-FMC Asset Inspection Field Mobile Computing System BFM Index Bushfire Mitigation Index BMP Bushfire Mitigation Plan BOM Bureau of Meteorology CKI Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings CEO Chief Executive Officer CFA Country Fire Authority CFO Chief Financial Officer DSE Department of Sustainability and Environment ESAA Electricity Supply Association of Australia AER Australian Energy Regulator EMLO Emergency Management Liaison Officer ESMS Electricity Safety Management Scheme ESV Energy Safe Victoria FMC Field Mobile Computing GIS Geographical Information System H&S Health and Safety HV High Voltage HEH Hong Kong Electric Holdings IDMF Intranet Document Management Framework IFMP Integrated Fire Management Planning IT Information Technology EMT Executive Management Team kV Kilovolts (1,000 Volts) kW Kilowatts (1,000 Watts) LSA Local Service Agent LV Low Voltage MFB Metropolitan Fire Brigade NAMP Network Asset Management Plan TFBDAP TOTAL FIRE BAN DAY ACTION PLAN OMS Outage Management System P1 Priority 1 Maintenance P2 Priority 2 Maintenance P3 Priority 3 Maintenance PDA Portable Data Assistant PLCCC Power Line Clearance Consultative Committee POA Point Of Attachment POEL Private Overhead Electric Lines Powercor Powercor Australia Pty Ltd RAM Regional Asset Manager RCM Reliability Centred Maintenance





Term Description RTO Registered Training Organisation SAP SAP R/3 mainframe business software system SCADA Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition SECV State Electricity Commission of Victoria SWER Single Wire Earth Return TFB Total Fire Ban VEMCO VEMCO Pty Ltd (Vegetation Management Contractor)

3A DEFINITIONS

Declared Fire Danger Period

- The CFA Declared Fire Danger Period for municipalities where the CFA utilises a risk based approach on an assessment of the fire danger in the municipality, to determine the start of the period.

- For the municipalities of Colac Otway Shire and Corangamite Shire, where a fixed

commencement date is utilised for the CFA Declared Fire Danger Period each year independent of the fire risk, a period defined by one week earlier than the commencement of the CFA Declared Fire Danger Period in Surf Coast Shire Council, to the conclusion of the Fire Danger Period in the actual municipality.

4 INTRODUCTION

4.1 LEGISLATION

Section 113A(1) of the Electricity Safety Act 1998 (incorporating amendments as at 1 January 2012) requires that a major electricity company must, before 1 July in each year, prepare and submit to Energy Safe Victoria, for acceptance under this Division, a plan for the company's proposals for mitigation of bushfire in relation to the company's supply network. In accordance with the Electricity Safety (Bushfire Mitigation) Regulations 2003, and associated amendments which came into force on the 13 October 2011 and 28 June 2012, this strategy plan provides the prescribed particulars as specified in Regulation 5A. This plan can be found on Powercor’s Intranet site by following this path: Home > Our Organisation > CitiPower and Powercor > Electricity Networks > Network Compliance > BushFire Mitigation > BFM Strategy

A copy of the current accepted bushfire mitigation plan will be available for inspection at the company's principal office in the State during ordinary business hours. CURRENCY OF DOCUMENTATION This plan is a living document and will evolve as the fire danger period approaches. Appendices to this document will be reviewed and additional information will be added to the appendices as it becomes available.





4.2 POWERCOR AUSTRALIA

Powercor Australia operates the largest electricity distribution network in Victoria, servicing customers in central and western Victoria, as well as Melbourne's outer western suburbs. This service area includes the locations of many of the worst bushfires and associated insurance claims in the history of the Victorian Electricity Supply Industry. Statistics regarding the Powercor distribution network are shown below.

Attribute Statistic

Network area 145,651 square kilometres

Length of distribution network (all lines)

85,310 kilometres

Underground lines 11.02%

Number of poles (all poles) 542,599

Number of zone substation transformers

138

Number of distribution substation transformers 82,113

Total number of customers 743,272

Customer density 5.10 per square kilometre

Network availability 99.98%





5 OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this plan are to:

Minimise the risk of fire starts from electrical assets

achieve compliance with the relevant legislative and regulatory requirements while providing flexibility within the business to encourage innovation, continuous improvement and the effective use of resources

define the companies approach to the management of the risk of bushfires caused by electricity assets

consolidate the policies and procedures relating to bushfire mitigation activities into one reference document

demonstrate a high level of commitment to meeting bushfire mitigation responsibilities

6 SCOPE

Powercor’s bushfire mitigation program includes asset inspection, maintenance, construction, upgrading, replacement, vegetation management, performance monitoring and auditing. The planning and scheduling of this program is based principally on the system of asset inspection and maintenance reporting supported by a program of audits. This strategy plan applies to assets that could cause fire ignition in all areas of Powercor’s supply network. Electricity networks have been a source of fire ignition since their construction and consequently a considerable amount of investigation has been and continues to be undertaken into the causes to enable preventative actions to be taken. The main causes of fire ignition are:

Contact between vegetation and the electricity network

Bird/animal or 3rd party contact with electricity assets

Failure of line hardware (electrical and mechanical)

Failure or malfunction of network devices such as Surge Arresters and Expulsion Drop Out (EDO) fuses

Conductor failures

Surface contamination of insulators, combined with moisture, resulting in electrical tracking

This strategy plan makes reference to other plans, manuals, standards, policies, procedures and work instructions which, when combined with this plan, cover all of the activities that contribute to the reduction of bushfire risk. Other key documents include:

The TFB DAY ACTION PLAN - refer Appendix A

The Vegetation Management Plan (VMP) - refer Appendix B

The Asset Management Framework & associated Plans

The Event Command Organisation (ECO) Manual

Electricity Safety Management Scheme

The Asset Inspection Manual

Technical Standards (covering design & construction of assets)





Maintenance Policies

The various Manuals, Procedures, Guidelines and Work Instructions covering BFM related activities

Technical Bulletins

6.1 REFERENCE DOCUMENTS

BFM policies, strategies and plans can be viewed on Powercor’s Intranet site by following these paths:

Home > Our Organisation > CitiPower and Powercor > Electricity Networks > Network Asset Management

Home > Our Organisation > CitiPower and Powercor > Electricity Networks > Network Compliance

Home > Our Organisation > CitiPower and Powercor > Electricity Networks > Regional Asset Management

Technical Standards can be viewed on Powercor’s Intranet site by following this path:

Home > Our Organisation > CitiPower and Powercor > Electricity Networks > Network Engineering > Technical Standards

BFM procedures, work instructions, manuals, guidelines and registers can be viewed on Powercor’s Intranet site by following these paths:

Home > Knowledge Bank > 18 Maintenance - Assets > 05 Asset Maintenance Policy

Home > Knowledge Bank > 18 Maintenance - Assets > 10 Manage Asset Maintenance

Home > Knowledge Bank > 18 Maintenance - Assets > 20 Asset Inspection Home > Knowledge Bank > 11 Manage People >05 Recruitment and

Selection

BFM forms can be viewed on Powercor’s Intranet site by following the path: Home > Document Centre > Electricity Networks > 18 Maintenance (Assets) > 05 Asset Maintenance Policy > Distribution Maintenance Policies





6.2 ELECTRICAL NETWORK MAP

The Powercor HV Overhead Network (show above) is colour coded as follows - 66kV Sub-transmission Lines 22kV 3 Phase and 1 Phase lines 12.7kV SWER Lines To maintain clarity the LV Overhead network has not been shown. Full network details are available from Powercor’s Graphical Information System (GIS). Viewing of map information specific to the nature and location of distribution assets is available during ordinary business hours.





