2017-18-powercor-and-citipower-vegetation-management-plan.pdf

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan CitiPower and Powercor

November 15, 2017 Administrator: Wayne Evans Document No: PAL 2017-2018 ELCMP V1.4

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan CitiPower and Powercor Contents 1

2

3

PLAN INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 3 1.1

PLAN APPROVALS............................................................................................................ 3

1.2

PLAN ALTERATIONS ......................................................................................................... 4

1.3

PLAN DEFINITIONS .......................................................................................................... 5

1.4

REGULATION COMPLIANCE INFORMATION – PRESCRIBED CODE OF PRACTICE PROVISIONS ............ 6

1.5

RESPONSIBLE PERSONS .................................................................................................. 11

1.6

ELCMP REFERENCES ..................................................................................................... 11

ELCMP OBJECTIVES .............................................................................................................. 13 2.1

VISION ........................................................................................................................ 13

2.2

MISSION ..................................................................................................................... 13

2.3

LEGAL CONTEXT ............................................................................................................ 13

NETWORK OVERVIEW ......................................................................................................... 14

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

3.1

COMPANY GEOGRAPHIC AREAS ....................................................................................... 14 3.1.1 POWERCOR NETWORK GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE TO WHICH ELCMP APPLIES ............... 14 3.1.2 CITIPOWER NETWORK GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE TO WHICH ELCMP APPLIES ............... 15

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3.2

NATIVE VEGETATION COVERAGE ...................................................................................... 16

3.3

IMPORTANT VEGETATION COVERAGE ................................................................................ 16

3.4

IDENTIFICATION OF IMPORTANT VEGETATION ..................................................................... 18

3.5

PROCESS TO IDENTIFY NATIONALLY PROTECTED VEGETATION AND HABITAT ............................. 19

VEGETATION MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW ............................................................................ 22 4.1

STRATEGY OUTLINE ........................................................................................................ 22

4.2

INSPECTION .............................................................................................................. 22 4.2.1 INSPECTION CYCLE ............................................................................................. 22 4.2.2 INSPECTION TO MAINTAIN VEGETATION CLEAR OF POWERLINES ................................. 23 4.2.3 INSPECTION FOR HAZARD TREES ........................................................................... 25

4.3

CUTTING ..................................................................................................................... 25 4.3.1 CUTTING TO MAINTAIN VEGETATION CLEAR OF POWERLINES..................................... 26 4.3.2 URGENT CUTTING/REMOVAL ............................................................................... 26 4.3.3 COMPLIANCE TO AS4373 AS FAR AS PRACTICABLE ................................................... 26

4.4

ASSISTANCE TO RESPONSIBLE PERSONS ............................................................................. 27 4.4.1 GENERAL ASSISTANCE ......................................................................................... 27 4.4.2 ORP DECLARED AREA NON-COMPLIANCES ............................................................ 27

4.5

1

NOTIFICATION AND CONSULTATION .................................................................................. 28

4.5.1 AVAILABLE INFORMATION AND PUBLICATIONS ......................................................... 31 4.5.2 DISPUTE RESOLUTION ......................................................................................... 32 5

TRAINING ............................................................................................................................. 33

6

ELCMP PERFORMANCE MONITORING AND AUDITING........................................................ 34

REFERENCE A VEGETATION WORK CALLING CARD ............................................................................... 36 REFERENCE B TREE MANAGEMENT PLANS ......................................................................................... 38 REFERENCE C ESV REPORTING......................................................................................................... 40 REFERENCE D EPBC ACT REFERRAL PROCESS .................................................................................... 42 REFERENCE E ASSESSMENT AND APPROVAL PROCESS FOR CONTROLLED ACTIONS ...................................... 44 REFERENCE F NOTIFICATION AND CONSULTATION ............................................................................... 46 REFERENCE G GRANTED EXEMPTIONS ............................................................................................... 48 REFERENCE H VEGETATION MANAGEMENT POLICY .............................................................................. 50 REFERENCE I VEGETATION MANAGEMENT STRATEGY........................................................................... 58 REFERENCE J VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PROCEDURE ........................................................................ 99 ATTACHMENT A AUDIT SCHEDULE ................................................................................................... 98

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

REFERENCE

2

VEGETATION FIELD REFERENCE GUIDE

(available separately)

1 PLAN INTRODUCTION 1.1 P L A N A P P RO V AL S

Prepared By

31 / 03 / 2017 Wayne Evans Vegetation Manager Date

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

Approved By

31 / 03 / 2017

Matt Thorpe Head of Network Compliance

Date

Document Revision History Version No.

Revision Summary

Reviewer/Approver

Date

1

Submission to ESV

Wayne Evans / Matt Thorpe

31 March 2017

2

Amendments as per ESV review

Wayne Evans/Matt Thorpe

27 July 2017

Wayne Evans/Matt Thorpe

25 August 2017

Wayne Evans/Matt Thorpe

15 November 2017

3 4

Amendments as per ESV review

2nd

VP Timeframes Clarification of Exceptions

3

1.2

P L A N A L TE R A TI O N S

Material Alterations from the 2016/2017 ELCMP ELCMP Clause all

Change/Updated Element Combined CitiPower and Powercor ELCMP Vegetation Management Documents

1.3

Definitions

Additional definitions added including: Minimum Clearance Space, and Regulated Applicable Distance

4.2

Minimum Clearance Space (MCS)

Minimum Clearance Space calculations redefined

4.2.2

Span Codes

Previous span codes augmented with more descriptive compliance vegetation priority codes – illustrated Figure 6

4.2.3

Hazard Trees

Previous process augmented to include the use of Lidar and Arborist

Modified Clearances

Previous LBRA modified clearance exemptions granted by ESV continue to apply. Additional details added for process for exception

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

Reference G

4

Comments As approved by ESV, this ELCMP now applies to both CitiPower and Powercor Updated ELCMP references: •Policy •Strategy •Procedure •Field Reference Guide

1.3 P L A N D EFI N I TI O N S Act: Electricity Safety Act 1998. Affected Person: an owner or occupier (including a person who is responsible for the management of public land). Arborist: Suitably qualified arborist as defined in Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015, who has at least 3 years of field experience in assessing trees. As far as practicable: means an action that which is, or was at a particular time, reasonably capable of being done, effected or put into practice with the available means taking into account and weighing up all relevant matters as determined by CitiPower and Powercor including: (i) what we know, or ought reasonably to know, about: (i) the nature of any relevant hazard or risk, and (ii) ways of eliminating or minimising the risk, and (ii) the degree of harm that might result from the hazard or the risk (iii) the availability and suitability of ways to eliminate or minimise the risk (iv) the impact on amenity, impact on the health of vegetation and cost associated with available ways of eliminating or minimising the risk (v) whether the impact on amenity, impact on the health of vegetation and cost associated with available ways of eliminating or minimising the risk is disproportionate to the risk. Bushfire Construction Areas: electric line construction areas declared and gazetted under the Electricity Safety (Bushfire Mitigation) Regulations 2013 (as amended by the Electricity Safety (Bushfire Mitigation) Amendment Regulations 2016). Code: Code of Practice contained in the Schedule of the Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015. Consult: Means to provide an adequate opportunity to members of the public, local government and landowners to understand the vegetation works proposed and to seek additional information regarding the proposed works. 2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

ELCMP: Electric Line Clearance Management Plan (Vegetation) relating to compliance with the Code of Practice for Electric Line Clearance for 2017 - 2018. Native Vegetation: Native vegetation means plants, trees, shrubs, herbs and grasses that would have been endemic to its current location before European arrival. Native Vegetation excludes plantings, regrowth , vegetation on road reserves, fire breaks and established powerline corridors. (RAD): the distance set out by Part 3 of the Code. Regulations: Electric Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015 including any exemptions granted by Energy Safe Victoria under Code of Practice Provisions clause 11. Service Provider: a Contractor or Sub-contractor engaged through contractual arrangements with CitiPower and Powercor. Vegetation Assessor: a person whose qualifications, experience and ongoing training and assessment demonstrate competency in assessing and scoping vegetation near live electrical apparatus. This person determines cutting requirements to confirm compliance for vegetation near live electrical apparatus. Vegetation Management: the CitiPower and CitiPower and Powercor document hierarchy of Vegetation Management Documents, end-to-end business processes, activities and instructional material for implementation of the ELCMP. Vegetation Management System (VMS): the CitiPower & Powercor structured set of data to manage vegetation for compliance to the Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations and corporate strategy. For other definitions refer to the Act, Regulations and Code.

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1.4 R E GU L A TI O N C O M PL I AN C E I N FO RM A TI O N The purpose of this section in this ELCMP is to provide assistance to quickly cross reference and identify the specific items as required in the Electric Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015 Part 2 Prescribed Provisions Section 9 & 11 Schedule 1 Code of Practice Section 10. Item Ref

Regulation Requirement

ELCMP Reference

Part 2 Provision 9 3(a)

The name, address and telephone number of the responsible person 1.5

Responsible Persons, Page 11

3(b)

The name, position, address and telephone number of the individual 1.5 who was responsible for the preparation of the management plan

Responsible Persons, Page 11

3(c)

The name, position, address and telephone number of the persons 1.5 who are responsible for carrying out the management plan

Responsible Persons, Page 11

3(d)

The telephone number of a person who can be contacted in an 1.5 emergency that requires clearance of a tree from an electric line that the responsible person is required to keep clear of trees

Responsible Persons, Page 11

3(e)

The objectives of the management plan

ELCMP Objectives, Page 13

3(f)

The location to which the management plan applies, by the inclusion 3.1.1 Powercor Network, of a map Page 14

2

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

CitiPower Network, Page 15 3(g)

3.2 Native Vegetation Coverage, Page 16 Refer Reference B – Tree Management Plans

3(h)

The means which the responsible person is required to use to identify 3.4 Important Vegetation a tree specified in 3(g)(i) (ii) or (iii) Identification Process, Page 18

3(i)

The management procedures that the responsible person is 3.6 required to adopt to ensure compliance with the Code, which must– (i) include details of the methods to be adopted for managing trees and maintaining a minimum clearance space as required by the Code (ii) specify the method for determining an additional distance that allows for cable sag and sway for the purpose of determining a minimum clearance space The procedure to be adopted if it is not practicable to comply with 3.6.1 the requirements of AS 4373 while cutting a tree in accordance with the Code A description of each alternative compliance mechanism in respect of which the responsible person has applied or proposes to apply, for approval under clause 31 of the Code

3(j)

3(k)

6

The location of areas containing trees which may need to be cut or removed to ensure compliance with the Code and that are (i) native; or (ii) listed in a planning scheme to be of ecological, historical or aesthetic significance; or (iii) trees of cultural or environmental significance

Inspection to maintain vegetation clear of powerlines, Page 23

AS 4373 compliance as far as practicable, page 26 Alternative Compliance Mechanisms a function of maintaining vegetation clear of powerlines, Sec. 4.1.2

Item Ref 3(l)

3(m) 3(n) 3(o)

3(p)

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

3(q)

Dispute resolution procedures

ELCMP Reference Details alternative compliance mechanism held, refer Reference G Monitoring, page 34 Auditing, page 34 Training, page 33

Notification and Consultation, page 28 Reference F 4.5.2 Dispute Resolution, page 32

4

A method for determining an additional distance that allows for 3.6.2 Vegetation cable sag and sway may provide for different additional distances to Management Policy, be determined for different parts of a span of an electric line Reference H, page 50

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Exemptions

10(7)

7

Regulation Requirement The details of each approval for an alternative compliance mechanism that(i) the responsible person holds (ii) is in effect A description of the measures that must be used to assess the performance of the responsible person under the management plan Details of the audit process that must be used to determine the responsible person’s compliance with the Code The qualifications and experience that the responsible person must 5 require of the persons who are to carry out the inspection, cutting or removal of trees Notification and consultation procedures, including the form of 3.9 notice to be given in accordance with the Code

Publication of ELCMP

Table of Exemptions Reference G - previous ongoing LBRA modified clearance exemptions granted by ESV continue to apply. 4.5.1 Available Information and Publications page 31

Code of Practice Compliance information

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

Item Ref

ELCMP Reference

1

Definitions

N

Noted

2

Meaning of minimum clearance space

N

Noted

3

A responsible person must ensure that, at all times, no part of a tree 1.5 for which the person has clearance responsibilities is within the minimum clearance space for a span of an electric line.

Refer Vegetation Policy (50) & Vegetation Strategy (58) for details of how CP-PAL intend to meet this obligation and

4

Exception to minimum clearance space for structural branches 1.5 around insulated low voltage electric lines.

