11 June 2012
«Owner»
Attadale South Project
«MAILING_ADDRESS1»
«MAILING_ADDRESS2»
Property Owner
Satisfaction Survey
McWhae
Property Address:
«PROP_Addr1», «PROP_Addr2»
Dear «Salutation»
- Keith
The Attadale South Project is now complete and I have been asked, on behalf of the Project, to arrange for the
attached Survey to be sent to the owners of all properties recently provided with underground power. The City
has been very pleased with the recent removal of the last of the wires and poles and the improvement to both the
amenity of the area and the new brighter and safer street-light system.
We would greatly appreciate you completing the Survey and adding any further comments you may have. You do
not need to identify yourself on the Survey, however there is provision at the end of it for your contact details if you
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have any concerns that require a reply.
Please ensure you answer question 1 to differentiate between the responses of resident property owners and
those who do not live in the project area.
Your responses to questions 2 to 18 are on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 = well below expectations and 5 = well
Melville
above expectations. Not all questions will be applicable so please use the N/A response where appropriate.
Please circle your response to each ques
of tion and we welcome any additional comments or feedback you may
wish to include after question 18.
On the back of this letter is a statement regarding final repairs and re-instatements that I urge you to consider
along with some Frequently As
- City
ked Questions for your information.
Please return the Survey by 9 July 2012 in the enclosed reply paid envelope.
Yours sincerely
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Dr Shayne Silcox
FOI
Chief Executive Officer
City of Melville
The State Underground Power Program in Attadale South is a partnership between the Government of Western Australia (through
the Public Utilities Office), Western Power and the City of Melville to improve residential amenity and security of power supply.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Outstanding Repairs and Re-instatements
We are keen to ensure that all repairs and re-instatements resulting from the project are completed to avoid any
issues in the future. If you believe the contractors still need to do work at your property, please write the details in
the comments section of the Survey along with your name, address and phone number where indicated. Please
use this opportunity, as any requests for repairs or re-instatements will not be accepted after the closing date for
the return of the Survey.
Frequently Asked Questions
There have been many similar comments and questions from property owner surveys in previous underground
power areas so hopefully these FAQs and their Answers will clarify the more common issues for you.
“I used to have a street light in front of my property, now I don’t and it is too dark” or
“I have a new street light in front of my property where there wasn’t one before and it is too bright.”
Often, a new light may be some distance from where the nearest old light was removed, giving the perception that
the new streetlights are too bright or the street is now darker than it was previously. It is important to understand
that when the new lights are installed, there is much greater flexibility with their placement. They are usually
about 1 metre from the edge of the road and spaced about 50 to 60 metres apart. The old lights were on every
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second wooden pole, about 80 metres apart and usually some distance back from the road.
The new lighting system provides a more even spread of light to the roadway and verge areas and is not designed
to provide any more or any less light to private property. The intention of both Western Power and the City is to
improve the safety and overall lighting levels of the road reserve.
- Keith
“Does the project remove the bracket on my house to which the old overhead wire was attached?”
These are known as Point of Attachment brackets and they are not removed as part of the project. They belong
to you as they are part of your house and are more easily dealt with when you are repainting or renovating around
there. They are perfectly safe to work on as the old wire from there to the meter box has been disconnected from
the rear of the meter.
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“Why is the Project wasting time and money on this survey?”
These surveys provide valuable feedback to Council and the Project Team by measuring the responses of
property owners to various aspects of the project and cataloguing the comments made on the surveys. They
enable appropriate changes to be made to the processes used and the success of these changes is then
measured by comparing the results from the surveys on the newer projects with those of this survey. The aim is
Melville
to continually improve the processes to ensure the work is done as quickly and efficiently as possible to minimise
the impact on property and residents. of
“Why should property owners pay for Western Power to get new infrastructure?”
The cost of putting the existing
- City
overhead distribution network underground is so great that Western Power could
not consider it as part of its annual capital works budget. While the visual amenity benefits are enormous, the
benefits in terms of the security of the network are not sufficient that it could be considered a practical or
reasonable use of Western Power funds.
In reality, if a major storm severely damaged the overhead network it would be more cost effective to rebuild the
network above ground than to place it underground. While there are benefits to Western Power in terms of
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reduced losses of electricity and maintenance, they fall well short of justifying the capital investment. Western
Power and the State Government each contribute 25% of the cost, and the City of Melville contributes 50%. The
City’s responsibility is ultimately passed to the property owners in the project area who derive the greatest benefit
FOI
in terms of improved amenity, less power outages and safer, more evenly lit streets.