GIS Map Book Sample





6.3 BUSHFIRE RISK AREAS

Hazardous Bushfire Risk areas are updated as part of the current CFA Fire Hazard Mapping Project and may change as areas are reviewed across the state. Agreement was received, from ESV and CFA, for distribution companies to load updates during May and June each year. Approximately 54% of Powercor’s assets are located in Hazardous Bushfire Risk areas (percentage based on pole population).

Low Bushfire Risk Area (LBRA)

Hazardous Bushfire Risk Area (HBRA)





7 MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE

Powercor has a formal management structure for the implementation and control of BFM related activities. This structure has clearly assigned authorities and responsibilities associated with each position. It takes into account the inter-relationships between those that manage, perform, record, verify and report bushfire mitigation activities and has been set up to maintain independence of reporting and monitoring tasks. External to the BFM management structure are the Audit Services group which annually audit and report on BFM performance and compliance. A diagram showing the organisational structure is shown below.

Powercor Australia Management Structure

CEO

GM Electricity Networks

ManagerNetwork Asset Management

Manager Network Asset Performance

Manager Network Control &

Operations

Regional Asset

Managers

Manager Control

Network Control and Operation. TFB Day

Action Plan (Operational Component)

Regional Stake-holder

Interface

Chief Financial

Officer

Manager Corporate

Risk, Insurance & Procurement

Insurance Submission,

ESV Incident Reporting &

Fire Investigation

MangerRisk

Management

GM Network Services

Manager Asset Services

Customer Compliance

Manager

Distribution Maintenance

Delivery Manager

Priority Maintenance

(Works program)

Private Overhead

Electric Lines (POELs)Defect

Management

Customer Compliance. Team Leader

Vegetation Manager

Vegetation Manage-

ment (VEMCO)

Poles & Wires Policy, Maintenance Program &

Asset Inspection

(ELECTRIX)

Asset Investigation & Reliability

Manager

Failed Asset Investigation &

Data Management.

Reliability Strategy,

Reporting & Investigation.

Bushfire Mitigation Manager

BFM Strategy Plan, BFM Audit Program & BFM

Reporting

Manager Network

Engineering

Technical Standards

Technical Standards Manager

Asset Management Development

Manager

Manager Network

Compliance

Lines Manager

Plant & Stations Manager

Asset Strategy &

Monthly Reporting. Project & Technical Support.

Plant & Substations

Policy, Inspection & Maintenance





8 POLICIES AND STRATEGIES

Powercor uses a number of strategies, plans, policies and standards to achieve its’ Asset Management objectives. The principle documents for ongoing asset management will be the Network Asset Management Plans and Specific Focus Plans. The diagram below shows how all these documents relate. Powercor has developed and implemented a number of policies across a broad range of areas to minimise the risk of fire ignition starting from its supply network. These areas include:

Bushfire Mitigation Asset Management Incident Reporting & Investigation Private Overhead Electric Lines Environmental Information Technology Purchasing and Procurement Contract and Contractor Management

Asset Management Policy

Asset Management Strategy & Objectives

Environmental Management System

Information Systems Strategy

Emergency Management System

Bushfire Mitigation Strategy Plan

Quality Management System

Reliability Improvement Strategy

10 Year Development Plan

Electricity Safety Management System

Sp

ecif

ic F

ocu

s P

lan

s an

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trat

egie

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Network Business Plan

Netw

ork A

sset Man

agem

ent P

lans

Underground Cables

Poles

Poles Tops

Overhead conductors

Power Trans & Regs

Circuit Breakers

Indoor HV switchgear

Capacitor Banks

Switches and isolators

Current Transformers

Supervisory Cables

Meters and Timeswitches

Overhead Services

Telecommunication Equipment

Public Lighting

Protection Equipment

Substation Buildings and facilities

Distribution Substations

ACRs

Batteries and Chargers

Po

licies

Design Standards & Specs.

Asset Management PoliciesAsset Management PoliciesAsset Management PoliciesAsset Management PoliciesAsset Management PoliciesAsset Management Policies

Sta

nd

ards &

Sp

ecs

Design Standards & Specs.Design Standards & Specs.Design Standards & Specs.Design Standards & Specs.Design Standards & Specs.Asset

Management Policies














Sp

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Sp

ecif

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ocu

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Netw

ork A

sset Man

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lans

Underground Cables

Poles

Poles Tops

Overhead conductors

Power Trans & Regs

Circuit Breakers


Capacitor Banks



Supervisory Cables


Overhead Services


Public Lighting




ACRs


Netw

ork A

sset Man

agem

ent P

lans

Underground Cables

Poles

Poles Tops

Overhead conductors

Power Trans & Regs

Circuit Breakers


Capacitor Banks



Supervisory Cables


Overhead Services


Public Lighting




ACRs


Po

licies


Asset Management PoliciesAsset Management PoliciesAsset Management PoliciesAsset Management PoliciesAsset Management PoliciesAsset Management Policies

Sta

nd

ards &

Sp

ecs

Design Standards & Specs.Design Standards & Specs.Design Standards & Specs.Design Standards & Specs.Design Standards & Specs.Asset

Management Policies


Po

licies



Asset Management Policies

Asset Management PoliciesAsset Management Policies






Sta

nd

ards &

Sp

ecs


Design Standards & Specs.Design Standards & Specs.




Design Standards & Specs.Asset

Management Policies








The specific policies and strategies related to BFM activities are described below.

8.1 MONITORING ASSET CONDITION

Preventative maintenance strategies have been created for all of Powercor’s zone substations, sub-transmission and distribution assets. Where applicable these strategies were developed from Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM II) methodologies and involve undertaking on-condition tasks based on a program of condition monitoring of the electrical network assets. The RCM rules are configured in Powercor’s Asset Management Enterprise System, called SAP, which automatically generates time based work orders for inspection and maintenance planning. Asset maintenance policies are developed, reviewed and implemented in accordance with:

Procedure 18-05-P0001 - Asset Management Policy Creation and Review Work Instruction 18-05-W0001 - Policy Implementation

Based on the exemption granted to ESV relating to Regulation 5A(j) in the 28 June 2012 amendments to the Bushfire Mitigation Regulations and consistent with the exemption ESV granted Powercor under reg 11 from the former requirements of reg 5A(j) on the condition that a transition plan is implemented, Powercor’s inspection cycles for distribution and sub-transmission poles are as follows:

High Bushfire Risk Areas (HBRAs)

1. All serviceable poles shall receive a full inspection within 1 month of their 5 year cyclic inspection date.

2. All serviceable poles shall be programmed to receive an above ground inspection

within 1 month of their 2.5 year cyclic inspection date, this period may be increased to accommodate access issues up to a period of 37 months from last inspection. (Program applicable to all poles scheduled for cyclic inspection from 1/1/2012)

3. All Limited Life poles shall receive a full inspection within 1 month of their 2.5 year

cyclic inspection date.

Low Bushfire Risk Areas (LBRAs)

1. All serviceable poles shall receive a full inspection within 1 month of their 5 year cyclic inspection date.

2. All Limited Life poles shall receive a full inspection within 1 month of their 2.5

year cyclic inspection date.

Definition of inspection types:

Full Inspection - Full inspection of pole and pole top assets in accordance with 05-C001-D390 – Network Asset Maintenance Policy for Inspection of poles. Pole Above Ground Inspection – Visual inspection of pole and pole top assets in accordance with 05-C001-D390 – Network Asset Maintenance Policy for Inspection of poles. Note: This inspection excludes excavation, treatment, and pole assessment at or below groundline.