CP-PAL has in place a process to assess and manage exception locations. Refer VM procedure pg 165

5

Exception to minimum clearance space for small branches around1.5 insulated low voltage electric lines

CP-PAL has in place a process to assess and manage exception locations. Refer VM procedure pg 165

6

Exception to minimum clearance space for structural branches 1.5 around uninsulated low voltage electric lines in low bushfire risk areas

CP-PAL has in place a process to assess and manage exception locations. Refer VM procedure pg 165

7

Owner or operator of transmission line must manage trees around 2 minimum clearance space

Transmission lines are not part of this ELCMP

8

Responsible person may cut or remove hazard tree

An arborist advice will be obtained if removal of a significant tree is required (CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation Management Procedure 2.2) pg 121 Compliance with AS 4373 pg 26

9 10

11 12

13

14

8

Code of Practice for Electric Line Clearance Requirement

Cutting of tree to comply with Standard Cutting or removal of specified trees must be minimised

Cutting or removing habitat for threatened fauna

3.4

Important Vegetation Identification Process, Page 18

Threatened fauna section pg 18 Restriction on timing of cutting or removal if notification is required 3.6.1 Notification and Consultation, page 28

Restriction on urgent cutting of trees

Restriction on urgent removal of trees

3.6

Reference F pg 46 Section 4.3.2 Urgent cutting and removal pg 26 Section 4.3.2 Urgent cutting and removal pg 26

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

Item Ref 15

16

Responsible person must publish notice before cutting or removing certain trees

17

Responsible person must consult with occupier or owner of private 5 property before cutting or removing certain trees

ELCMP Reference Vegetation management procedure 4.5 Notification of & consultation pg 168 Vegetation management procedure 4.5 Notification of & consultation pg 168 Vegetation management procedure 4.5 Notification of & consultation pg 168 Vegetation management procedure 4.5 Notification of & consultation pg 168

18

Notification and record keeping requirements for urgent cutting or 3.9 removal

19

Dispute resolution

20

Duty relating to the safety of cutting or removal of trees close to 3.6.2 an ORP assistance as per electric line Vegetation Management Procedure pg 183 Duty relating to assisting to determine the allowance for cable sag ORP assistance as per and sway Vegetation Management Procedure pg 183 and policy Reference H – Sag & sway pg 53 Duties relating to management procedures to minimise danger Assistance as per Vegetation management Procedure pg 183 Additional distance that allows for cable sag and sway Sag and Sway additional distance is calculated in accordance with the policy Reference H – Sag & sway pg 53 Insulated electric lines in all areas Sag & sway pg 53 Uninsulated low voltage electric line in a low bushfire risk area Sag & sway pg 53 Uninsulated high voltage electric line (other than a 66 000 volt Sag & sway pg 53 electrical line) in a low bushfire risk area Uninsulated 66 000 volt electrical line in a low bushfire risk area Sag & sway pg 53 Uninsulated low voltage and high voltage electric lines (other than a Sag & sway pg 53 66 000 volt electrical line) in a hazardous bushfire risk area Uninsulated 66 000 volt electric lines in a hazardous bushfire risk Sag & sway pg 53 area Transmission lines There are no transmission lines covered by this ELCMP Application for approval of alternative compliance mechanism Process for Alternate

21

22

23

24 25 26 27 28 29 30

31

9

Code of Practice for Electric Line Clearance Requirement Responsible person must provide notification before cutting or removing certain trees

4.5.2 Dispute Resolution, page 32

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

Item Ref

10

Code of Practice for Electric Line Clearance Requirement

32

Formal safety assessment of alternative compliance mechanism

33 34 35

Approval of alternative compliance mechanism Amendment of approval Suspension or revocation of approval

ELCMP Reference Compliance Mechanisms pg 176 Process for Alternative Compliance Mechanisms pg 176 ESV obligation Noted Noted Noted

1.5 R E S P O N S I B L E P E R S O N S Prescribed Code of Practice Provisions clause 9 (3) Responsibility

Name

Title

Address

ELCMP Responsible Person

Powercor Australia Ltd

Electricity Distribution Business

40 Market Street Melbourne, 3000 Post to: Locked Bag

Phone: 13 22 06 Email: [email protected] 14090 MCMC Vic 8001

ELCMP preparation

Matt Thorpe

Head of Network Compliance

40 Market Street Melbourne, 3000 Post to: Locked Bag

Phone: 13 22 06 Email: [email protected]. au 14090 MCMC Vic 8001

ELCMP carrying out

Wayne Evans

Vegetation Manager

40 Market Street Melbourne, 3000

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

ELCMP Emergency Contact

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Powercor 24 hour Emergency CitiPower 24 hour Emergency and Power

Contact Details

Phone: 13 22 06 Email: [email protected]

Power Failure

Phone: 13 24 12 WEB : www.powercor.com.au

Failure

Phone: 13 12 80 WEB : www.citipower.com.au

A copy of the current CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation Management ELCMP can be viewed at the CitiPower and Powercor offices located at 40 Market Street, City of Melbourne, during normal business hours of 9:00am to 5:00pm.

1.6 ELCMP R E FE R EN C E S o o o o o o o o o o

Electricity Safety Act 1998 (Vic) (The Act) Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015 (Vic) Industry Guidelines CitiPower and Powercor Customer Action and Response System (CARE) Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Vic) Victorian Planning Provisions and Planning Schemes Pruning of Amenity Trees AS4373( current version) Powercor Bushfire Mitigation Strategy Plan CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation Management Documents • Policy • Strategy • Procedure • Field Reference Guide

Figure ‘1’ describes the hierarchical structure of the CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation Management Documents for key processes, end-to-end business procedures, activities and instructional material for implementation of the ELCMP.

Hierarchy of Vegetation Management Documents

Figure 1 – Vegetation Management Documents Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015

Electricity Safety Act 1998 (Vic)

Vegetation Management Policy

Conduct Vegetation Inspection

Work Instructions Guidelines

Work Instructions Guidelines

Vegetation Management Strategy

Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plans

Vegetation Management Procedures

Vegetation Annual Execution Plan (VAEP)

Conduct Consultation for Vegetation Action

Work Instructions Guidelines

Execute Vegetation Action

Work Instructions Guidelines

Work Instructions Guidelines

Conduct Vegetation Reporting

Work Instructions Guidelines

Work Instructions Guidelines

Verify Contractor Compliance & Determine Amount Payable

Work Instructions Guidelines

Work Instructions Guidelines

The ELCMP shall be updated annually to ensure it is consistent with all relevant regulations, is relevant to the needs of the community and considers all business drivers.

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

The business compliance tracking tool ensures regulatory obligations including the ELCMP is completed.

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The CitiPower and Powercor ESMS 2016 (Section 02 Management Structure) provides currency of regulations.

2

ELCMP OBJECTIVES Prescribed Code of Practice Provisions clause 9 (3e)

This ELCMP has been prepared to comply with the requirements of the Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015. The objective of this ELCMP is to describe management procedures to comply with the regulations and to achieve the vision. An annual review of all regulation changes will be conducted prior to submission of the ELCMP each year.

2.1 V I S I O N To minimise the risks to the community and the environment caused through the interaction of trees and powerlines. We will support this vision by attention to our mission and instilling the following values: o Live safely o Drive and embrace change o Be community minded

2.2

o Make it easy for our customers o Be the best we can be o Succeeding together

MISSION

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

To ensure that the vegetation minimum clearance space is maintained for the period of the cutting cycle detailed in 3.7.

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At all times these activities will be carried out with attention to: o Minimising the risk of fire starts o Responsible Environmental Management o Ensuring public safety o Commitment to work place safety o Ensuring private property security o Minimising of community cost o Ensuring continuity of supply o Consultation/Notification o Delivery of quality service o Reduction in number of inappropriate species o Ensuring Electrical Safety of vegetation near powerlines The outworking of the Vision and Mission are explained in more detail in this ELCMP.

2.3

L E GA L C O N TE X T

The Electricity Safety Act 1998 (Vic) and the Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015 (Vic) establish a regime for the purposes of electric line clearance management, which interacts with vegetation protection laws at a national, state and local level. The Victorian line clearance regime provides for a system of vegetation management with clear objectives of fire prevention and vegetation management and safety. At the same time there are a number of national, state and local laws which seek to protect native vegetation and habitat, and manage any adverse impacts on protected vegetation. In general terms, the Victorian legal framework gives paramount importance to the objective of minimising the risk of fire ignition in the proximity of electricity lines. The Code and this ELCMP set out a framework for identifying and managing environmentally significant vegetation and habitat in an environmentally responsible manner, at the same time as achieving line clearance objectives for the purposes of fire prevention. Australia has a federal system of government, which means that national environmental law generally prevails over other state laws where there is an inconsistency. At the date of this ELCMP, there is no specific exemption in the national environmental law for fire prevention works in the form of line clearance works. This means that line clearance works must be undertaken not only in accordance with the Code, but also with a view to ensuring compliance with national environmental law in the form of the Environment Protection Biodiversity and Conservation Act 1999 (Cth).

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NETWORK OVERVIEW

3.1 C O M P AN Y G EO G RA PH I C A R EA S 3.1.1 Powercor Network Geographic Coverage To Which ELCMP Applies Prescribed Code of Practice Provisions clause 9 (3f) Powercor’s network area covers the Western side of Victoria from the New South Wales border in the North, with some connected assets located in New South Wales, to the ocean in the South, and from the South Australian border in the West, with some connected assets located in South Australia, to a rough alignment west of the Hume Highway; scouting the Western Suburbs of Melbourne (excluding areas such as Sunbury, Gisborne South, Tullamarine, east part of Sunshine and Williamstown). Powercor manages vegetation in the vicinity of powerlines that is the responsibility under Section 84 of the Act. Powercor is not responsible for the management of all vegetation within the geographic coverage of Powercor’s network. Section 84 of the Act defines Powercor’s vegetation management responsibilities and the responsibilities of Other Responsible Persons. The Powercor geographic coverage includes Low Bushfire Risk Areas (LBRA) and Hazardous Bushfire Risk Areas (HBRA). The Powercor Bushfire Mitigation Group will consult annually with CFA to ensure boundary information is accurate

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

Figure 2a - Powercor Geographic Coverage

Table 1 - Powercor 2015 AER benchmarking

Data is not currently collected on all the vegetation details contained in the table so some estimates are used.

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3.1.2 CitiPower Network Geographic Coverage To Which ELCMP Applies Prescribed Code of Practice Provisions clause 9 (3f) CitiPower’s network is bound by Port Phillip Bay, Balaclava Road and Toorak Road to the South; Warrigal Road to the East; the Yarra River, Dundas Street and Moreland Road to the North; and the Yarra River, Maribyrnong River and Moonee Ponds Creek to the West. The CitiPower distribution network covers 157 square kilometers including the Melbourne CBD, the inner suburbs and involves a broad range of native and introduced tree species. The CitiPower Powercor Bushfire Mitigation Group will consult annually with CFA to ensure boundary information is accurate. Note: there are no HBRA areas currently within CitiPower’s geographic area.

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

CitiPower manages vegetation in the vicinity of powerlines that is the responsibility under section 84, 84A, 84B, 84C and 84D of the Act. CitiPower is not responsible for the management of all vegetation within the geographic coverage of CitiPower’s network. Section 84 of the Act defines CitiPower’s vegetation management responsibilities and the responsibilities of Other Responsible Persons. Figure 2b – CitiPower Geographic Coverage

Table 1 - CitiPower 2015 AER benchmarking

Data is not currently collected on all the vegetation details contained in the table so some estimates are used.

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3.2

N A TI VE V E G E TA TI O N C O V E R A G E Prescribed Code of Practice Provisions clause 9 (3g)

The majority of vegetation within CitiPower’s & Powercor’s network area can be classified as native to Victoria. In addition to the locations and categories shown in Figures 3(a) & 3(b) there are significant areas of remnant native vegetation on road corridors throughout the uncategorized areas in Figure 3(a) & 3(b). More detailed information relating to local coverage can be found at the Victorian Government Department of the Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI) Biodiversity Interactive website at the following link: http://mapshare2.dse.vic.gov.au/MapShare2EXT/imf.jsp?site=bim which has been overlayed onto the CitiPower Powercor Google Earth Enterprise application. Local coverage of nationally significant vegetation can be found using the Protected Matters Search tool at the Australian Government Department of the Environment website at the following link: http://www.environment.gov.au/topics/about-us/legislation/environment-protection-and-biodiversityconservation-act-1999/protected CitiPower and Powercor will as far as practicable restrict cutting or removal of native vegetation to the extent necessary for continuous compliance with Part 2 and 3 of the Code and in accordance with the outlined clearance cycles shown in this ELCM Section 4.2.

3.3

I M PO R TA N T V E G E TA TI O N C O VE R A GE

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

Prescribed Code of Practice Provisions clause 9 (3g)

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Important Vegetation is defined in this ELCMP as trees and vegetation (in locations) which may need to be cut or removed to ensure compliance with the Code and that are: (i) listed in a planning scheme to be of ecological, historical or aesthetic significance; (ii) trees of cultural or environmental significance as defined in the Regulations (this includes trees, flora and habitat protected under Victorian laws); or (iii) nationally environmentally significant and listed under the Environment Protection Biodiversity and Conservation Act 1999 (Cth). The location of important vegetation that is identified as a result of 3.4 – Important Vegetation Identification Process is registered in the Joint Tree Management Plans (Reference B) which is individually linked at span level in the Vegetation Management records. Areas of significant grassland and low lying vegetation, which may be impacted or damaged in the course of accessing or working in road reserves, private and public land, will also be included in Vegetation Management records as and when these areas are identified through the works process. This important vegetation information is identified at the inspection stage prior to any cutting or removal works and is also made available directly to the Vegetation Assessors.

Figure 3(a) - Powercor Victorian Vegetation Coverage Categories

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

Ref: Biodiversity Interactive Map DELWP internet version

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Figure 3(b) - CitiPower Victorian Vegetation Coverage Categories

3.4

I D EN TI FI C A TI O N

O F I M PO R T AN T V E GE T A TI O N Prescribed Code of Practice Provisions clause 9 (3h)

Purpose This section outlines the process to be employed to ensure important vegetation located within the vicinity of powerlines is identified and given special consideration and appropriate consultation when pruning or clearing of vegetation is proposed.