Conclusion
The Attadale South Project is the fifth project completed in Round 4 of the Underground Power Program. Since
the Program’s inception in 1996, 40 projects have been completed and converted 76,000 properties to
underground power at a cost of $281M. The Bentley East Project has also been completed recently leaving just
the Attadale North Project which commenced this month and will be completed by October 2013.
Ten new projects in Round 5 were announced in December 2010 by the Minister for Energy with six now in
construction, including Ardross West and the remaining four commencing between now and July 2013.
Again, thank you for providing this feedback that will enable us to improve future projects.
Property Owner Survey
Attadale South Project
NA - Not Applicable
1 - Well Below Expectations
2 - Below Expectations
3 - Met Expectations
4 - Above Expectations
5 - Well Above Expectations
1. Do you occupy your property in the project area? Yes No
*Please Circle your Responses*
Property Owners were offered various options for payment of the underground power
installation charge - ie full up front payment or the option to extend payments up to
5 Years.
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2. How did you rate the repayment plan?
N/A
1
2
3
4
5
Before and during the project commenced you received two newsletters that
provided information about the project, and during the project several advices were
delivered to the property explaining the various stages of the work.
- Keith
3. How did you rate the amount of information provided?
N/A
1
2
3
4
5
4. How did you rate the usefulness of the information?
N/A
1
2
3
4
5
A number of contractors worked in the street verges – drilling, installing cable, re-
instating verges, erecting streetlights and removing the old over-head system. Also,
the project’s electrical contractor worked inside your property to install the house
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5. How did you rate the standard of the verge re-instatements?
N/A
1
2
3
4
5
6. How did you rate the standard of the work inside your property?
N/A
1
2
3
4
5
Melville
7. How did you rate the courtesy of the workmen you had contact with?
N/A
1
2
3
4
5
of
In a project of this size and scope it was inevitable there would be some disruption
to the residents' amenity during the installation phase.
- City
8. Did you find the level of disruption acceptable?
N/A
1
2
3
4
5
During the project the relevant contractors were responsible for repairs and
reinstatement where unavoidable damage occurred during the work. Please answer
these questions if you needed to get repairs or reinstatement done.
9. How did you rate the speed of the contractor's response?
N/A
1
2
3
4
5
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10. How did you rate the quality of the repairs and re-instatements?
N/A
1
2
3
4
5
FOI
How did you rate the following during the project? If you have any other concerns
please use the space provided after Question 18.
11. Duration of the project
N/A
1
2
3
4
5
12. Cost to Property Owners
N/A
1
2
3
4
5
13. Damage to property
N/A
1
2
3
4
5
Property Owner Survey
Attadale South Project
NA - Not Applicable
1 - Well Below Expectations
2 - Below Expectations
3 - Met Expectations
4 - Above Expectations
5 - Well Above Expectations
The installation work is now complete, the old overhead system has been removed
and the new streetlights are operational.
14. How do you rate the impact the project has had on the streetscape?
N/A
1
2
3
4
5
15. How do you rate the new street lighting system?
N/A
1
2
3
4
5
McWhae
Both the City of Melville and Western Power received calls and communications from
residents throughout the project asking questions or requesting that repairs or
reinstatements be done. If you contacted either the City or Western Power during
the project
- Keith
16. How did you rate the response from the City of Melville?
N/A
1
2
3
4
5
17. How did you rate the response from Western Power?
N/A
1
2
3
4
5
Now the project is complete we seek your views on its overall success. Please
consider all the elements of the project that impacted on you, for example – what it
cost you, the impact on your verge and garden, and the changes to both the street
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lighting s
18. How do you rate the overall success of the project?
N/A
1
2
3
4
5
Please use this space if you have any further comments or any other issues relating to the project.
Melville
of
- City
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Contact Details (If Reqd)
FOI
Could you please ensure you have answered Question 1
Thank you for assisting with this Survey
Please now forward this in the Reply Paid envelope
Phone
The Underground Power Program in Attadale South is a partnership between the Government of Western Australia (through the Public Utilities
Office), Western Power and the City of Melville, to improve residential amenity and security of power supply.