(Both inspection types include the inspection of electrical assets between poles). Operational instructions for the inspection, testing and assessment of assets are contained in:

Manual 05 - M450 - Asset Inspection Manual

This manual describes the various types of electrical assets and the observations or tests necessary to identify and assess their condition. It also gives a detailed description of items that need to be identified for approved replacement or modification programs. The manual sets out criteria for categorising the urgency for remedial maintenance actions and the reporting and information recording requirements. Due to access difficulties associated with the inspection of poles located in mature crops these inspections are conducted in accordance with:

Work Instruction 05 - W475 - Asset Inspection Poles in Crop The Maintenance Planner controls the program of power line inspection in accordance with Powercor’s policies using maintenance plans established within SAP. Each maintenance plan covers all of the poles within a specific electrically isolatable section of the network. When SAP transaction “Date Monitoring” is run, pole inspection orders (PINS) are created in accordance with the scheduled dates specified in the maintenance plans. These work orders are electronically transferred to the Field Mobile Computing (FMC) system, reviewed by the Maintenance Planners and released to Electrix. FMC is an interface application, linked to SAP and GIS, that prepares data for dispatch to Electrix. Individual work orders are created by Electrix and download to individual asset inspectors. Asset Inspectors carry out the inspections and enter the results into a Portable Data Assistant (PDA). After inspection the “as found” data, in the PDA, is uploaded to FMC via remote data transfer connection. An overnight batch run in SAP automatically updates the equipment details as per the uploaded data and raises Notifications for all defects identified. Each Notification contains details of the defect located on a specific pole. The Maintenance Planner is responsible for preparation of the asset inspection program and monitoring of the performance of the contractor in adhering to the program. This is performed with the use of exception reporting to monitor variations from policy. A daily automated report is generated and sent to key stakeholders across the business.

8.1.1 Thermal and Corona Imaging

Thermal imaging inspections are undertaken in accordance with:

Policy No. 05 - C001.D - 570 - Thermovision Policy

Corona imaging inspections are undertaken in accordance with: Guideline 18-20-G0001 - Corona Camera Application Guideline

The thermal and corona inspection policies/guidelines stipulate the required inspection schedules and repair timeframes.





8.1.2 High Fault Current Areas

As part of the annual Line Condition Audit program, Powercor undertakes an inspection of High Fault Current Areas prior to the Declared Fire Danger Period. The audit encompasses all feeder backbones, in hazardous fire risk areas, within 5 km of a zone substation.

8.1.3 SWER Earths

This inspection program involves the testing of Single Wire Earth Return (SWER) isolating substations and distribution substations. These inspections are carried out in accordance:

Policy No. 05 - C001.D - 291 - SWER Isolating Transformer Earthing Systems Policy No. 05 - C001.D - 292 - SWER Distribution Transformer Earthing Systems

SWER Isolating Substation earthing systems are tested and repaired on a 2 year cycle. SWER Distribution Substation earthing systems are tested as part of a random sampling program.

8.2 PRIORITY CLASSIFICATIONS

Assets defects identified by our inspection program, or internally/externally reported, which have caused a fire, or have the potential to cause a fire, are assessed for their associated risk and prioritised for remedial action. Any report of a potential network defect or source of fire ignition will be managed in accordance with:

Policy No 05 - C001.A - 025 - Priority Policy

This policy sets out the criteria for classification of defects as shown in Table 1 below. Table 1 - Priority Allocations, definitions, and timeframes Allocation

Definition Summary

Timeframe

Priority One

Immediate & significant risk which requires urgent attention

Rectify or make safe within 24hours of initial notification

Priority Two

Where it is deemed at risk of failure within a two year period and/or requires prompt attention

Rectify within 18weeks of initial notification

Priority Three

Item does not meet criteria for Priority One or Priority Two allocation and is deemed at risk of failure before next scheduled inspection

Rectify within 2years of initial notification





8.3 REMEDIAL MAINTENANCE

Powercor’s maintenance programs are generated from a number of different sources, the main one being the asset inspection program (refer Section 8.1). Maintenance can also be identified from the following:

Reports from employees or contractors Customer calls Line Condition Audits Senior Management Audits BFM Vegetation Audits The Eyes & Ears Program

Refer Section 12.1 for more information on audits.

Defect Management

Senior Maintenance Planners issue the maintenance works, identified through the inspection program, for remediation. The works management group schedule resources to match the needs of the issued projects in order to achieve the required response times. Cyclic work packages are normally issued monthly on a feeder basis.

Faults/Fault Follow-up

Repairs to defects identified through the Network Faults/Outage process are managed in accordance with:

Procedure 07- 20 – P00013 - Manage Network Faults

Temporary repairs to defects identified through the Network Faults/Outages process may be flagged for follow up. These defects are managed in accordance with:

Procedure 07- 20 - G0013 – Manage Fault Follow-up and Repair

Audits

Asset defects identified during audits are communicated in accordance with the particular audit process.

Non Cyclic Maintenance

Maintenance found out of cycle is reported on the following form: Form 18 – 20 – F0002 - Miscellaneous Maintenance Report

These reports are reviewed in accordance with the Manage Miscellaneous Maintenance Request procedure.

8.4 ASSET REPLACEMENT/MODIFICATION

Powercor has a number of specific BFM related policies that deal with the replacement and modification of Powercor assets. These include:

Brown EDO fuse mounts more than 30 years old Unacceptable types of surge diverters Black or brown EDO fuse tubes





Unacceptable types of bird covers Fitting of LV spreaders Replacement or reinforcement of unserviceable poles Replacement of deteriorated cross-arms Pole fire mitigation Conductor Management Spreaders, Vibration Dampers and Armour Rods

These activities are carried out in accordance with: Policy No. 05 - C001.D - 320 - High Voltage Fuses Policy No. 05 - C001.D - 540 - Distribution Surge Arresters Policy No. 05 - C001.D - 330 - Insulators, Associated Hardware & Bird Covers for policy direction on bird covers. Policy No. 05 - C001.D - 255 - Low Voltage Spreaders Policy No. 05 - C001.D - 392 - Management of Unserviceable Poles Policy No. 05 - C001.D - 280 - Cross Arms Policy No. 05 - C001.D - 398 - Permanent Reinforcing of Wood Poles Policy No. 05 - C001.D - 281 - Pole Top Fire Mitigation Policy No. 05 - C001.D - 251 - Bare Conductor Policy Document no - 01 - 00 - M0020 – Overhead Conductors Asset Management Plan

In addition to these, Powercor is progressively replacing the aged and slow operating electromechanical line protection relays at Zone Substations. The new relays have faster operating times which has the benefit of reducing the fault clearance time and reducing the fault energy supplied.

In relation to the ESV direction relating to the installation of New Generation Electronic Automatic Circuit Reclosers (ACRs) to single wire earth return (SWER) lines issued on 5/4/2012, Powercor has completed the installation of 179 SWER ACRs, which are included in Appendix 1 of the Total Fire Ban Day Action Plan – 2013/2014 (Appendix A).

8.5 VEGETATION MANAGEMENT

Powercor is responsible for the management of vegetation around power lines and other electricity assets in both the rural and urban areas of the network. In some urban locations there are “Declared Areas” where the vegetation on public land, road reserves, or streets is the responsibility of the authority who manages those areas. In most instances this is a Municipal Council or Vic Roads. Powercor’s vegetation activities are managed by our vegetation management contractor VEMCO in accordance with:

Powercor’s Vegetation Management Plan (VMP) Vemco’s “Managing Outstanding Spans during the Fire Season Action Plan” document.