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

Procedure The CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation Management Procedure – 3. Manage Vegetation Action Sec.3.1 Compile Work Package Process Outline Step 2 environmental due diligence will be used to identify important vegetation.

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CitiPower and Powercor shall determine the location of important vegetation for special consideration by consulting: o Government records, including –  The Victorian Heritage Register http://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/  The Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Register https://applications.vic.gov.au/apps/achris/public/  Department of the Environment and Primary Industries, Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988, Threatened List https://www.environment.vic.gov.au/conserving-threatened-species/flora-and-fauna-guarantee-act1988  The DEPI Biodiversity Interactive Mapping Website https://www.environment.vic.gov.au/biodiversity/biodiversity-interactive-map  Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), List of threatened flora, List of threatened ecological communities, List of threatened fauna and the Protected Matters Search Tool website http://www.environment.gov.au/epbc/about/epbc-act-lists#species, and  Council records, including the relevant zoning and overlay controls in the planning scheme. http://services.land.vic.gov.au/maps/pmo.jsp CitiPower and Powercor has for each council a Joint Tree Management plan (Reference B), each plan may contain a list significant vegetation supplied by council. The plans also contain a communication plan which allows for minimum 6 monthly engagements to ensure community remains informed of CitiPower and Powercor vegetation programs (Including possible impacts on important vegetation). Plans are amended whenever new important vegetation sites are identified. Council and Public Land Managers are contacted to obtain specific locations of vegetation that may require pruning or clearing under the Regulations, that is; (a) specified in a relevant planning scheme to be of ecological, historical, aesthetic significance; or (b) of cultural or environmental significance as defined in the Regulations; (c) nationally environmentally significant and listed under the Environment Protection Biodiversity and Conservation Act 1999 (Nationally significant vegetation); or (d) the habitat of rare or endangered species. Pruning/clearing of these trees will only be completed after consultation with the Tree Owner in relation to the regrowth of that vegetation to avoid and minimise any impacts on this vegetation. Consultation with local government authorities of CitiPower and Powercor vegetation work programs is detailed in this ELCMP section 4.4. Nationally significant vegetation will not be cleared, pruned or otherwise impacted without first deciding whether the activity requires referral and approval from the Department of the Environment, and obtaining any requisite approvals as detailed in this ELCMP section 3.5. Where there is proposed pruning/clearing of a tree or vegetation that has been identified as habitat for fauna listed as either; (a) threatened in accordance with section 10 of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 or (b) listed in the Threatened Invertebrate Fauna List with a conservation status in Victoria of vulnerable", "endangered" or "critically endangered" or

(c) listed in the Threatened Vertebrate Fauna List with a conservation status in Victoria of “vulnerable”, “endangered” or “critically endangered”; then pruning or clearing of the tree will be undertaken outside of the breeding season for that species. Where it is not practicable to undertake cutting or removal of the tree outside of the breeding season for that species, translocation of the fauna will be undertaken wherever practicable. If there is proposed pruning/clearing of a tree or vegetation that has been identified as habitat for fauna listed in the EPBC Act List of Threatened Fauna as "vulnerable", "endangered", "critically endangered" or "extinct in the wild" (Nationally significant habitat), then that nationally significant habitat will not be cleared, pruned or otherwise impacted without deciding whether the activity requires referral and approval from the Department of the Environment, and obtaining any requisite approvals. Significant and Important tree/vegetation located on private property will be managed utilising the same processes as those located on public land. Significant Trees per the above criteria will be highlighted in the Public Land Manager/CitiPower and Powercor tree management plans. Trees which do not meet the criteria for Significant trees in this ELCMP but have specific management requirements agreed with the tree owner will be recorded in the concerned customer database.

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

All planned actions will be documented in the in the Land Manager/CitiPower and Powercor Tree Management Plan (CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation Management Procedure – 5.1 Consultation & Negotiation Process Outline Step 1) to ensure appropriate consideration is made to manage the MCS. If removal of a significant tree is required CP-PAL will obtain the advice of an arborist. The CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation Management Procedure 2.2. Conduct Vegetation Inspection Checklist Step if vegetation is hazardous will be used and the arborist advice recorded in VMS.

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It is not practicable to include a map of CitiPower and Powercor in this ELCMP with the locations of important vegetation as the scale of the map will not accurately represent these locations or even be identifiable. The tree management plans and concerned customer database which holds this information are made available directly to the Vegetation Assessors to ensure that important vegetation is identified at the inspection stage prior to any clearing works. All Significant Tree information is included in the Tree management plans listed REFERENCE B.

3.5

P R O C E S S T O I D EN TI FY N A TI O N A L L Y P RO T EC TED V EG E TA T I O N

AND

H AB I T A T

Prescribed Code of Practice Provisions clause 9 (3h) Purpose This section outlines the process to be employed to ensure nationally protected vegetation and habitat located within the vicinity of powerlines is given special consideration when pruning or clearing of vegetation is proposed to ensure compliance with the Code and the EPBC Act. Procedure The CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation Management Procedure – 3. Manage Vegetation Action Sec.3.1 Compile Work Package Process Outline Step 2 will be used to identify nationally protected vegetation or habitat and to determine whether the line clearance works are likely to have a significant impact on that nationally protected matter Fire prevention activities, such as line clearance works, only need federal environmental approval if they are likely to have a significant impact on a nationally protected matter. Where nationally protected vegetation or habitat is identified, the CitiPower and Powercor must determine whether the line clearance works are likely to have a significant impact on that nationally protected matter.

Is there a significant impact on a matter of national environmental significance? A "significant impact" is defined by the Department of the environment (Cth) as an impact which is important, notable, or of consequence, having regard to its context or intensity. Whether or not an action is likely to have a significant impact depends upon the sensitivity, value, and quality of the environment which is impacted, and upon the intensity, duration, magnitude and geographic extent of the impacts. In determining the nature and magnitude of an action's impacts, regard should be had to: o the sensitivity of the environment which will be impacted; o the timing, duration and frequency of the action and its impacts; o all on-site and off-site impacts and all direct and indirect impacts; o the total impact which can be attributed to the action over the geographic area, and over time; o existing levels of impact from other sources, and o the degree of confidence with which the impacts of the action are known and understood. Further guidance on assessing whether an activity is likely to have significant impacts is available in the Significant Impact Guidelines 1.1. It is available at: www.environment.gov.au/epbc/publications/nes-guidelines.html The general guidance provided by the Department of the Environment suggests that most fire prevention activities such as routine maintenance of fence lines, services and utilities, and clearing of a defendable space around a rural asset in accordance with state/territory requirements are unlikely to require approval by the federal government (see Bushfire Management and National Environmental Law http://www.environment.gov.au/resource/bushfire-management-and-national-environment-law).

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

However whether the proposed line clearance works will have a significant impact on a nationally protected matter requires CitiPower and Powercor to consider the particular environment which is to be impacted, and the intensity, duration, magnitude and geographic extent of the impacts on a case by case basis as detailed in Reference E.

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If the line clearance works are likely to have a significant impact on a nationally protected matter, then CitiPower and Powercor must submit a referral to the Department of the Environment for consideration. If CitiPower and Powercor is unsure whether to refer a proposed activity, it should email the department at [email protected] or call 1800 110 395. Reference D – EPBC ACT REFERRAL PROCESS contains further information about how to refer a matter to the Department of the Environment and the referral process. The Minister will consider the referral and decide whether the action is likely to have a significant impact on a matter of national environmental significance, and consequently whether it is or is not a controlled action. If the Minister decides that the activity is a controlled action, then the action will be subject to the assessment and approval process under the EPBC Act. REFERENCE E - ASSESSMENT AND APPROVAL PROCESS FOR CONTROLLED ACTIONS contains further information regarding assessment and approval of controlled actions. Risks of non-compliance with this procedure: The EPBC Act creates criminal offences for the taking of actions which impact significantly on matters of national environmental significance without prior approval. Failure to comply with this procedure could result in prosecution and the imposition of criminal penalties on the Vegetation Assessor, Service Provider, and CitiPower and Powercor.

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

Figure 4 - Summary of EPBC Act

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4 4.1

VEGETATION MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW S T R A TE G Y O U T L I N E

CitiPower and Powercor develop and implement a single strategy that covers both networks to maintain appropriate clearance between vegetation and overhead electricity assets. To do so requires an annual program to be strategically directed, carefully planned and well executed vegetation management activities to be undertaken. Figure 5 – Annual Program Strategic Outline 2017 Vegetation Program 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr

Task

1st Qtr

2018 Vegetation Program 2nd Qtr

Fire Season PAL HBRA Lidar ~283,000 spans, 100% HBRA inspection annually. Inspection LBRA ~114,000 spans. (CP-PAL 27,000) Reliability and Safety

Hazard Tree ~6,000

2017 HBRA ~46,000 spans. Bushfire safety

2018 HBRA ~46,000 spans. Bushfire safety

Cutting LBRA ~27,000 spans.

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

Quality management . Consistant quality outcomes

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Council Engagement. Reliability and Safety Customer Engagement. ~5,000 spans of tree removals Reliability and Safety - Reducing program costs through tree population

Other Programs

Herbicide and Slashing

Herbicide and Slashing ~5,000

Reducing program costs through tree population reductions

spans. Reducing program costs through tree population reductions

Tree Growth Regulator ~100 spans. Reducing program costs Via increased cycle periods.

4.2

INSPECTION

Prescribed Code of Practice Provisions clause 9 (3i(i))

4.2.1 Inspection Cycle The CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation Management Procedure – 2. Vegetation Inspection will be used to conduct inspections in a timely and financially sustainable manner. Powercor’s LBRA shall be inspected on a cycle not exceeding 3 years. CitiPower shall be inspected on a cycle not exceeding 2 years. Powercor have added URBAN & RURAL areas in addition to LBRA & HBRA classifications, e.g. the Murray Valley irrigation area in the Shepparton district. This allows for differentiation between urban & rural LBRA for potential different work scheduling. Note: There are no HBRA currently within CitiPower’s geographic area.

CitiPower and Powercor’s HBRA shall have program of annual inspections utilised to verify HBRA summer preparedness. All CitiPower and Powercor HBRA spans will be inspected within the calendar year prior to fire season declaration. CitiPower and Powercor’s scheduled cyclic inspection program is supplemented by additional inspections that may be undertaken from time to time including audits undertaken by Powercor or ESV and reports from the public, landowners, Local Government or other Government agencies.

4.2.2

Inspection to Maintain Vegetation Clear of Powerlines

Prescribed Code of Practice Provisions clause 9 (3i(ii)) & (4) Purpose This section outlines processes to be used to conduct either Lidar or ground based inspection. Procedure The CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation Management Procedure – 2. Vegetation Inspection Process Outlines: Lidar vegetation inspections & Ground-based vegetation inspections will be used to select the method of maintaining the MCS. As part of the cyclic program, an inspection of each site is conducted by CitiPower and Powercor to gather information to determine the most effective method of maintaining the vegetation clear of powerlines. The CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation Management Documents – the Policy (Reference H) specifies the MCS definition that will be used for determining an additional distance that allows for cable sag and sway for the purpose of determining a minimum clearance space. The method for determining the additional distance for sag and sway is based on the characteristics of the conductor such as the voltage, stranding, conductor material, design temperature and the maximum side swing of the conductor.

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

Figure 6 Vegetation buffer zone Minimum Clearance Spaces

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Lidar is the primary tool used for all vegetation inspections. Lidar is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure distances between conductor and tree. The Lidar captured information is then applied using the MCS definition in the Policy (Reference H) in summary span length, conductor type and temperature rating to confirm the required MCS for each span. Additional distance is added to the MCS to cater for additional years of regrowth. Where the use of ground inspection is required vegetation clearance charts are provided as a guide to Vegetation Assessors in Reference J, the CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation Management Procedure 8.3.

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

The actual vegetation clearing method is determined by CitiPower and Powercor management using the information gathered.

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(Prescribed Code of Practice Provisions clause 9 (3l)) The information gathered during these inspections, forms the basis of CitiPower and Powercor’s plan of action and allows: o appropriate planning and scheduling o identification and quantification of equipment and accredited personnel required o notification under the Code In making these long term evaluations and before deciding on the most appropriate method, due consideration is given to the site’s specifics, including the following: o the significance as obtained per this ELCMP section 3.4 – Important Vegetation Identification Process. o relocating or undergrounding the powerline to a location that removes the need to undertake any vegetation clearing o alternative compliance mechanisms such as  retrofitting insulation to bare conductors  replacing bare conductors with insulated cable, or  offsetting the conductors to reduce the extent of clearing works required o the significance and public value of the site’s aesthetics o the impact on the tree’s amenity and utility value if subjected to pruning versus removal o the sites suitability to regenerate with more appropriate species as replacement vegetation o opportunity to replace with a more suitable species over time o the environmental impact of proposed works o impact on grasses, low-lying understorey vegetation affected by accessing and undertaking clearance works o the extent to which pruning in accordance with AS4373 is practicable o Past pruning practice o Hedging options o Pruning for habitat creation o Removal if tree cannot be effectively managed by pruning techniques o Deferral - negotiate with Affected Persons where vegetation action is to be postponed outside breeding season or involves the engagement of specialists for relocation of fauna species Vegetation which is assigned for consideration of alternatives, including where appropriate vegetation covered by tree management plans, will be treated as disputed work and managed as necessary under the Code. In the event a landowner or member of the public request CitiPower and Powercor to implement works in excess of those determined as most appropriate, the additional costs are generally borne by the individual making the request with an allowance for any avoided maintenance costs. Inspection includes unsuitable species identification - CitiPower and Powercor provides information to Responsible Persons and the public on the planting and the maintenance of vegetation near powerlines by making available free of charge such publications as Planting Trees near Powerlines – A Guide for Home Gardens and Rural Properties. Planting of inappropriate species near powerlines significantly adds to the cost of complying with the Code and increases the exposure of future contact between vegetation and powerlines. CitiPower and Powercor actively promotes responsible planting strategies with land owners, land managers and Councils to ensure that only appropriate species are planted near powerlines.

