Builder's temporary power supply
Organise a temporary power supply
If you’re working on a building or construction project, you may need to organise a temporary power supply.
What's a builder's temporary power supply?
A builder’s temporary power supply is a connection on site to give an electricity supply for building or construction work.
It can be used up to one year, with a short extension available if work is close to completion. After that it needs to become a permanent connection, or permanently disconnected (decommissioned).
It can’t be used for providing residential, leisure or commercial power supply.
All builder’s temporary supply are metered and can be either 1 phase (30/32A) for housing or small commercial construction, or 3 phase (60/63A) for large commercial or industrial construction.
An Installation Control Point (ICP) number is allocated to each builder’s temporary supply, which is transferred when the connection is changed to a permanent supply.
Installing your builder's temporary supply
When installing your builder’s temporary supply:
- the equipment should be housed in a suitable pole mounted box that’s accessible from the road
- the box needs to be weatherproof and secure from unauthorised entry and interference.
- the recommended height of a pole mounted box is between 1.2 to 2 metres above ground level (only for builder temporary supplies, permanent supplies need Northpower height requirements for permanent meter stations)
- where we provide an overhead supply, the builder’s temporary supply can be mounted on the termination pole (privately owned, not on a network owned pole which are identifiable by fixed Northpower asset number). Alternatively it can be located on a substantial pole as close as possible to the permanent supply point
- remember to leave enough supply cable length for relocation to the permanent supply
- connection to the network cannot be completed unless the builder’s temporary supply end is terminated into a main switch (phases) and onto the neutral bar (neutral). This must be completed prior to Northpower or our approved contractor coming to site to complete connections to the network or livening of an installation. There will be an additional cost for a return visit if this isn’t completed and available for the site visit.
Electrical standards and safety requirements
All builder’s temporary supply installations need to conform to relevant clauses in the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 and any subsequent amendments; and Part 2 of AS/NZS 3000: Electrical Installations (known as the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules).
They also need to meet Northpower network standards and Worksafe NZ safety requirements.
Once the installation is completed, the livening agent or Northpower approved contractor requires a valid Certificate of Compliance (COC) before the supply can be livened.
Organise a builder's temporary supply
You can organise a builder’s temporary supply in our online service centre.