Powercor’s VMP (refer Appendix B) has been submitted to ESV for endorsement as prescribed by the Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2010. The plan outlines management processes, programs and cycles for maintaining clearances between vegetation and network assets. VEMCO carries out an annual inspection program in Powercor’s hazardous bushfire risk areas, in which all spans are inspected. Inspections are carried out in the Low Bushfire Risk Areas in accordance with Powercor’s VMP requirements.





8.6 POELs

Inspections

Powercor has an obligation under the Electricity Safety Act 1998 to inspect Private Overhead Electric Lines. POEL lines are inspected to identify any defects, or infringing vegetation, which may affect the fire and/or electrical safety of the line. Inspections are undertaken to include the prescribed standards of inspection contained in section 8 of the Electricity Safety (Bushfire Mitigation) Regulations 2003. There are 3 variations to these prescribed standards of inspection being applied by Powercor. Powercor meets the required outcomes of regulation 8.1.e(ii) and 8.1.e(iii) by the inspection techniques shown in (1) and (2) below. (1) The condition of treated pine POEL poles is determined by assessing the degree of external rot and also measurement of the pole girth. (2) The condition of hardwood POEL poles located in concrete is determined by drilling down at an angle to inspect the condition of the pole below concrete level to determine the millimetres of wood free of decay and the presence of termites. Powercor meets the required outcomes of regulation 8.1(f) by the inspection technique shown in (3) below.

(3) The condition of steel POEL poles located in concrete is determined by a visual inspection down to the point where the pole enters into the concrete to ensure that the pole retains 75% of steel thickness in the corroded area when compared against a non corroded area on the pole.

The POEL inspection program is conducted in accordance with:

Policy No. 05 - C001.D - 430 - Low Voltage Private Overhead Electric Lines Policy No. 05 - C001.D - 431 - High Voltage Private Overhead Electric Lines Manual 05 - M450 - Powercor Asset Inspection Manual

Powercor’s inspection cycle for Private Overhead Electric Lines is as follows: All Private Overhead Electric Lines (POELs) shall be inspected within the 37 month Regulatory timeframe.

Powercor’s asset inspectors attempt to liaise with POEL owners regarding POEL inspection requirements before commencing any work. If the POEL owner is not home or is not spoken to, the asset inspector is required to leave a pamphlet informing POEL owners that an inspection of their POEL was undertaken, a brief summary of inspection findings and general information regarding POELs including the requirement for Powercor to inspect POELs as required under the Electricity Safety Act 1998. A copy of this pamphlet is contained in Appendix F. The annual POEL mail out ensures that all Powercor customers who have a POEL will receive a letter and a brochure. The letter provides relevant information as well as our policy on defective POEL’s. The brochure covers topics including ownership, responsibilities, maintenance, vegetation clearance, electrical safety, disconnection and a guide to POEL inspection. The mail out of these normally commences in early November.





Powercor notifies the owners of up-coming POEL inspections, as required in the Electricity Safety (Bushfire Mitigation) Regulations 2003. These letters notify the owner which part of the line we will be inspecting and what will happen if defects are found (Refer Appendix G). Notice is given not less than 21 days and not more than 45 days before inspection.

Disconnection

Private Overhead Electric Lines that are identified as having a fire risk defect are disconnected on TFB days. Land owners, or occupiers, who are responsible for a defective POEL, are given up to 30 days to rectify vegetation infringements or other urgent defects. Every attempt is made to contact the customer by phone as soon as we become aware of the defect during the declared fire danger period. If such defects are not corrected within this time the owner, or occupier, is given further written notice following which they are advised that the matter has been referred to the ESV as required, according to referral advice provided by ESV. Powercor regularly contacts the responsible land owner, or occupier, by telephone to monitor the progress of corrective action. POEL’s referred to ESV for non-compliance are reinspected at 60-80 day intervals in order to monitor deterioration and risk. Any hazardous POEL’s found during inspections are disconnected to ensure fire and/or electrical safety. Supply is not restored until the installation is safe to reconnect. ESV has approved the disconnection of POEL’s with urgent fire defects on TFB days. When a disconnection is necessary, Powercor’s Customer Compliance Group advises the customer and creates an entry in OMS which prompts the Operations Control Centre to dispatch a crew to disconnect supply. POEL repairs and disconnections are managed in accordance with the following:

Work Instruction 18-55-W0002 - Private Overhead Electric Line (POEL) Overdue Repairs Procedure 18-55-P0001 - Identification and rectification of defective POELs

The specific actions required for the management of POELs with outstanding urgent fire defects, on days of TFB, are contained in Powercor’s TFB DAY ACTION PLAN (refer Appendix A).

8.7 NEW TECHNOLOGIES/INITIATIVES

Powercor’s has assessed and implemented numerous new technologies and initiatives to minimise the risk of electricity assets causing fire ignition. The Manager Network Asset Performance, Manager Network Asset Management and Manager Network Engineering all have the charter to optimise the maintenance strategies/policies and continually assess new technologies for the network assets. Technologies that have been assessed and implemented include:

Lightning detection system Thermal imaging Corona camera Underground cable testing Camera on a Stick Silicon Spraying of Insulators Guthrie Guards HV Steel Cross-arm program





Lidar Technology Asset and Fire Mapping software

Technologies that have been assessed and not implemented include: Extended Fuse Flag Bolts Concrete pole staking Concrete Pole Testing (equipotential mapping) Concrete Pole Repair Smart monitoring of leakage currents (Pole Fire Mitigation)

Technologies that are still being assessed include: Alternative pole materials i.e. composite poles Enclosed Substation Protection Pole Treatment Aerial Asset Inspection Non Destructive Pole Testing (Stress Wave technology) Steel Pole Condition Assessment Google Earth Fire Danger Index (FDI) overlay

Powercor has also conducted a Conductor Tie Performance Study to gain a better understanding of Conductor Tie deterioration. As a result of the Victorian Bushfires in 2009, the Victorian Government established a “Powerline Bushfire Safety Taskforce”. The Taskforce undertook a number of projects and trials to reduce the risk of fire start on days of extreme fire risk and produced a report which was delivered to the Government in late 2011. The Government has since published a response and an implementation committee called the Powerline Bushfire Safety Program (PBSP) committee has been formed to implement the Government’s response actions. Powercor has a representative on this committee and is working through each of the recommendations.

8.8 RESOURCING

Powercor ensures appropriate resources are available to carry out the activities outlined in this plan. Each year, typically in the fourth quarter, historical data is entered into various forecasting models for asset maintenance activity. The forecasts obtained from these models, for following years work, are then entered into Powercor’s Asset Management System (SAP). Resource requirements are then checked against the projects listed in SAP and resources are sourced accordingly. A detailed asset inspection program, of the following years work, is developed and provided to our asset inspection contractor to enable them to plan their resource requirements to meet the programs needs. Powercor’s vegetation management contractor, VEMCO, is required to manage the resourcing of all vegetation management activities throughout the year.





8.9 TRAINING

Powercor’s procedure for training and developing employees is:

Procedure 11 - P25011-30-P0004 - Training and Developing Employees General employee training needs are identified during the annual employee performance reviews. This is where the employee’s performance, over the past 12 months, is evaluated by their manager. Any training requirements that will improve employee skill levels and provide a better understanding of their job are identified, discussed and implemented. Records of employee training and employee and contractor authorisations are kept in the company’s database. In addition, the Australian ESI Skills Passport is used by an individual as a mechanism to record training, authorities, competencies and induction. The Australian ESI Skills passport encourages nationally consistent practices, common training standards, and individual ownership of refresher training currency. Hence, evidence of currency of refresher training and network authorisations become easily accessible, and promotes portability of resources across jurisdictions, as well as assisting with mutual aid requests.