Where inappropriate species are planted near or under powerlines, negotiations will be carried out with the Affected Person and Councils to remove any vegetation which may at some time in the future enter the MCS. Where agreement cannot be reached with council on management of the planted unsuitable species CitiPower and Powercor may refer to ESV for further consideration. During inspections CitiPower and Powercor also monitor compliance to the requirement that an occupier of land is responsible for the keeping of the whole or any part of a tree situated on the land clear of a low voltage electric line which solely services that land to ensure land owners and occupiers are aware of their responsibilities. These are managed per the requirements of the CitiPower and Powercor Bushfire Mitigation Plan. Detailed description of the CitiPower and Powercor inspection procedure is included in Reference J, the CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation Management Procedure 2. Vegetation Inspection.

4.2.3 Inspection for Hazard Trees The Hazard Trees will be managed by a process, using the Field Reference Guide Section 16.1, based on clause 8 of the Code. The Hazard Space is inspected as part of a specific hazard tree inspection program. Potential hazards are identified and evaluated at this time. Hazardous vegetation typically could be; o

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

o o o o o

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Trees with major cavities that the arborist considers compromises tree or branch structural integrity/safety Trees with structurally defective bifurcated stems Hung up trees or limbs Trees with decay compromising structural integrity Dead trees Trees where physical damage or environmental events have destabilised the tree.

Lidar will identify where trees are capable of falling onto powerlines in HBRA. These spans will then be targeted for inspection by a Certificate 4 Arborist based on a cycle set by the previous hazard inspection. The CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation Management Procedure – 2. Manage Vegetation Inspection Lidar Task Detail Hazard Trees will be used identify spans where vegetation could fall onto powerlines, these spans will then be programmed for a hazard inspection by an Arborist. For detail of inspections in BCA areas refer Procedure – 2. Manage Vegetation Inspection Lidar Task Detail Hazard Trees. Any hazards identified with the potential to likely contact the line within the next 3 years are scheduled for cutting. Hazardous vegetation will be referred to Energy Safe Victoria, for direction, where agreement to remove cannot be reached with the Affected Person by the process detailed in this ELCMP Section 4.4.2.

4.3 C UTTING Prescribed Code of Practice Provisions clause 9 (3i(i)) Purpose This purpose of this section is to define the process to be employed to maintain vegetation clear of powerlines. CitiPower and Powercor intends to manage exceptions in accordance with the Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015 and this plan. Details of the CitiPower and Powercor process for exceptions to MCS for structural and small branches around insulated low voltage lines in all areas and structural branches around uninsulated low voltage lines in LBRA is included in Reference J Procedure Section 5.1. Procedure The CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation Management Procedure – 3. Manage Vegetation Action will be used to establish and maintain the MCS.

4.3.1

Cutting To Maintain Vegetation Clear of Powerlines

CitiPower and Powercor shall determine the Cutting Cycle at each locality based on the distance determined by inspection (reference H CitiPower and Powercor Policy - vegetation buffer zone minimum clearance spaces), clearances achieved and consultation with owners/occupiers as per clause 17 of the Code. The achievement of the targeted pruning cycles may be varied depending on the outcome of these factors. CitiPower and Powercor aims to maintain a 3 year cyclic cutting program, with out of cycle cutting to maintain compliance at locations where a reduced clearance is required as determined by the inspection process. As a minimum CitiPower and Powercor will take reasonable steps to maintain the MCS. CitiPower and Powercor’s aim is to cut 1 year prior to vegetation entering the vegetation buffer space (reference H CitiPower and CitiPower and Powercor Policy - vegetation buffer space). When a span is cleared an addition distance is trimmed to achieve the planned cutting cycle & considers species and likely vigor using the CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation Field Reference Guide for reference. The application of appropriate pruning standards may over-ride simplistic calculated re-growth measurements. In practice, clearance distances are a combined total of the Regulations MCS, including individually calculated sag & sway based on actual conductor type and span length with a regrowth allowance, then trimming to growth points. This is recorded in the database and the MCS is clearly communicated in the Work Packages allocated and actioned by the field cutting crews.

4.3.2

Urgent Cutting/Removal

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

Urgent cutting or removal can be undertaken in the following circumstances –

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o o o o

As a result of encroachment or growth that was not anticipated in the management plan As a result of a tree falling or becoming damaged and entering the MCS If an arborist’s assessment confirms the imminent likelihood of contact with electrical assets Where vegetation within the MCS exists during the fire danger period declared under the Country Fire Authority Act 1958 o Cutting will be in accordance with clause 13.2 of the Code (‘must not remove or cut trees further than 1 meter from the minimum clearance space around the electric line’) The MCS in accordance with clause 13.2 of the Code for urgent cutting is communicated in the Work Package and actioned by cutting crews. Affected person/s shall be notified as soon as practical after urgent pruning has been undertaken using the Notification Letter – Reference A, records of pruning are maintained in the vegetation management database. This will be carried out in accordance with section 18 of Schedule 1 of the Code. Urgent cutting is actioned in accordance with the CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation Management Policy Reference H which provides for timely rectification. The CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation Management Procedure 5. Affected Persons – 5.1 Consultation and Negotiation Work Instruction Process Outline Step 2, pg 168170, will be used to ensure notification occurs as soon as practical following urgent cutting or removal.

4.3.3

Compliance to AS4373 as far as practicable

Prescribed Code of Practice Provisions clause 9 (3j) This process applies to determine the most appropriate method of actioning the vegetation. As far as practicable CitiPower and Powercor will prune in accordance with the current version of AS4373 (Pruning of Amenity Trees). Consultation based on the evaluation and decision making process outlined in CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation Management Procedure 5. Affected Persons – 5.1 Consultation and Negotiation Work Instruction Process Outline flowchart will be carried out where the Standards principles cannot be utilised, for example, in some instances, pruning in accordance with AS4373 may limit the ability to achieve clearance requirements or could lead to excessive pruning. Personnel are made aware of the organization definition of “as far as practicable” and how this would apply via our Field Reference Guide.

4.4

A S S I S T AN C E

TO

R E S P O N S I B L E P E RS O N S

Purpose This section outlines the process to be employed to ensure that CitiPower and Powercor is able to provide assistance to Other Responsible Persons in carrying out their duties to vegetation near powerlines. Procedure The CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation Management Procedure – 5. Affected Persons Consultation will be used to assist Responsible persons. CitiPower and Powercor shall inspect, record and report on its own powerlines in accordance with the procedures set out in this ELCMP and other CitiPower and Powercor documents. CitiPower and Powercor's vegetation work programs are communicated to Local Government Authorities, to ensure that tree clearing activities are coordinated and rationalised as detailed in Joint Tree Management Plans (Reference B).

4.4.1

General Assistance

CitiPower and Powercor are able to assist any Other Responsible Person with any queries regarding the management of vegetation clearances in close proximity to their powerlines. In conjunction with the established CitiPower and Powercor vegetation management programs, other long term strategies to minimise the risk to the safe operation of electric lines due to vegetation that is likely to grow into or encroach on the MCS include;

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

Communications and Direct Assistance - The outworking of a communication program with Councils and Other Responsible Persons by letter or face to face meetings to discuss local or specific issues relating to compliance with the CitiPower and Powercor ELCMP. On request, CitiPower and Powercor assist Responsible Persons to safely prune or clear vegetation near powerlines by:

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o o o o o o

providing specialist advice on safe work practices de-energising lines suppressing the auto reclose feature on HV circuits providing a list of authorised local vegetation service providers explaining methods to identify where cutting and removal of trees is required offering to undertake work on a commercial basis if requested implementing an agreement for an ORP to work under the control of CitiPower and Powercor (working to VESI SAD)

On request, CitiPower and Powercor will assist councils to determine an additional distance for sag and sway.

4.4.2

ORP Declared Area Non-Compliances

As part of CitiPower and Powercor’s normal inspection and audit programs, vegetation that is not compliant to Code clearance that is the responsibility of Other Responsible Persons is identified listing all non-compliant locations, including vegetation that is considered to be a priority or requires urgent clearing. Consideration will be given to the immediate risk to public safety, fire ignition, damage to CitiPower and Powercor’s assets and the reliability of the electrical network. Other Responsible Persons are requested to action these locations within the timeframes set out in CitiPower and Powercor’s Vegetation Management Procedure. CitiPower and Powercor’s Vegetation Management Procedure – 6. Manage ORP Notification of Code NonCompliance will be used notify Declared Area and Other Responsible persons of infringing vegetation and advise Energy Safe Victoria.

In the interest of CitiPower and Powercor’s integrity of supply, follow up random audits are conducted to ensure that the appropriate action has been taken in accordance with the CitiPower and Powercor ELCMP. If the identified vegetation is found to have not been cleared within the required timeframes, CitiPower and CitiPower and Powercor may seek direction from Energy Safe Victoria to clearing this vegetation and forward appropriate costs to the Responsible Person (refer to CitiPower and Powercor’s Vegetation Management Procedure 6. Manage ORP Code Non-Compliance Process Flow Step 1). CitiPower and Powercor in consultation with ESV provides a standardised ORP report that may include; o Total number of outages o Total number of outage attributed to vegetation o Determine outage numbers by ORP private and CitiPower and Powercor o Determine outage numbers by compliant vs. non-compliant vegetation o Total number of spans inspected for the reporting period o Total number of non-vegetated spans identified for the reporting period o Total number of compliant spans identified for the reporting period o Total number of non-compliant spans identified for the reporting period (ORP, DB, LV, private) o Number of trees of interest, hazard trees, unsuitable species

4.5

N O TI FI C A TI O N AN D C O N S U L T ATI O N Prescribed Code of Practice Provisions clause 9 (3p) Private Property

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

Purpose This section outlines the process to be employed by CitiPower and Powercor to notify persons affected by pruning or clearing activities.

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Procedure The CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation Management Procedure 5. Conduct Affected Persons Consultation – 5.1 Consultation and Negotiation Work Instruction Process Outline flowchart will be used to ensure consultation occurs with the correct affected persons & the general public. CitiPower and Powercor must decide how to maintain clearance between powerlines and vegetation so that the MCS remains free of vegetation in accordance with this ELCMP section 4.2. However, this does not preclude Affected Persons from negotiating conditions under which other solutions may be used. The Affected Persons at each location shall be determined by the CitiPower and Powercor by the process detailed in 3.8.1. Consultation shall be carried out for the cutting or removal of all trees, consultation will be conducted in accordance with clause 17 of the Code of practice as follows: A minimum of 14 days and not more than 60 days’ notice, in writing or by publication in a newspaper circulating generally in the area, will be given to all Affected Persons prior to works commencing. Should cutting not occur within the requested notification period renotification will occur. Where the tree intended for pruning/clearing is a tree of cultural significance or national, state or local environmental significance, CitiPower and Powercor will notify the affected person/s of details of the impact of the cutting or removal of the tree and actions taken to minimise the impact. Each of these situations will be subject to specific negotiation and notice following negotiation will be in writing and will be tailored to suit the individual situation and meet the regulatory requirements. If emergency clearing is undertaken, the responsible person or landowner shall be notified as soon as practicable after the event in accordance with clause 18 of the Code. Copy of a typical notification notice is shown in Reference A – CITIPOWER AND POWERCOR CALLING CARD. Detailed description on CitiPower and Powercor notification requirements is included in Reference F.

Managers of Public Land Purpose This section outlines the process that will be utilised by CitiPower and Powercor to inform Managers of Public Land situated in urban areas of pending tree clearing works where CitiPower and Powercor are responsible for the maintenance of the powerline MCS. CitiPower and Powercor seeks to engage Public Land Managers who are responsible for management of tree assets, to identify areas or trees which warrant joint development of long term management plans. The procedure will enable Public Land Managers to actively participate in The Selection of the Method of Maintaining the MCS in this ELCMP Section 4.2.1. Procedure CitiPower and Powercor and Public Land Manager will in consultation decide how to maintain the clearance between powerlines and vegetation so that the MCS remains free of vegetation.

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

The consultation will include; o When CitiPower and Powercor plan to action trees o The extent to which clearing will be conducted o Identification of vegetation or habitat of cultural or national, state or local environmental significance o Actions  CitiPower and Powercor  Public Land Manager o What options are available o Methods of community engagement o Who is the responsible person for plan approval

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The proposed outcome of this consultation is for a plan to be developed for use by both the Land Manager and CitiPower and Powercor when conducting line clearance works on vegetation covered in the agreed plan.