Induction

Employees are required to complete an on-line induction which is available on the Powercor Intranet site by following the path:

Home > Our Organisation > CitiPower and Powercor > Communities, Committees & Portals > New Starters Portal > Important HR Stuff

This on-line induction covers an introduction to Powercor’s Bushfire Mitigation program and explains the key elements of the program. Powercor has developed an employee induction checklist that Managers need to complete for new employees. There is a requirement for new employees to access the New Starters Portal. Information on Bushfire Mitigation is covered in the New Starters Portal:

Form 11-07-F0001- Induction Checklist The training programs for specific job roles in bushfire mitigation activities are described below:

Asset Inspection

Asset Inspectors working on the Powercor network are required to hold a Certificate II in Asset Inspection. The RTO providing the Certificate needs to be approved by ESV. Current certificates have been obtained through Gipps TAFE (22109VIC) which is an ESV approved trainer.

Asset Inspectors are required to provide evidence of completed training. These records are kept electronically in an individuals file.





Details of the Certificate II in Asset Inspection (22109VIC) are shown below.

Core Units of Competency – Complete All (Note: Occupational Health and Safety, and Sustainability skills and knowledge are integrated into units of competency)

Unit code Field of

Education Code

Unit title Prerequisite

Cre

dit

Mat

rix

Leve

l

Cre

dit

Mat

rix

Poin

ts Nominal

duration

UEENEEE001B

Apply OHS practices in the workplace

Nil 1 4

40

UETTDREL03B 031311 Comply with environmental and incident response procedures

Nil 2 4 40

UETTDREL04B 031311 Working safely near live electrical apparatus as non electrical worker

Nil 2 4

40

AI001A 031311 Operate asset inspection plant, machinery and equipment near live electrical apparatus

UEENEEE001B UETTDREL03B UETTDREL04B

2 4 40

AI002A 031311 Inspect and treat poles and inspection of electrical apparatus


2 4 40

AI003A 031311 Identify and interpret characteristics of electrical apparatus associated with power industry assets


2 4

40

Elective Units of Competency – at least 3 to be completed

AI004A 031311 Undertake minor vegetation control and routine minor maintenance of poles and electrical apparatus


AI001A

2 4

40

AI005A 031311 Operate specialised data information equipment near live electrical apparatus


2 4 40

MEM16008A Interact with computing technology

Nil 2 2

20

MEM16012A Interpret technical specification and manuals

Nil 3 4

40

MEM17003A Assist in the provision of on the job training

Nil 2 2

20

BSBCUS201A Deliver a service to customers Nil 2 4 40

Total nominal hours 320 - 360





Powercor requires the following 3 electives units to be completed, to work on the Powercor Network:

- A1004A - Undertake minor vegetation control and routine minor maintenance of poles and electrical apparatus.

- A1005A - Operate specialised data information equipment near live electrical apparatus. - MEM16012A - Interpret technical specification and manuals.

Refresher Training Regime for Asset Inspectors The VESI Skills and Training Matrix stipulate the requirements and frequency of refresher training for asset inspectors. The matrix is available at www.vesi.com.au

Vegetation Management

All training requirements for vegetation management are covered in the Vegetation Management Plan in Appendix B. VEMCO has established a comprehensive Vegetation Inspection Manual which details the requirements and expectations for all vegetation inspection activities. This manual is approved by Powercor prior to training being undertaken.

Linework

The VESI Skills and Training Matrix stipulate the qualifications and refresher training for a Lineworker. The employing company is required to organise training to the standards referred to in the matrix. The employing company will keep records of all training undertaken. Lineworker apprentices are engaged in bushfire mitigation activities from time to time. This provides experience in a broad range of tasks. When companies engage apprentices they work under the VESI Apprentice Supervision Guidelines as published on the VESI website. www.vesi.com.au Formal training of apprentices, in linework, is conducted at the GIPPSTafe and this training is supported “on the job” by designated mentors and tradespersons.

Technical Standards

Powercor’s Technical Standards group provide information to Powercor employees, Local Service Agents (LSAs) and contractors with regard to new initiatives in the design and construction of network assets. This information is provided bi-annually and consists of a DVD presentation in conjunction with a live show and tell demonstration. Participants have the opportunity to ask questions, receive clarification and provide feedback to relevant Powercor personnel. If a significant new item of equipment, or a significant new technical standard, is being introduced then specially convened information sessions may be conducted. All contractors or other external persons associated with works on Powercor assets can register with Powercor to gain “read only” access to Powercor’s technical standards. Information sessions are also stored in MyConnect (Powercor Intranet System) for future viewing.





8.10 LIAISON WITH OTHER ORGANISATIONS

Powercor has a procedure for coordinating BFM activities and emergency procedures with relevant organisations which may include any of the following:

Energy Safe Victoria (ESV) Country Fire Authority (CFA) Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) State Emergency Service (SES) Department of Sustainability & Environment (DSE) Victoria Police Municipalities Mutual Aid Plan Planning Committee (MAPPC) Bureau of Meteorology Other Distribution/Transmission Network Operators

Actions to be undertaken in the event of a major event or emergency are contained in:

Manual 14 - 40 - M0001 – Incident Reporting & Investigation Manual Manual 13 - 40 - CP0001 Crisis and Emergency System Management Manual Manual 13 - 40 - M0002 - Event Command Organisation Manual

These documents include the responsibilities for communications with emergency services and other relevant organisations during events such as:

Loss of the Operations Control Centre Major supply outages Major plant faults Lack of supply capacity (load shedding) Fires and Incidents

Communication processes for BFM related activities are managed in accordance with:

Procedure 16 – 30 – P0003 - Coordinating Bushfire Mitigation with other Organisations Powercor is also a participant in the Integrated Municipal Fire Management Planning (IMFMP) project. This project provides a more consistent and systematic State approach to planning for fires. Planning covers all types of fires including wildfires, chemical fires and structural fires. With all the agencies and municipalities working together, this project improves the way fire events are managed in Victoria. The State Fire Management Planning Committee was established, in 2007, to provide a multi-agency strategic planning forum. This charter of this committee is to establish a consistent, sustainable and integrated approach to fire management planning across all of Victoria. Eight Strategic Regional Fire Management Planning Committees bring together the representatives of the fire agencies, organizations with responsibility for fire management, local government and others, to plan strategically across each region. Municipal Fire Management Planning Committees bring together representatives of local government, fire agencies, organizations with responsibilities for fire management and the community to plan in their municipality.





Powercor have representation, through the Regional Asset Managers, on the Integrated Fire Management Planning (IFMP) Committees. Powercor is also a stakeholder in the Fire Hazard Mapping Project being coordinated by CFA in which the Low Bushfire Risk Area in Powercor’s distribution area is reviewed on a 4 year cycle by CFA. Powercor involvement in this project extends to field verification trips with CFA, attendance at key stakeholder meetings and the funding of the project for the review of areas within Powercor’s distribution area.

8.11 PUBLIC AWARENESS

In an effort to maintain community awareness of the bushfire hazards Powercor conducts regional media campaigns highlighting various BFM activities. Powercor has a commitment to enhancing public awareness of:

the potential risks associated with POELs the risks of planting inappropriate vegetation near electrical lines vegetation species suitable for planting near powerlines inspection timeframes other fire related matters

As part of its Vegetation Management and POEL inspection programs Powercor makes the following information brochures available to its customers, free of charge:

“Planting Trees Near Power Lines” “POELs - Understanding Your Responsibilities”

Powercor will prepare a BFM communications schedule detailing activities and timelines for the coming fire danger period. Powercor’s RAMs are heavily involved in communication programs with customers, asset owners and municipalities. There are a total of six RAMs based at the following locations:

Bendigo Ballarat Geelong Ardeer Mildura Warrnambool

A communication program, from the RAMS, is printed in local regional newspapers. The media often provides free space, time and coverage for such messages and advertisements through community service programs. The RAMS provide a range of information to the public associated with the following activities:

Asset Inspection Maintenance programs Vegetation Pre-summer Audit Vegetation Management

This communication program is conducted in various forms including media releases, newspaper articles & advertisements, radio advertisements & interviews, TV interviews and face to face meetings with various stakeholders.





RAMs also take part in Powercor’s Business Relationship Management (BRM) program, which is a managed program of meetings with major customers, organisations and stakeholders, to discuss programs, issues and any suggested improvements. This program includes councils and CFA. Powercor sends out letters to Registered Electrical Contractors (RECs), within our service territory, in an effort to raise awareness and appreciation of the importance of POEL maintenance works and complying with the regulations and Powercor’s processes. An advertising campaign will accompany Powercor’s annual pre-summer BFM Vegetation Audit. Advertisements are normally placed with regional radio stations and local newspapers to advertise of the programs commencement and give some background information. For details of communication with POEL owners refer Section 8.6.

8.12 ASSISTANCE PROVIDED TO FIRE AGENCIES

There are two rural fire fighting services, operating within Powercor’s service area: The DSE are responsible for state forests and parks. The CFA is responsible for all other rural areas and is resourced largely by

volunteers. Powercor will provide assistance and work with the relevant fire control agency in the investigation of fires near our supply network. Powercor’s Emergency Management Liaison Officers (EMLOs) are available to attend fire agency command centres and provide information or assistance with issues relating to our distribution assets.

Easement Management

Powercor has a policy which covers the clearance of easements that provide access to network assets. Powercor liaises with fire control agencies and other key stakeholders such as municipalities, to identify key strategic fire breaks so that they may be maintained in an appropriate manner. This process is managed in accordance with:

Policy No 17 – 20 – CP0001 - Land Management of Powerline Corridors Policy

Emergencies

Any requests for resources to assist fire agencies are coordinated by the Network Controller, from Powercor’s Operations Control Centre. Fire emergencies are communicated directly to the Operations Control Centre via a direct phone number for emergency services organisations. Fault Crews are then promptly dispatched according to the information received.





Powercor will work with the relevant fire control agency to provide safe access to a fire or accident scene involving Powercor assets. This may include de-energisation of electrical assets upon request. Actions to be undertaken in the event of a major event or emergency are contained in: Manual 14 - 40 - M0001 – Incident Reporting & Investigation Manual Manual 13 - 40 - CP0001 - Crisis and Emergency System Management Manual Manual 13 - 40 - M0002 - Event Command Organisation Manual Powercor also has representation on the State Control Centre Electricity Industry roster for Emergency Management Liaison Officers (EMLOs). An EMLO is a person that acts as a go-between or the link between two organisations to communicate and coordinate their activities. An EMLO will provide the technical or subject matter expertise relating to the Electricity Industry and embeds an EMLO into the SCC to provide face-to-face coordination.

Information Exchange

There are a number of different forums for information exchange to take place between the fire agencies and Powercor.

A Regional Integrated Fire Management Planning Committee operates in each Region. Each committee includes representatives from the CFA, local Brigades, DSE, and local municipalities. RAMs either attend committee meetings or provide written reports on the status of Powercor’s Bushfire Mitigation Program. Each year prior to the fire danger period, the CFA holds an information day to provide a briefing and forecast for the coming season. Information presented includes the likely severity of the season and identification of high risk areas. This information day is attended by Victorian electricity distributors (including Powercor), transmission operators and representatives from the ESV. Powercor holds a BFM Post Season review, at the end of the fire danger period, to review our performance under this plan. The attendees may include CFA representatives. Information relating to the Fire Season declaration dates is provided to Powercor by CFA both through the receival of Fire Season Declaration notices and also through discussions with CFA Regional Community Safety Managers. The CFA are covered by Powercor’s Business Relationship Management program, which is a managed program of meetings with key (major) customers, organisations and stakeholders, to discuss programs, issues and any suggested improvements. ESV with the support of Powercor, in conjunction with the CFA, is carrying out a Fire Hazard Mapping project that involves the review of the Low Bushfire Risk Areas (LBRA’s) within Powercor’s service area. This project is sponsored by ESV and is an ongoing project where municipalities across Victoria are reviewed as part of an ongoing 4 year cycle, in accordance with an agreed program. Any changes are updated in Powercor’s GIS and SAP asset management systems. CitiPower/Powercor have installed Google Earth Enterprise as an in house application. It is currently available to everyone in the Business. The current functionality of the system includes the following: Streaming of current and historical fire data from the CFA and DSE;





Streaming of weather information ie Radar, Lightning, observations and

Fire warnings and alerts

Overlay of CitiPower and Powercor sub-transmission and distribution assets.

100 year Flood data

Business and TFB area overlays

Overlay of VicMap

Overlay of additional aerial data;

Zone substation, distribution substation and feeder asset searches;

Property address searches;

Google street view

Co-ordinate locations at curser positions in Latitude and Longitude.

Fire/Nonfire areas

CFA Fire Footprint overlay

Further potential enhancements identified being considered include: Overlay of further network information Ie AMI data, Asset maintenance information

The following screen shows some of the functionality of the system.





8.13 TOTAL FIRE BAN DAYS

Powercor has a TFB DAY ACTION PLAN which is invoked on TFB days. The TFB DAY ACTION PLAN contains BFM strategies, to be employed on days of extreme fire weather conditions, to minimise the risk of a fire ignition being caused by the Powercor’s electricity network. The TFB DAY ACTION PLAN is implemented under the direction of the Manager Control with assistance from the BFM Coordinator. A copy of the TFB DAY ACTION PLAN is attached in Appendix A. POEL’s which are located in hazardous bushfire risk areas and have defects which are not fire safe are disconnected on days of TFB. These lines are not reconnected until the end of the TFB or until the fire danger has subsided. For works involving welding, cutting, grinding, or use of naked flame permits from the appropriate organisation (eg. CFA, MFB, and DSE) are used and adhered to. For works on days other than TFB days the conditions provided in Appendix E will be adhered to.

8.14 DECLARED FIRE DANGER PERIOD

During the Declared Fire Danger Period Powercor will continue with normal operation of it’s electrical assets. The majority of Powercor’s Operational and Maintenance activities are configured to be undertaken for the full 12 months of the year, irrespective of Declared Fire Danger Periods. There are however some activities that are specific to the Declared Fire Danger period. These include:

1. Vehicle Movement Off-road (see Appendix D) 2. Use of Flame /spark omitting equipment (see Appendix E)

3. Fire Fighting Equipment to be carried ( see Appendix D)

4. Vegetation Defects found during the Fire Season ( will be managed in accordance with

Vemco’s “Managing Outstanding Spans during the Fire Season Action Plan” document.)

5. Line Condition Audit Program – This is a series of field audits undertaken across the distribution network (see Section 12.1 Auditing)

6. Enhanced BFM Activities – This is a program of additional activities that may be

undertaken each fire season. A decision is made by Senior Management based on information received from various sources, including the CFA, other emergency services as well as from Fire Threat Mapping. Activities that may be undertaken include:

Additional Thermographic and Corona Camera inspections emanating from selected zone substations in high risk areas identified by CFA.