Figure 7: Notification and Consultation Public Land Managers

Engage Council through current meeting structures Discuss:  What is required by the regulations;  The effect on the managers tree assets  When the tree clearing needs to occur  Process for cooperation between Powercor and Public Land Manager

Initial Engagement    

Agreement on Public Land Managers involvement Identify areas subject to joint plan Timeline for actions Identify Authorised Person

No Plan Required

Plan Required

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

Tree Management Plan

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        

Location Details Detail actions per locality Trimming Removal Exemption Technical Alternative Replacement Planting Community Consultation Timelines for Action

Sign Off  General Manager  Council  Vegetation Manager

Deploy Plan

Conduct works in accordance with current processes

4.5.1 Available Information and Publications Prescribed Code of Practice Provisions clause 10(7) CitiPower and Powercor provide information and advice regarding tree owner's rights and responsibilities as well as answer general enquiries. Customers can call CitiPower or Powercor on its free call number below. A copy of the current CitiPower and Powercor ELCMP other publications and brochures containing information relating to vegetation and industry regulations are also made available. These include; o Planting Trees near Power Lines - a guide for Home gardens and Rural Properties, o Private Overhead Electric Lines (Understanding your responsibilities) o Powerlines and Your Property and "No Go Zone" brochures The ELCMP and general advice is publicly available on the CitiPower and Powercor websites. https://www.powercor.com.au/keeping-you-safe/bushfire-mitigation/vegetation-management/ https://www.citipower.com.au/keeping-you-safe/bushfire-mitigation/vegetation-management/

General Enquires 13 22 06 24 hours

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

www.powercor.com.au

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General Enquires 1300 301 101 24 hours www.citipower.com.au

Individual Land Manager Powercor Tree Management Plans are listed in Reference B. Tree Management Plans will be reviewed jointly by Council and Powercor 3 yearly. Copies of the current exemptions and approved current ELCMP are to be forwarded to CP-PAL Marketing and Communications Adviser at, [email protected] for inclusion under the above link/s as pdf copies. In addition the plan can be accessed via CP-PAL head office at 40 Market Street via the reception/security desk. Detailed description of Powercor notification requirements is included in Reference F.

4.5.2 Dispute Resolution Prescribed Code of Practice Provisions clause 9 (3q) CitiPower and Powercor will provide suitable contact details including; name, position and telephone number on individual notices provided to all Affected Persons. This is expected to be the first point of reference if the Affected Person feels the need to follow up on an issue or concern. If the Affected Person does not have these contact details or is unable to contact the person nominated, they may contact CitiPower or Powercor as nominated in 1.5 - Responsible Persons to obtain the appropriate first level of contact to address their concern and/or resolve the dispute. Where a dispute cannot be settled the Vegetation Assessor (VA) the matter shall be referred to the Vegetation Manager. Reference to Arboreal Advisers - While all Vegetation Assessors have had training in tree identification, pruning techniques and tree physiology some special situations may require greater expertise. Advice may be sought from an arborist where the dispute requires an expert third party opinion on a matter relating to the tree or trees in question. Powercor refers to a number of expert arborists who are widely respected in academia and industry.

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

If intervention by the Vegetation Manager does not resolve the dispute, the land owner or occupier may choose to refer the case to Energy Safe Victoria or The Energy and Water Ombudsman, as appropriate, to assist resolve the matter. If the non-completion of the disputed work presents an immediate fire or safety risk, CitiPower and Powercor may be obliged under Clause 14 of the Code, in accordance with Clause 13.2, to enter the property and complete the work. Figure 8:

If the landowner or occupier has any concerns with CitiPower and Powercor vegetation management issues can be escalated by this dispute resolution process.

32

5

TRAINING

Prescribed Code of Practice Provisions clause 9 (o) The qualifications, training and experience of all CitiPower and Powercor employees and contractors undertaking vegetation management activities shall be appropriate for the task they are to perform. Training requirements are agreed in the joint VESI and are documented in the VESI Vegetation Management Guideline published at www.vesi.com.au. Vegetation Workers are “authorised persons” as referred to in the Electricity Safety (Installation) Regulations 2009 r.318 & r.319. In addition to the VESI requirements Powercor require:  Vegetation Workers who will be classified as Ground Crew will require a Certificate II in ESI – Powerline Vegetation Control. The following table outlines the Units of Competency required to be undertaken for the Vegetation Ground Crew role. All Mandatory (M) units of competency shall be completed to undertake the role. Other units of Competence may be required to fulfil the role and the task being undertaken. Qualification / Competency Standard Unit (CSU) number

Ground Crew

Legend

UET20312

M

Apply Occupational Health Safety regulations, codes and practices in the workplace

UEENEEE101A

M

Comply with sustainability, environmental and incidental response policies and procedures

UETTDREL13A

M

Working safely near live electrical apparatus as a non-electrical worker

UETTDREL14A

M

Operate and maintain chainsaws

AHCARB205A

M

Plan the removal of vegetation up to vegetation exclusion zone near live electrical apparatus

UETTDRVC23A

M

Monitor safety compliance of vegetation control work in an ESI environment

UETTDRVC27A

M

Operate specialist equipment at ground level near live electrical apparatus

UETTDRVC31A

M

Fell small trees

AHCARB202A

M

Apply chemicals under supervision

AHCCHM201A

M

Operate machinery and equipment

AHCMOM304A

M

Operate a mobile chipper/mulcher

FPIHAR2206B

A

M - Mandatory A - Additional - If worker requires this training for the works being performed Qualification Certificate II in ESI - Powerline Vegetation Control

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

Certificate II Powerline Vegetation Control – Core Competency Standard Units

33

Certificate II Powerline Vegetation Control – Elective Competency Standard Units

 Workers classified as Ground Crew to be trained annually in Safe Approach Distances – Vegetation Work.  All Vegetation workers to be trained in Maintain safety at an incident scene (PUAOHS0002B) Training requirements are confirmed as meeting the agreed industry and CitiPower and Powercor standards prior to a Vegetation worker commencing work on the Network and in system audits. Prior to a Vegetation worker commencing work the employer submits evidence of all training requirements and this is verified. System Audits are undertaken to verify that Vegetation workers training records are being maintained and are current. Any person without appropriate training will be removed from site as detailed in Powercor ESMS 2016.

CitiPower and Powercor will engage individuals as “under supervision” to enable them to be assessed as competent to perform a given task or while training is being completed. Individuals will attend all training applicable for the role and be deemed competent by a Training Provider. Evidence to demonstrate competence, including Statement of Attainment, Certificate of Completion, will be provided to Powercor and when all valid evidence is provided the “under supervision” will be removed. Annual training includes refresher training for the Vegetation Reference Guide for compliance with the Regulations and this ELCMP as far as practical. The Vegetation Reference Guide contains detailed information on Sag and Sway calculations including Sag and Sway tables to enable field workers to accurately and consistently determine and apply the minimum clearance space.

6

ELCMP PERFORMANCE MONITORING AND AUDITING

Prescribed Code of Practice Provisions clause 9 (3m) & (3n) ELCMP performance is assessed by the CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation Management Strategy - Reference I using leading indicators to provide advance visibility of vegetation exposure levels and lagging indicators to provide visibility of vegetation caused impacts.

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

The Manager Network Compliance is responsible for comprehensive auditing of the vegetation management process including compliance to the requirements of this ELCMP. CitiPower and Powercor have identified the key risks associated with the delivery of the Vegetation Management service and their associated control measures. Using this information an annual audit schedule has been created; the CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation Management Strategy – Reference I section 6.3 provides details of audit sample sizes and how they have been established and the CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation Management Procedure - 4.Verify Contractor Compliance and 8.2.Quality Review Schedule will be used.

34

Audits associated with, but not limited to, OH&S Systems, Environmental Management Systems, Quality Control and Traffic Management Procedures, are conducted. These are further supported by field verification and compliance monitoring audits. Including pruning as far as practicable in accordance with the current version of AS4373. Audits are conducted by personnel who have suitable audit training and background. External specialist resources, which are experienced and have appropriate expertise in the relevant field, may be engaged to assist. An annual review involving the service provider and CitiPower Powercor senior management is also conducted. The audit schedule is reviewed annually to address any changes in business requirements, concerns from previous years, and the Service Providers performance history. There are broadly four different types of audits within the schedule, relating to; o

o o o

Health and Safety – Safe work methods (e.g. General work methods, working near powerlines and tree clearing methods), equipment vehicles and plant, inductions, training and authorisation, traffic management. Compliance – General inspection and cutting compliance with programs, hazardous trees, stakeholder and defect management. Procedure/Work Instruction – Policies, work instructions, procedures, customer notification, data management and accuracy, reporting and documentation. Environmental – Important or significant vegetation, chemicals, weeds, noise, pruning technique and quality.

Audits are scheduled across all levels of the company. The audit process considers actual performance and outputs and then compares them against planned performance and expected outputs. Where a variation occurs the item is noted and followed through to ensure corrective actions are taken and improvement opportunities are factored into plans to enhance future performance. CitiPower and Powercor undertake regular performance and compliance monitoring of the Service Provider engaged to undertake field works. Service contracts include Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and performance measures as described below.

Key CitiPower and Powercor performance measures include:

Safety Customer Services Program Data Cutting Audit

Performance Measures Audit Compliance Customer Satisfaction Levels On Time delivery Delivery and accuracy Vegetation Works - minimum 10% sample audit - BCA areas 100% MCS cutting

Service Provider performance against the performance measures is reviewed monthly at operational meetings with key personnel including representatives from CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation, Bushfire Mitigation, Asset Management and Network Compliance as required.

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

The CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation Management Procedure – 7.1. Compile Vegetation Reports Work Instruction will be used to provide reports per the conditions of any Energy Safe Victoria exemption and the performance outcomes of this ELCMP. The current information reported in quarterly reports is included in Reference C.

35

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

REFERENCE A Vegetation Work Calling Card

36

37

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

REFERENCE B Tree Management Plans Powercor Council/ Shire Brimbank

Status Complete

Establishment Year

Revision Year

2014

2017

2014

2017

2014

2017

Hobsons Bay Complete Macedon Ranges

Complete

Maribyrnong Complete Melton

Complete

Mitchell Shire

Complete

Moonee Valley Mount Alexander Shire

Complete

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

2017

2014

2017

2014

2017

2014

2017

Complete

Wyndham Complete City Council

38

2014

2014

2017

2014

2017

Golden Plains Shire

2014

2017

2014

2017

2014

2017

Complete

Surfcoast Complete Shire Corangamite Complete Shire Glenelg Shire Complete

Buloke Shire Complete

2014

2017

2014

2017

2014

2017

2014

2017

2014

2017

2014

2017

Loddon Shire Complete

2014

2017

Mildura Rural Complete City

2014

2017

2014

2017

2014

2017

2014

2017

2014

2017

2014

2017

2014

2017

2014

2017

2014

2017

2014

2017

2014

2017

2014

2017

2014

2017

Complete

Complete

Ararat Rural City

Complete

Ballarat City

Complete

Hepburn Shire Complete

2014

2017

2014

2017

2014

2017

2014

2017

2014

2017

Moyne Shire Complete Warrnambool Complete Shire Southern Grampians Complete Shire

Establishment Revision Year Year

Complete

2017

Complete

Colac Otway Complete Shire

Complete

Gannawarra Complete Shire Greater Complete Bendigo City Greater Shepparton Complete City

Swan Hill Rural City 2014

Status

Delatite Shire Complete

Moira Shire

Borough of Complete Queenscliffe City of Greater Geelong

Council/ Shire Campaspe Shire Central Goldfields Shire

2014

2017

2014

2017

Hindmarsh Shire Horsham Rural City Moorabool Shire Northern Grampians Shire

Complete Complete Complete Complete

Pyrenees Shire Complete West Wimmera Complete Shire Yarriambiack Complete Shire

CitiPower

2017 to 2018 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan - Powercor

City

39

Status

Establishment Year (Planned)

Revision Year

Boroondara City Council

DRAFT

2014

2017

City of Glen Eira

DRAFT

2014

2017

City of Melbourne

DRAFT

2014

2017

City of Port Phillip

DRAFT

2014

2017

City of Stonnington

DRAFT

2014

2017

City of Yarra

DRAFT

2014

2017

Darebin City Council

DRAFT

2014

2017

Moreland City Council

DRAFT

2014

2017

Whitehorse City Council

DRAFT

2014

2017

REFERENCE C ESV Reporting Powercor QUARTERLY REPORT ITEM CLASS

INCIDENT

Vegetation contact

DEFINITION

a) Vegetation a) Number of reports of vegetation related faults that is MEC (tree/branch) responsibility in LBRA causing an outage in LBRA Excludes windborne vegetation (loose debris) and accidental contact by tree contractors. b) Number of reports of vegetation related faults that is not MEC responsibility in LBRA

Mar-12 Jun-12

Sep-12

Dec-12 Mar-13 Jun-13

Sep-13

Dec-13 Mar-14 Jun-14

Sep-14

Dec-14 Mar-15 Jun-15

Sep-15

Dec-15 Mar-16

10

2

5

10

9

2

9

9

2

10

3

4

4

1

1

1

0

10

0

1

2

3

1

1

3

0

1

0

1

1

1

0

1

0

11

13

11

8

10

6

18

6

12

7

10

7

12

3

2

1

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

1

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

7

0

0

5

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

3

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

4

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

18.21%

31.37%

36.3%

38.1%

40.4%

45.5%

48.30%

60.60%

73.10%

94.50%

97.20%

99.80%

100.00% 100.00%

100.00%

100.00%

100.00%

17.70%

30.96%

34.2%

38.0%

40.0%

42.2%

42.50%

64.40%

77.20%

96.60%

97.00%

99.80%

100.00% 100.00%

100.00%

100.00%

100.00%

10.60%

27.00%

35.5%

51.2%

60.8%

88.0%

96.50%

100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

100.00%

100.00%

100.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0

0

1

1

0

2

0

0

0

0

2

1

0

1

0

0

1

Excludes windborne vegetation (loose debris) and accidental contact by tree contractors. a) Number of reports of vegetation related faults that is MEC

b) Vegetation (tree/branch) responsibility in HBRA causing an outage in HBRA Excludes windborne vegetation (loose debris) and accidental contact by tree contractors. b) Number of reports of vegetation related faults that is not MEC responsibility in HBRA

c) Vegetation (tree/branch) requiring urgent pruning in LBRA

Excludes windborne vegetation (loose debris) and accidental contact by tree contractors. a) Number of reports of vegetation that is MEC responsibility requiring urgent cutting, removal or pruning in LBRA Excludes windborne vegetation (loose debris) and accidental contact by tree contractors. b) Number of reports of vegetation that is not MEC responsibility requiring urgent cutting, removal or pruning in LBRA

d) Vegetation (tree/branch) requiring urgent pruning in HBRA

Excludes (loose andresponsibility accidental a) Numberwindborne of reportsvegetation of vegetation thatdebris) is MEC requiring urgent cutting, removal or pruning in HBRA Excludes windborne vegetation (loose debris) and accidental contact by tree contractors. b) Number of reports of vegetation that is not MEC responsibility requiring urgent cutting, removal or pruning in HBRA Excludes windborne vegetation (loose debris) and accidental DIRECTIONS & EXEMPTIONS

Cyclic Clearing – ABC or Insulated Cable (all areas)

% of spans

Cyclic Clearing – Powerlines other than ABC or Insulated Cable (LBRA)

% of spans

Cyclic Clearing – Powerlines other than ABC or Insulated Cable (HBRA)

% of spans

Overhanging Trees (cut)

% of spans

Contact with live conductors by vegetation management contractors

Contact with live conductors by vegetation management contractors INCIDENT SUMMARY

EWP contact service line

40

INCIDENT DATE

27/01/2016

LOCATION

Scottsburn, Victoria

CAUSE WORK OTHER OF PARTY FACTO INCIDE INVOL RS NT VED EWP contact service

EWP Crew

CitiPower QUARTERLY REPORT ITEM CLASS Vegetation contact

INCIDENT a) Vegetation (tree/branch) causing an outage in LBRA

DEFINITION

Excludes windborne vegetation (loose debris) and accidental contact by tree contractors. b) Number of reports of vegetation related faults that is not MEC responsibility in LBRA

b) Vegetation (tree/branch) causing an outage in HBRA

Sep-12 Dec-12 Mar-13 Jun-13

Sep-13 Dec-13 Mar-14 Jun-14

Sep-14

Dec-14

Mar-15

Jun-15

Sep-15

Dec-15 Mar-16

1

1

1

3

1

1

5

8

1

0

1

3

1

0

0

0

0

4

1

3

3

3

1

1

1

0

2

0

1

2

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

1

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

29.00%

32.10%

37.60%

51.70%

60.00%

74.70%

79.70%

83.10%

86.70%

93.80%

97.00%

100.00%

100.00%

100.00%

100.00%

100.00% 100.00%

24.70%

28.60%

33.50%

55.30%

69.80%

80.50%

84.30%

87.20%

89.80%

93.60%

95.40%

100.00%

100.00%

100.00%

100.00%

100.00% 100.00%

0%

0%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Excludes windborne vegetation (loose debris) and accidental contact by tree contractors. a) Number of reports of vegetation related faults that is MEC responsibility in HBRA Excludes windborne vegetation (loose debris) and accidental contact by tree contractors. b) Number of reports of vegetation related faults that is not MEC responsibility in HBRA

c) Vegetation (tree/branch) requiring urgent pruning in LBRA

Mar-12 Jun-12

a) Number of reports of vegetation related faults that is MEC responsibility in LBRA

Excludes windborne vegetation (loose debris) and accidental contact by tree contractors. a) Number of reports of vegetation that is MEC responsibility requiring urgent cutting, removal or pruning in LBRA Excludes windborne vegetation (loose debris) and accidental contact by tree contractors. b) Number of reports of vegetation that is not MEC responsibility requiring urgent cutting, removal or pruning in LBRA

d) Vegetation (tree/branch) requiring urgent pruning in HBRA

Excludes windborne vegetation (loose debris) and accidental contact by tree contractors. a) Number of reports of vegetation that is MEC responsibility requiring urgent cutting, removal or pruning in HBRA Excludes windborne vegetation (loose debris) and accidental contact by tree contractors. b) Number of reports of vegetation that is not MEC responsibility requiring urgent cutting, removal or pruning in HBRA Excludes windborne vegetation (loose debris) and accidental contact by tree contractors. DIRECTIONS & EXEMPTIONS

Cyclic Clearing – ABC or Insulated Cable

% of spans

Cyclic Clearing – Powerlines other than ABC or Insulated Cable (LBRA)

% of spans

Overhanging Trees (cut)

% of spans

Contact with live conductors by vegetation management contractors;

Contact with live conductors by vegetation management contractors

INCIDENT SUMMARY

NA

41

INCIDENT DATE

LOCATION

CAUSE WORK OTHER OF PARTY FACTO INCIDE INVOL RS NT VED

REFERENCE D EPBC ACT Referral Process Referral forms are available from the department’s website at www.environment.gov.au/epbc/assessments/referral-form.html The referral should include all available information about the proposed action, as well as any measures that will be put in place to reduce adverse impacts on those matters. Examples of mitigating actions might include:  minimising vehicle access points to avoid impacts of vehicle tracks on nationally protected grassland and low lying vegetation, particularly in wet conditions;  pruning of trees outside of the breeding season for nationally protected species (for example listed migratory birds) As part of the referral process there is a 10 business day public comment period. This means that the referral will be made available to the public on-line for their comment.

Is the activity a controlled action? The Minister will consider the referral and decide whether the action is likely to have a significant impact on a matter of national environmental significance, and consequently whether it is or is not a controlled action. If the Minister decides that the activity is a controlled action, then the action will be subject to the assessment and approval process under the EPBC Act. If the Minister decides that the activity is not a controlled action, then the Minister can state that approval is not required if the action is taken in accordance with: • the "particular manner" specified; or • the referral

42

There is a statutory time frame of 20 business days in which the Minister must make a decision, so unless there are requests for further information the Powercor should usually be notified within 20 business days whether or not federal assessment and approval is required. In most cases, it is likely that line clearance works would not be controlled actions, particularly where the works are undertaken in accordance with a referral which sets out an adequate analysis of the environment, proposed impacts and mitigating measures, or in accordance with a "particular manner" approval that is developed with the Department of the Environment. However, if the line clearance works contemplate a wide scale or permanent impact on nationally protected vegetation or key habitats for threatened species, it is possible that the Department may decide that these activities constitute a controlled action which requires assessment and approval. For further information refer to Reference E – Assessment and Approval Process for Controlled Actions.

43

REFERENCE E Assessment and Approval Process for Controlled Actions The information on assessment and approval of controlled actions in this reference, has been included in order to provide guidance to the Powercor, in the event that any line clearance works are determined to be controlled actions and assessment and approval is required. The Department of the Environment has a range of options and methods for assessing controlled actions. The Department has the discretion to determine the most appropriate method of assessment. Assessment methods include: • accredited assessment (another government process is accredited as being adequate assessment such as state/territory environmental assessment processes); • assessment on referral information (assessment done solely on the information provided in the referral form); • assessment on preliminary documentation (referral form and any other relevant material identified by the minister as being necessary to adequately assess a proposed action) • assessment by environmental impact statement (EIS) or public environment report (PER): and • assessment by public inquiry. The EPBC Act sets out the process and time limits for each of these types of assessment. There is a Bilateral Agreement between Victoria and the Commonwealth under Section 45 of the EPBC Act. It provides for the accrediting of assessment under certain Victorian laws as being sufficient for EPBC Act purposes, in each case the Victorian assessment must also address the EPBC Act requirements. If the activity has been and/or will go through a Victorian assessment process, the Powercor should consider whether the process addressed or will address EPBC Act requirements, and confirm that it is an accredited assessment with the Department of the Environment. If an assessment is required, the Department will determine the assessment method. However the most likely assessment methods given the likely scale and impact of most line clearance works, are the processes for assessment on referral information or on preliminary documentation. A general outline of these assessment processes are provided below. The general process for assessment on referral information is that: • the Department of the Environment must prepare a draft recommendation report; • the draft recommendation report is published for a 10 business day public comment period; • the recommendation report is finalized and provided to the minister; • the Minister must make a decision to approve, approve with conditions or not approve a proposed action within 30 business days of deciding on the assessment approach, The general process for assessment on preliminary documentation is that: • the Minister directs the proponent to publish the referral information for public comment; • the public comment on the proponent's information; • the proponent then has the opportunity to revise its information to take account of public comments, and gives a notice to the Minister with the revised information or a notice stating that no comments were received. • within ten days the proponent must publish the revised information and comments, or if no comments were received, republish the relevant information; • the Department of the Environment prepares a recommendation report and provides it to the Minister; • the Minister makes a decision to approve, approve with conditions or not approve the proposed action within 40 business days of receiving finalized documentation from the proponent. In deciding whether or not to approve a controlled action the Minister must consider: • the principles of ecologically sustainable development; • the results of the assessment of the impacts of the proposed action, including the relevant recommendation report from the secretary of the federal environment department; • referral documentation; • community and stakeholder comments; • any other relevant information available on the impacts of the proposed action; and

44

•

relevant comments from other Australian Government and state and territory government ministers (such as social and economic factors).

In deciding whether or not to approve a controlled action the Minister may also at his or her discretion consider the environmental history of the company taking the action, including the environmental history of the executive officers of companies and parent companies and their executive officers.

45

REFERENCE F Notification and Consultation CitiPower and Powercor Notification Consultation Requirements. The Following document sets out the Notification/Consultation requirements for all routine clearing Powercor CitiPower Vegetation Clearing activities (Urgent clearing, is not routine). Notification methods range from individual letter drop to media advertising. For clearance in urban areas: 1. Tree management plans A CP PAL/ Council plan must be established and remain current (Listed in ELCMP) with every Municipality. Plans are to contain: a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i.

Background Scope Method of Maintaining Clearances Communication Strategy Extent of Pruning Standard of Pruning List of important trees List/Strategy for any tree removals Council replanting strategy

Notes: * Powercor plans may not include items c, e, f, h and i as councils are responsible for the maintenance of street trees. *All plans will be completed during 2014

2. Notice by publication The below Newspaper advertisement is to be published and remain current when working in a geographic area. NOTICE TO AFFECTED PERSONS OF TREE CUTTING / REMOVAL Under the Code of Practice for Electric Line Clearance [Insert as applicable: CitiPower Pty Ltd (CitiPower) or Powercor Australia Limited (Powercor Australia)] must maintain vegetation clearance around powerlines in compliance with the Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015 (Vic) (Regulations) and the Code of Practice for Electric Line Clearance set out in the Schedule to the Regulations (Code). Notice is hereby given by [insert as applicable: CitiPower or Powercor Australia] pursuant to clause 16 of the Code of cutting and removal works on trees that are [insert as applicable: on public land and/or within the boundaries of private properties and/or of cultural or environmental significance]. These works are scheduled to occur [insert details of the streets and/or locality here with as much precision as is practicable] [eg in St Kilda and Port Melbourne] commencing 14 days from the date of this notice and over the next 60 days in order to maintain the required clearance space around powerlines prescribed by the Code. Individual properties with vegetation requiring clearing will receive by leaflet, 14 days’ notice prior to commencement of clearing. For Port Melbourne, these works will occur no earlier than 14 days and no later than 60 days from the date of this notice. In relation to St Kilda, a public notice was previously given but it is likely that cutting will need to continue past the 60 days originally notified, until no later than 60 days from the date of this notice.

46

3. Notification/Consultation for Pruning and Removal of trees. a. Where trees on private land are to be pruned by us notification will be given to the occupant of the property which contains the tree in both urban and rural areas and or any occupier of contiguous land that may be affected by the works, using the relevant Powercor Calling Card as listed in the latest Electric Line Clearance Plan. b. Where trees on public land are to be pruned by us a notice will be placed in the newspaper circulating in the area of the works and; i. In urban areas written notice will be provided to the property directly adjacent to the tree to be pruned. ii. For non-urban areas where reasonably practicable written notification will also be provided as required by the regulations. c. Where trees on private land are to be removed consultation will occur with the tree owner in both urban and rural areas and any occupier of contiguous land that may be affected by the works. Documentation of this consultation is to be made available to CP PAL. d. Strategies for general notification of other affected persons in urban areas are to be documented in CP PAL/Council Tree Management Plan, these may consist of; i. In writing ii. Public information session iii. Electronic communication or other media separate from the regulatory requirement listed above. This document does not negate any obligations of the Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015.