Focusing some of the existing audit programs in these high risk areas identified by CFA.

Additional auditing programs covering both asset condition monitoring and vegetation management in high risk areas identified by CFA.





8.15 FIRE MANAGEMENT

In the event of a fire, Powercor’s Operational and Maintenance activities include:

- Receiving notification from or supplying notification to the relevant fire control agency regarding a fire event.

- Liaison with the relevant fire control agency regarding appropriate actions. - Dispatching field crews for fault rectification or as directed/requested by the relevant

fire control agency. - Liaison with the local Powercor Regional Asset Manager regarding information

sharing as required. - Deployment of Emergency Management Liaison Officers if required to any Incident

Control Centre established by the relevant fire control authority. - Managing the fire event in accordance with Powercor’s Event Command

Organisation Manual (13-40-M0002) and Incident Reporting & Investigation Manual (11-M700).

9 PROGRAM TIMING

CitiPower and Powercor have produced a set of combined BFM program milestones which specify the completion dates required for key BFM activities. A copy of the BFM program milestones document is attached in Appendix C. The inspection program dates are determined by the maintenance plan, in accordance with the relevant asset policy and are generated from SAP (Refer Section 8.1). Remedial maintenance and asset replacement/modification is completed accordance with the priority classification policy (refer Section 8.2).

10 FIRE INVESTIGATION

As part of continuous improvement towards the mitigation of bushfires, Powercor investigates incidents of fire ignition caused by electricity assets. Detailed analysis of asset failure trends are also carried out in order to develop policy improvements and enhanced preventative actions.

Any fire starts initiated by Powercor Assets according to ESV reporting guidelines are reported to ESV. The Network Control Room identifies any fire starts from outage information or from external advice and notifies the Network Availability Officer (NAO) who investigates each situation according to the information provided. The NAO then sends completed reports to the Manager Risk Management for checking and collation and forwarding to ESV as per the ESV reporting guidelines. At the annual BFM post season review, ground fire start statistics are presented and discussed. The following manual and policy cover the reporting requirements for fire starts:

Manual 14 - 40 - M0001 – Incident Reporting & Investigation Manual Policy 18 - 80 - CP0007 – ESMS Reporting to Energy Safe Victoria (ESV) and Fire Start Reporting to AER





11 KEY MEASURES

11.1 BFM INDEX

As there is no current Industry Standard for the BFM Index calculation, Powercor has developed an in house BFM Index for it’s Bushfire Mitigation activities. This BFM Index is an index of preparedness measured against 7 key elements of our BFM program. It measures the performance of a range of inspection and maintenance activities against policy targets. The index is constructed from figures contained in Powercor’s consolidated BFM status report. The BFM status report includes a breakdown of the individual elements that comprise the index, with their respective weightings (“Multipliers”), together with the actual incidence of non-compliant items. Elements covered include asset inspection, vegetation clearance, pole replacement and priority maintenance compliance with policy.

An explanation of how the BFM Index is calculated, providing information on the calculation formula and components is attached in Appendix H. The objective is to reduce the index to zero by the start of the Fire Danger Period and to maintain zero throughout the period.

11.2 FIRE STARTS

Reporting on Ground Fires and Pole Fires is done as they occur and reported to ESV. This is carried out in accordance with: Policy 18 - 80 - CP0007 – ESMS Reporting to Energy Safe Victoria (ESV) and Fire Start Reporting to AER; and Manual 14 - 40 - M0001 – Incident Reporting & Investigation Manual

Powercor has an arrangement with the CFA for obtaining monthly attendance statistics for Grass/Scrub/Bush/Grazing & Cropping Property Codes fire starts within the CFA Regions located in Powercor’s distribution area. Powercor’s ground fire start information is then normalised against these CFA fire start statistics. This information is then included in the BFM Post Season Review presentation to Senior Management at the end of the fire danger period.

11.3 ASSET FAILURES

As part of continuous improvement towards the mitigation of bushfires, Powercor investigates incidents of fire ignition which are attributed to its electricity assets. Analysis of asset failure trends are also carried out in order to develop improvements to maintenance policies, technical standards and enhanced preventative actions. Investigation of failed assets is performed and carried out by the Asset Investigations & Reliability section. An Asset Failure Review Committee has been charged with reviewing asset failures and consists of representatives from Asset Investigations & Reliability, Lines Maintenance,





Bushfire Mitigation, Plant and Stations Maintenance, Compliance and Safety, Technical Standards, Asset Inspection Contractor (Electrix), Works Practices and field resources from across the business. The committee meets quarterly to review asset failure investigations and to look for opportunities to improve the management of the asset of interest to mitigate future failures. The location of these meetings is rotated across our field resource sites to facilitate input from local representatives into the process. An Asset Failure newsletter is produced on an as needs basis to support the asset failure review process and to communicate key messages from the review committee and/or the performance of asset classes of interest.

The following procedure covers the reporting, analysis and investigation of fires and failed assets:

Procedure 18 – 06 – P0001 - Asset Failure Investigation and Reporting

Investigation results and recommendations form the basis for review of relevant technical standards, works practices, maintenance policies and the initiation of any special asset inspection/replacement/modification programs, as required. Policy reviews are managed by the Lines section for the distribution lines network or the Plant and Stations section for primary electrical plant

11.3 BFM MILESTONES

CitiPower and Powercor have produced a set of combined BFM program milestones which specify the completion dates required for key BFM activities. The BFM program milestones that relate to Powercor are:

Submission of the Vegetation Management Plan to ESV. Conducting the annual BFM Post Season review. Submission of the Bushfire Mitigation Strategy Plan to ESV. Update any CFA Fire Hazard Mapping Project changes to HBRA areas received

before 30/6/2011 into GIS/SAP. Conducting the annual Summer Pre-Season Briefing to Senior Management. Completion of Mail out to Powercor customers and Registered Electrical Contractors. Completion of Senior Management BFM Audit program. Completion of Line Condition Audit program. Completion of Vegetation Audit program.

The achievement of these milestones is an Electricity Networks Key Performance Indicator (KPI). A copy of the BFM program milestones document is attached in Appendix C.

12 REPORTING AND MONITORING

Powercor has a reporting process which ensures that all levels of the BFM management structure, including executive management levels and ESV, are informed of the status of the company’s preparedness. The reporting process incorporates requirements for:

Prior to the Declared Fire Danger period During the fire danger season On Total Fire Ban days

Reporting and monitoring arrangements for TFB days are contained in the TFB DAY ACTION PLAN (refer Appendix A).





BFM Status

The main method of monitoring the BFM plan is the BFM Status report, which includes the BFM Index. This report measures the status of a range of BFM activities against policy or program targets. Reported activities include pole replacement, asset inspection (including POELs), priority maintenance, asset replacement programs, and vegetation inspection and clearance programs. It is provided to senior management, the various people involved in BFM activities, and ESV. The report is also loaded onto Powercor’s Intranet site for viewing by all Powercor personnel. The BFM Status report is compiled and reported on a monthly basis, outside the fire danger period and then reverts to weekly reporting during the fire danger period. The frequency of this reporting enables close monitoring by both Powercor management and ESV. The frequency of this reporting is sufficient to enable the detection and rectification of any situation that could jeopardise the achievement of a state of full preparedness by the start of the Declared Fire Danger Period. Powercor’s Senior Bushfire Mitigation Advisor prepares the BFM Status Report from automated reports generated from SAP and OMS.

BFM Index

Powercor’s strategy to reduce the BFM Index is to closely monitor the key programs associated with the BFM program. This includes maintenance items, vegetation control and asset inspection.