47

REFERENCE G Granted Exemptions Powercor

48

Exemption Cork Oak HBRA Clearance Space Low Voltage

Location 16-18 Armstrong St Creswick Victoria

Synagogue Pine LBRA Clearance Space High Voltage

2 Barkley St Ballarat Victoria

Expiry ongoing – refer PAL correspondence th 24 July 2015 (ie no expiry) ongoing – refer PAL correspondence th 24 July 2015 (ie no expiry)

CitiPower Exemption Date Palm LBRA Clearance Space High Voltage

49

Location 95 Canterbury Rd Albert Park

Expiry th Ongoing – refer CP-PAL correspondence 24 October 2014 Upgraded to insulated cable (ie no expiry)

REFERENCE H Vegetation Management Policy

Vegetation Management Policy Policy Statement

This Policy applies to the following entities:  Powercor PAL) 

CitiPower (CP)



Transmission Operations Australia Elaine (TOA)



Transmission Operations Australia 2 Ararat TOA2)

To minimise the risk to the community and the environment caused through the interaction of trees and powerlines, CP, PAL, TOA and TOA2 are obligated and committed to comply with the requirements of the current Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015. The Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan, Vegetation Management Procedure and Vegetation Annual Execution Plan define the detailed programs to achieve our commitment to compliance, whilst allowing flexibility within the business to encourage innovation, continuous improvement and the efficient use of resources. The Electric Line Clearance Management Plan and strategies are focussed on maintaining a network where no tree is inside the Minimum Clearance Space within the CP, PAL, TOA and TOA2 networks. It is acknowledged however that from time to time trees may be discovered inside the MCS and therefore CP, PAL, TOA and TOA2 has processes in place to action these trees. CP PAL has set out VP codes and timeframes to manage vegetation that may unexpectedly grow inside the MCS.

Abbreviations Abbreviation HBRA LBRA ACSR MEC PAL CP TOA TOA2 CPPAL

Description Hazardous Bushfire Risk Area Low Risk Bushfire Area

Aluminium Core Steel Reinforced Major Electricity Company Powercor Australia Ltd CitiPower Transmission Operations Australia Elaine Transmission Operations Australia 2 Ararat CitiPower and Powercor, and for the purposes of this ELCMP, also includes UE, TOA and TOA2 Regulations 2015 Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015 MCS Minimum Clearance Space in accordance with the Regulations 2015 RAD Regulated Applicable Distance SAS Sag And Sway DSw Design Sway DSg Design Sag VBS Vegetation Buffer Space

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Abbreviation HV/HV Asset

Description High Voltage nominal voltage exceeds 1000 volts AC for the purposes of this policy includes distribution, sub-transmission, TOA and TOA2 transmission lines

Vegetation Priority Code definitions Code VP1 VP2 VP3 Current Year Code 2017

Inspected year M

NCR

NVS

Year Codes: 18, 19,20,21,22,23, 24

Notes: o o

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2017 Vegetation Priority Code definitions Vegetation in the first 10% of the Minimum Clearance Space (MCS)* Applies to only energised** LV & HV assets. Vegetation in the middle 70% of the MCS. Applies only to energised LV & HV assets. Vegetation in the last 20% of the MCS for energised HV and LV assets. (Excluding telecommunication cable and assets) A span where vegetation is in the CPPAL Vegetation Buffer Space (VBS) or is likely to grow into the VBS within the calendar year. The VBS is within 1 years growth from the MCS (Nominally gauged at 1 meter of MCS) Means the year that the data from the LiDAR acquisition is uploaded into SAP (Managed Span) –M spans have a reduced MCS requirement applied, this is due to community importance of a tree in the span and can only be applied to LV in LBRA with CP/PAL approval as applicable also any HV spans will require approval from ESV. (No Code Required) – A pole and asset which has no exposed overhead powerline connections and therefore no requirement for vegetation clearance. For example a street light pole. (Non Vegetated Span) - Means there is no potential for any vegetation to enter into the MCS due to tree growth (Carried out by Visual Assessment Only) and will remain so for at least 10 years. Means the year the vegetation is anticipated to grow within the VBS. For example a code 18 means vegetation will likely to enter the VBS within the year 2018 (Nominally within 1 meter of VBS) For telecommunication cable and assets the one year code represents the year that the vegetation will contact the asset.

*: Minimum Clearance Space (MCS) is defined in this CitiPower Powercor Vegetation Management Policy in the following section Determining the Minimum Clearance Space. **: Energised assets include Conductors, Fuses, Switches, Hybrid U/G structures, Cable Head structures, and overhead transformers. Excludes Guy Wires, Aerial Earth, Light Pole without conductor, Ground Kiosks, Poles.

Vegetation Minimum Clearance Space

Determining and maintaining the Minimum Clearance Space (MCS) through risk based prioritization is key to CPPAL & UE achieving its commitment to the requirements of the Regulations 2015.The relationship between the MCS and the risk based Vegetation Priority Codes is illustrated in Figure 1 below. This figure also shows the CPPAL Vegetation Buffer Space (VBS) which is designed to further reduce the potential risk of vegetation entering the MCS. All VP codes are recognised as non-complinaces with the Regulations 2015. The CP PAL program is designed to maintain vegetation outside the MCS at all times, however CP PAL has set out VP codes and timeframes to manage vegetation that may unexpectedly grow inside the MCS.

Figure 1 Minimum Clearance Space and Vegetation Priority Codes for High Voltage & Low Voltage

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Determining the Minimum Clearance Space

In accordance with the Regulations 2015, the CPPAL method for determining an additional distance that allows for sag and sway for the purposes of determining the MCS is described below.

MCS is the Regulated Applicable Distance (RAD) and an additional distance that allows for sag and sway (SAS). MCS distances are determined as follows:  Insulated conductor in LBRA & HBRA: o the MCS is equal to the RAD, as prescribed in the Regulations 2015.  Uninsulated Conductor in LBRA up to 100m in span length: o the MCS is equal to the RAD, as prescribed in the Regulations 2015 for spans of up to 100 meters in length.  Uninsulated Conductor in LBRA greater than 100m in span length: o the MCS is calculated horizontally for sway as:  equal to the RAD, as prescribed in the Regulations 2015 for spans greater than 100 meters in length; or  where the RAD is less than Design Sway (DSw), an additional distance is added to the RAD to make the MCS equal the DSw plus an additional buffer** of 300 millimetres (measured horizontally from the swayed conductor);  where DSw* is the Design Sag (DSg*) at a temperature of 50o for 6.6kv/11kv/12.7kv/22kV and at 100° for 66kV; and with an assumed sway angle of the max designed angle of sway. o the MCS is calculated vertically for sag as:  equal to the RAD, as prescribed in the Regulations 2015 for spans greater than 100 meters in length; or  where the RAD is less than DSg, an additional distance is added to the RAD to make the MCS equal the DSg;  where DSg* is calculated at a temperature of 50o for 6.6kv/11kv/12.7kv/22kV and at 100° for 66kV.  Uninsulated Conductor in HBRA: o the MCS is calculated horizontally for sway as:  equal to the RAD, as prescribed in the Regulations 2015; or  where the RAD is less than DSw, an additional distance is added to the RAD to make the MCS equal the DSw plus an additional buffer*** of 500 millimetres (measured horizontally from the swayed conductor);  where DSw* is the DSg* at a temperature of 50o for 6.6kv/11kv/12.7kv/22kV and at 100° for 66kV; and with an assumed sway angle of the max designed angle of sway. o the MCS is calculated vertically for sag as:  equal to the RAD, as prescribed in the Regulations 2015; or  where the RAD is less than DSg, an additional distance is added to the RAD to make the MCS equal the DSg;  where DSg* is calculated at a temperature of 50o for 6.6kv/11kv/12.7kv/22kV and at 100° for 66kV.

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Notes: o o

o o

*: The DSw and DSg calculations are based on the principles of AS 7000. Overhead Line Design. **: 300mm is added to LBRA sway allowances to cater for the potential variability of operating temperature, construction, asset/pole movement and site conditions. This allowance in LBRA is less than HBRA given the lower relative fire risk. ***: 500mm is added to HBRA sway allowances to cater for the potential variability of operating temperature, construction, asset/pole movement and site conditions. The VM procedure Vegetation Clearance Charts – TOA & TOA2 vegetation clearances list transmission line DSw and DSg

Sample Minimum Clearance Space

The following table provides a sample of horizontal MCS distances for some of the most common conductor types and span lengths. These are examples only and specific individual MCS distances must be calculated for each span on the CPPAL & UE networks and recorded in the vegetation asset data records. Conductor Description

Span Length

MCS (horizontal in mm)

66kv HBRA 66kv HBRA 22kv HBRA Steel 22kv HBRA Steel 22kv HBRA Steel 22kv HBRA ACSR 22kv HBRA ACSR 22kv HBRA ACSR

Rectification timeframes in HBRA in the Fire Danger Period

5030 5860 4300 5130 6450 2730 4150 6690

Where spans and locations are identified in HBRA as having vegetation inside the MCS during the declared Fire Danger Period, CP PAL will take reasonable steps to clear the vegetation within timeframes set out below: Vegetation Priority Code

Action required LV & HV energized asset

VP1

24 hours of reporting date. If not cleared an observer is require to be posted on a Total Fire Ban day whilst FDI above 30

VP2

Cleared within 7 days No inspection required on a Total Fire Ban day. Cleared or re-inspected within 14 days confirmed to priority code. No inspection required on a Total Fire Ban day

VP3

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170m 200m 175m 275m 500m 125m 200m 275m

Rectification timeframes in HBRA outside the Fire Danger Period

Where spans and locations are identified in HBRA as having vegetation inside the clearance space at times outside the declared Fire Danger Period, CP PAL will take reasonable steps to clear the vegetation within timeframes set out below: Vegetation Priority Code

Action required LV & HV energized asset

VP1

Cleared within 28 days measured from inspection date.

VP2

Cleared within 6 months or prior to fire season declaration date, measured from inspection date. Cleared within 6 months or fire season declaration date if prior, measured from inspection date or any subsequent re-inspection confirming vegetation remains code VP3

VP3

*For Transmission lines VP1 codes will be actioned within 24 hours

Rectification timeframes in LBRA at all times

Where spans and locations are identified in LBRA as having vegetation inside the clearance space, CPPAL will take reasonable steps to clear the vegetation within timeframes set out below: Vegetation Priority Code

Rectification timeframe notes

Issue Number and Date

  

Action required LV & HV energized asset

VP1

Cleared within 28 days measured from inspection date.

VP2

Cleared within 6 months measured from inspection date.

VP3

Cleared within 6 or any subsequent re-inspection confirming vegetation remains code VP3 measured from inspection date.

All rectification timeframes commence from LidDAR inspection date flown. Spans are coded to the highest VP priority defect within the span. Where a span or asset is inaccessible due to wet or inundated ground conditions the rectification timeframes do not apply and reassessment is to occur within 14 days.

The Issue Number of this Policy is: 

Issue 8

The Issue Date of this Policy is: 

Effective Date

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1 November 2017

This Policy is effective from: 

1 November 2017

Related Documents

Date Last Reviewed

Document Owners



Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plans



Vegetation Management Procedure



Vegetation Annual Execution Plan (VAEP)

This Policy was last reviewed by the Business Process Owner on the following date: 

1 November 2017

This document has the following Business Process Owner (BPO) and Business Process Analyst (BPA):  

Business Process Owner (BPO) title: Head of Network Compliance Business Process Analyst (BPA) title: Technical Officer, Vegetation Management

Change Log Details Year

Previous

New

2016

 55 = P1

 55 does not need to be rated as all 55s will be treated the same.

2016

 P28 Removed

 Insulated cable – HV becomes a 55 and LV are manage as 56s.

2016

 55 and 56s applied to all assets  55 and 56 codes no longer apply to “non hazard items” eg telecommunication cables, and pillars.

2016

 Code 55 - A span where vegetation is touching or likely to touch a conductor

2016

 5601 - Applies to all conductors where, under extreme weather conditions, inspection confirms vegetation is likely to touch

2016

56

 Code 55 - A span where vegetation is touching or likely to touch a HV conductor. Change has been made to ensure compliant insulated LV is not prioritized for cutting. Focus’s resource on clearing higher risk 55s and 5601s on HV rather than LV 55s

Applies to HV conductors , substation, fuse or crossarm where inspection confirms vegetation has a high risk of touching conductors under conditions marginally in excess of standard design conditions  5602 - Applies to all  Applies to HV conductors where, under conductors where, under extreme weather conditions, inspection extreme weather conditions, confirms vegetation is likely to touch inspection confirms vegetation conductors. Foliage contact with LV is likely to touch conductors. conductors is a 5603.

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Year

Previous

2016

 5603- Applies to all conductors  Applies to all conductors where where inspection/reinspection/re-inspection confirms inspection confirms vegetation vegetation is unlikely or cannot contact is unlikely or cannot contact the conductor under any conditions. the conductor under any Foliage contact with LV conductors is a conditions. 5603.

2016

 2010 Regulation

2016

 55 cleared within 28 days LBRA  55 cleared within 90 days LBRA

2016

 56 cleared within 6 months LBRA

 55 cleared within 1 year LBRA

2016

 Inspection date

 Cutting notification creation.

2016

 TFB requirements added to risk rating.

 TFB requirements added

2016

 Vegetation Codes

 Definitions added

2017

 56 codes

 Further defining of 56

2017

 Codes redefined

 Removal of code 55 and 56s, and inclusion on more descriptive noncompliance codes

2017

 Vegetation span codes 55 and 56

 New Vegetation Priority Codes (VP codes) VP1, VP2, and VP3

2017

 Review of VP2 and VP3 timeframes

 Additional phrase “of the inspected year” added to codes and Inspected year added as a definition

2017

 N/A

 Ammended to include United Energy Network

2017





2017

 Transmission line VP1 timeframe

 Transmission line VP1 codes will be actioned within 24 hours

2017

 Vegetation Priority Code Definitions

 low voltage VP Code definitions updated

Review of all VP rectification timeframes

New

 2015 Regulation

Rectification timeframes reduced for VP1s to 28 days and a 6 month maximum rectification timeframe for VP2 and VP3 in HBRA outside the Fire danger period and for LBRA at all times.