Asset Inspection

The Asset Inspection program is monitored by the Maintenance Planner. An automated daily exception report is generated from SAP and distributed by e-mail to alert relevant employees of assets that are overdue for inspection or close to becoming overdue. The Maintenance Planner investigates any overdue poles to ensure appropriate action (including POEL poles)

Maintenance

An automated daily Priority 1 report is generated from OMS and distributed to relevant employees by e-mail. The Maintenance Planner checks any outstanding items, with the Outage Co-ordinator, to ensure prompt action. An automated daily Priority 2 exception report is generated from SAP and distributed by e-mail to alert relevant employees of defects that are overdue for rectification or close to becoming overdue. The Senior Maintenance Planner investigates any outstanding defects and follows up with the Program Manager Asset Maintenance to action them in accordance with:

Work Instruction 18 – 10 – W0006 - Management of Maintenance Items Outside Policy





Vegetation Clearance

VEMCO produce a monthly report which is presented at the monthly operational meetings with Powercor. This report provides program status updates on all vegetation management programs. Status reporting on outstanding vegetation works from VEMCO occurs on a weekly basis in the lead up to and during the Declared Fire Danger Period. This can escalate to daily reporting, if required, as declaration dates approach. This information is included into the BFM Status report.

ESV

Powercor’s reporting schedule to ESV, on its BFM activities, is listed below. Annual Vegetation Management Plan (supplied by the 31st March in each year) Annual BFM Strategy Plan (supplied by 1st July in each year) BFM Status Report (reported monthly or weekly during the fire danger period) Bushfire Performance Index (reported monthly or weekly during the fire danger period) Ground and Pole Fire starts (reported as they occur) Fire Start Statistics (reported to ESV as per the ESV reporting requirements) Urgent POELs (reported monthly or weekly during the fire danger period) Reporting on issues found through ESV audit processes is carried out on request.

12.1 AUDITING

Powercor has a program of audits to validate the effectiveness of BFM processes, policies and systems used to manage or monitor BFM activities, these include:

Internal audits of the BFM management programs and processes which are carried

out by Audit Services. These audits are conducted to an internal audit schedule, which can be viewed on Powercor’s Intranet site and are typically carried out between May and August each year.

An annual ESV audit which is conducted in the lead up to the fire danger period and

concentrates on adherence to the BFM plan and the processes and procedures that support the plan.

Internal audits of the BFM management procedures and processes which are carried

out by Powercor’s corporate Quality Team.

Audit improvement recommendations are documented and followed up for completion. Other audits undertaken include:

Asset Inspection Audits

Our asset inspection contractor (Electrix) has a self audit program that they manage and maintain. The audit program requires a follow up audit of all inspectors where sub standard work is identified. An intensified audit program is then established for that inspector until the attainment of satisfactory results. Powercor’s asset inspection contractor includes the results of their completed audits (including POEL inspections) and corrective actions proposed/undertaken in their monthly asset inspection report.





Powercor also has its own independent audit program for monitoring the performance of asset inspectors. Powercor’s Asset Maintenance Compliance Officer is responsible for performing this function. Monitoring and auditing of the competence of persons assigned to carry out inspections under the plan shall be done by monitoring and auditing the adherence to works practices which demonstrate skills and knowledge in Asset Inspection.

Maintenance Audits

Maintenance project field audits are undertaken by the Electricity Network’s Audit and Compliance Group, who have an audit program that includes random audits of completed projects, to ensure that the relevant technical standards and design specifications have been achieved in the finished project. Any additional audits are completed upon request. Electricity Networks and Network Services have a joint audit program using two external companies, UtilityVision Pty Ltd and Health & Safety Auditing Services Pty Ltd. This program results in a number of maintenance projects being audited each year.

Electricity Networks also carries out major plant audits, on an as needs basis. Network Services have a structured audit program that audits key maintenance works and involves Program Managers, Construction Project Leaders and Maintenance Officers. Powercor’s Asset Maintenance Compliance Officer also audits a sample of maintenance files and Priority Maintenance repairs.

Vegetation Audits

Prior to the start of the fire danger period, a comprehensive vegetation audit is conducted on Powercor’s electrical network as a means of checking the effectiveness of our vegetation management contractor and database accuracy. This audit is undertaken via air or ground inspections and is in addition to any other ground inspections activities. Powercor’s Bushfire Mitigation Group coordinates and implements this annual vegetation audit in accordance with:

Work Instruction 18-10W0001 - Conducting Pre-Summer Vegetation Audits Up to 20% of conductor spans, in the Hazardous Bushfire Risk Area, are audited each year. The areas selected for auditing take into account:

Fire Threat Mapping – High Risk areas Areas of high bushfire risk, as designated by the CFA Rotation of the audit areas

The management of this audit program is carried out by Powercor’s Bushfire Mitigation Group. They select the power lines to be patrolled, provide asset information to the auditors, monitor and report on the audit progress. Powercor’s Vegetation Contract Management Officers also audit the activities and effectiveness of our vegetation management contractor in accordance with a documented audit schedule. The vegetation management contractor also has their own internal audit program which addresses three key issues:

Accuracy of vegetation identification and classification Vegetation trimming/removal to the requirements of the code A focus on high risk areas during the Declared Fire Danger Period





Line Condition Audits

To measure compliance with the policies outlined in this plan and to help maintain employee awareness line condition audits are conducted across the business leading up to and throughout the declared fire danger period.

Powercor’s Bushfire Mitigation Officer organises the line condition audit program and selects suitable managers and employees to participate in the program. These include the CEO and GM Electricity Networks. A total of around 50 auditors generally participate in the program which encompasses approximately 3% to 5% of Powercor’s distribution and sub-transmission line assets in hazardous bushfire risk areas. The program is undertaken in accordance with:

Work Instruction 16 – 30 - W0004 - Line Condition Audits

Senior Management Audits

The objective of the pre-summer Senior Management audits is to review overall management of the BFM program and performance against targets. During the November/ December period each year, a series of audits are conducted across four key areas of the BFM program:

Asset inspection Asset maintenance Vegetation management Network Operations Control Room (TFB Day Plan Implementation)

The Senior Managers involved in these audits include:

CEO General Manager Electricity Networks General Manager Network Services Manager Network Compliance

Each audit usually involves two or more responsible officers, for each activity and involves a desktop audit followed by a field audit component.

Eyes & Ears Program

Introduced in 2005, the “Eyes & Ears Program” encourages employees to call a dedicated phone number for reporting potential network defects or irregular asset conditions.





13 REVIEWING

The BFM Strategy Plan is reviewed each year and adjustments/improvements are made to better meet the objectives of the plan. There are various means by which feedback is obtained and improvements are identified including:

The Post Fire Season Review, which is held at the end of the fire danger period to review our performance under the plan. Attendees include Powercor’s senior managers, insurance underwriters, corporate risk, internal auditors, and key personnel involved in the BFM program. CFA representatives may also be invited to attend. Presentations are delivered on the businesses performance in each of the key BFM activities. Improvement opportunities are discussed and included in the BFM Strategy Plan if required.

The Summer Pre-Season Briefing, which is held before the start of the fire declaration period. It provides an opportunity to report on the progress of BFM plan activities and to plan contingencies, if the need arises, to meet the requirements of the plan.

Internal and external audit findings.

The value of the measures contained in the BFM Index is reviewed annually before the start of each fire danger period. This review considers the ongoing relevance of each the contributing elements which make up the index. This review is carried out in accordance with:

Work Instruction 16-30-W0001 Bushfire Mitigation Index Review

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