REFERENCE I Vegetation Management Strategy

DOCUMENT CONTROL AND DEFINITIONS .................................................................................... 60 VM STRATEGY APPROVALS ....................................................................................................... 60 STRATEGY DEFINITIONS............................................................................................................. 60 RESPONSIBLE PERSONS ............................................................................................................. 63 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................... 63 1

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 65 1.1

COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS .......................................................................................... 65 1.1.1

2

VEGETATION MINIMUM CLEARANCE SPACE ............................................................. 65

1.2

CP-PAL NETWORK VEGETATION MANAGEMENT CONTEXT ....................................................... 65

1.3

VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM - OVERVIEW ........................................................... 67

1.4

RISK-REDUCTION IMPACTS OF VEGETATION MANAGEMENT .................................................... 68

VEGETATION RISKS AND MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES ......................................................... 69 2.1

RISK ASSESSMENT.......................................................................................................... 69

2.2

VEGETATION MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES .......................................................................... 69 2.2.1 VEGETATION RISK CANNOT BE ELIMINATED.............................................................. 70 2.2.2 NETWORK EXPOSURE TO VEGETATION .................................................................... 70

3

4

5

VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE MEASURES .................................................. 71 3.1

VEGETATION MANAGEMENT LEADING INDICATORS ............................................................. 71

3.2

VEGETATION MANAGEMENT LAGGING INDICATORS ............................................................. 71

VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE .................................................................... 73 4.1

IMPACTS – PERFORMANCE QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS ............................................................. 73

4.2

PROPORTION OF FIRE IGNITIONS ATTRIBUTABLE TO VEGETATION ............................................. 75

4.3

UNPLANNED NETWORK OUTAGE CONTRIBUTION ATTRIBUTABLE TO VEGETATION ........................ 75

4.4

VEGETATION MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY METRICS ................................................................. 76

4.5

EFFECT OF VEGETATION RISK CONTROLS............................................................................ 76

VEGETATION MANAGEMENT STRATEGY ............................................................................. 78 5.1

6

58

OVERVIEW OF RECENT CHANGES IN CP-PAL’S VEGETATION MANAGEMENT STRATEGY ............... 78

STRATEGY OPTIONS ANALYSIS..................................................................................................... 82 6.1

INSPECTION ................................................................................................................. 82

6.2

VEGETATION TREATMENT ............................................................................................... 86

6.3

AUDIT STRATEGY ........................................................................................................... 87

6.4 7

8

BUSHFIRE CONSTRUCTION AREA STRATEGY ........................................................................ 89

STRATEGY MONITORING AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT ............................................ 92 7.1

MONITORING OF LEADING INDICATORS .............................................................................. 92

7.2

MONITORING OF LAGGING INDICATORS ............................................................................. 92

7.3

FAULT FOLLOW-UP AND INVESTIGATION ............................................................................ 92

7.4

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT .......................................................................................... 93

VM QUALIFICATIONS TRAINING STANDARDS ...................................................................... 97

ATTACHMENT A CP-PAL VEGETATION MANAGEMENT STRATEGY AUDIT SCHEDULE .............. 9899

59

DOCUMENT CONTROL AND DEFINITIONS VM S T RA T E GY A P P RO V AL S

Prepared By

Wayne Evans Vegetation Manager

/

/

/

/

Date

Approved By

Matt Thorpe Head of Network Compliance Date

Document Revision History Version No. Final

60

Revision Summary

Reviewer/Approver

Date

Wayne Evans / Matt Thorpe

11 January 2017

S T R A TE G Y D EFI N I TI O N S Act: Electricity Safety Act 1998. Affected Person: an owner or occupier (including a person who is responsible for the management of public land). Arborist: Suitably qualified arborist as defined in Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015. As far as practicable: means an action that which is, or was at a particular time, reasonably capable of being done, effected or put into practice with the available means taking into account and weighing up all relevant matters as determined by CitiPower -Powercor that may including: (i) what we know, or ought reasonably to know, about:  the nature of any relevant hazard or risk, and  ways of eliminating or minimising the risk, and (ii) the degree of harm that might result from the hazard or the risk (iii) the availability and suitability of ways to eliminate or minimise the risk (iv) the impact on amenity, impact on the health of vegetation and cost associated with available ways of eliminating or minimising the risk (v) whether the impact on amenity, impact on the health of vegetation and cost associated with available ways of eliminating or minimising the risk is disproportionate to the risk. Minimum clearance space: as defined in ther Vegetation Management Policy Code: Code of Practice contained in the Schedule of the Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015. Consult: Means to provide an adequate opportunity to members of the public, local government and landowners to understand the vegetation works proposed and to seek additional information regarding the proposed works. ELCMP: Electric Line Clearance Management (Vegetation) Plan relating to compliance with the Code of Practice for Electric Line Clearance. Hazard Tree: A tree, or part of a tree, that having regard to foreseeable local conditions, is likely to fall onto or otherwise fail and may come into contact with an electric line. For practical application during inspection, the following Hazard Tree definition interpretation is to be used: Trees with stems or branches that have obvious and visible structural defects, as viewed from the point of electric line vegetation clearance inspection, that may fail and impact an electric line. Native Vegetation: Native vegetation means plants like trees, shrubs, herbs and grasses that would have grown naturally in Victoria before European arrival. Plan: 2016 to 2017 Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan. Regulations: Electric Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015 including any exemptions granted by Energy Safe Victoria under clause 11. Regrowth Space: The area allowed for vegetation to regrow post last cut, nominally 3 years, and prior to entering the minimum clearance space. Service Provider: a Contractor or Sub-contractor engaged through contractual arrangements with CitiPower -Powercor.

61

Vegetation Assessor: a person whose qualifications, experience and ongoing training and assessment demonstrate competency in assessing and scoping vegetation near live electrical apparatus. This person determines cutting requirements to confirm compliance for vegetation near live electrical apparatus. Vegetation Management Procedure: the CitiPower and Powercor document hierarchy of Vegetation Management Process Procedures for key processes, end-to-end business procedures, activities and instructional material for implementation of the Plan. For other definitions: refer to the relevant Act, Regulations or Code.

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RESPONSIBLE PERSONS Responsibility

Name

Title

Address

Contact Details

VM Strategy Responsible Person

Powercor Australia Ltd

Electricity Distribution Business

40 Market Street Melbourne, 3000

Phone: 13 22 06 Email: [email protected]

VM Strategy preparation

Matt Thorpe

Head of Network Compliance

40 Market Street Melbourne, 3000

Phone: 13 22 06 Email: [email protected]

VM Strategy implementation

Wayne Evans

Vegetation Manager

40 Market Street Melbourne, 3000

Phone: 13 22 06 Email: [email protected]

R E F E RE N C ES o o o o o o o o o o o o o

63

Electricity Safety Act 1998 (Vic) (The Act) Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015 (Vic) Industry Guidelines CitiPower and Powercor Vegetation Management Policy CitiPower and Powercor Customer Action and Response System (CARE) Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Vic) Victorian Planning Provisions and Planning Schemes Pruning of Amenity Trees (AS 4373) current version Powercor Bushfire Mitigation Strategy Plan CitiPower Bushfire Mitigation Strategy Plan CitiPower Powercor Vegetation Field Reference Guide CitiPower Powercor Vegetation Management Procedure process activity procedures: Conduct Vegetation Inspection Work Instruction Compile Vegetation Action Work Package Work Instruction Execute Vegetation Action Work Instruction Compile Vegetation Reports Work Instruction

Hierarchy of Vegetation Management Documents

The CitiPower Powercor Vegetation Management Strategy forms part of a hierarchy of documents as shown below at Figure 1.

Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015

Electricity Safety Act 1998 (Vic)

Vegetation Management Policy

Conduct Vegetation Inspection

Work Instructions Guidelines

Work Instructions Guidelines

Vegetation Management Strategy

Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plans

Vegetation Management Procedures

Vegetation Annual Execution Plan (VAEP)

Conduct Consultation for Vegetation Action

Work Instructions Guidelines

Execute Vegetation Action

Work Instructions Guidelines

Work Instructions Guidelines

Conduct Vegetation Reporting

Work Instructions Guidelines

Work Instructions Guidelines

Verify Contractor Compliance & Determine Amount Payable

Work Instructions Guidelines

Work Instructions Guidelines

F IGURE 1 CP-PAL V EGETATION M ANAGEMENT D OCUMENT H IERARCHY

The Vegetation Management Strategy shall be updated in September each year to ensure the Strategy is consistent with all relevant regulations, and remains relevant to documenting the VM strategy pursued by CPPAL.

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1

INTRODUCTION

Vegetation coming into contact with live power lines can generate a range of risks including creating bushfire ignition risks, electrical safety risks, as well as having adverse impacts on supply reliability and causing damage to overhead network assets. To manage these significant risks, it is necessary for CitiPower and Powercor (CPPAL) to develop and implement strategies to maintain appropriate clearance between vegetation and overhead electricity assets. To do so requires an annual program to strategically directed, carefully planned and well executed vegetation management activities to be undertaken. This vegetation management strategy is developed to pursue CP-PAL’s vegetation management policy which is: To minimise the risk to the community and the environment caused through the interaction of trees and powerlines, this allows CitiPower and Powercor to comply with the requirements of the current Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations. This document sets out the vegetation management strategy for CP-PAL’s electricity supply networks, for the period 2016 to 2021.

1.1 C O M PL I AN C E

R EQ U I R EM E N TS

The Electricity Safety Act 1998 (Vic) and the Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015 (Vic) establish the line clearance regulatory regime applicable to CP-PAL’s network. The regulatory regime provides for a system of vegetation management with clear objectives of fire prevention and vegetation management and safety. At the same time there are a number of national, state and local laws which seek to protect native vegetation and habitat, and manage any adverse impacts of activities to protected vegetation. CP-PAL’s Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan (ECLMP) sets out a framework for identifying and managing environmentally significant vegetation and habitat in an environmentally responsible manner, at the same time working to achieve line vegetation clearance objectives for the purposes of fire prevention. CP-PAL is not the responsible party for all vegetation clearance. Councils are responsible for vegetation growing within Declared Areas on road reserves or in a Council park. Whilst in such areas Councils are the responsible party for maintaining vegetation in compliance with regulations, however as the network operator, CP-PAL undertakes its own regular inspections of its overhead supply network assets, and records all non-compliant vegetation (when not CP-PAL’s responsibility) and advises the responsible Council of their obligations, also we report any such non-compliances to EnergySafe Victoria.

1.1.1 Vegetation minimum clearance space For distribution networks, defined easements typically do not exist – rather a physical space is defined relative to the position of overhead conductors and assets, in which it is directed that vegetation is kept clear by the party responsible for the vegetation. Standards for minimum clearance space dimensions, and specification of who is responsible for maintaining vegetation clearance, is mandated by EnergySafe Victoria, Victoria’s energy industry safety and technical regulator. These standards are promulgated in the Electricity Safety (Electricity Line Clearance) Regulations 2015. Minimum clearance space dimensions vary according to line type and voltage, whether the span is in the Hazardous Bushfire Risk Area (HBRA) or the Low Bushfire Risk Area (LBRA), span length, and which part of the span is being assessed.

1.2

C P - P AL N E TW O RK V E GE TA T I O N M AN A GE M EN T C O N T EX T

Powercor’s overhead supply network is located in the central and western regions of Victoria (Figure 2). CitiPower’s network supplies electricity to Melbourne’s central business district, Port Melbourne and inner urban/suburban areas (Figure 2). CP-PAL’s combined network area supports a diversity of vegetation types, tall moist Eucalypt forests, to open dry Eucalypt forests and woodlands, a diverse range of other native vegetation types, as well as historic urban amenity tree plantings comprised of a range of introduced tree species. For the vast majority of CP-PAL’s network there are no formal easements in place, and the very large existing tree population which has the potential to impact CP-PAL’s network is not within CP-PAL’s jurisdiction to remove. Accordingly, CP-PAL’s overhead supply network needs to coexist with vegetation. Hence, for CP-PAL the management of vegetation is an unavoidable and high volume task. Vegetation growth is highly variable and dynamic, driven by genetic differences between plant species, as well as the variability of local site factors affecting plant growth. Vegetation is also exposed (over multiple decades

65

to centuries timescales) to the cumulative effects of weather and other vectors of damage and decay. Vegetation can come into contact with overhead power lines either by growing into overhead lines, or by whole trees or branches failing and falling on to them, or by vegetative material such as bark or sticks/small branches being blown on to lines.

F IGURE 2

NETWORK SUPPLY VEGET ATION AREAS

In Figure 2 above it can be seen that CP-PAL organises its network area into four regions for the purpose of vegetation management. Region 1 is the Metropolitan Region and is comprised of the CitiPower network area and suburban areas west from Melbourne and encompassing Geelong in Powercor’s network area. Due to the high population density in Region 1, maintaining vegetation clearance for service reliability is a key vegetation management imperative. Region 2 covering central western Victoria, incorporates a number of regional centres/major towns including Horsham, Ballarat, Daylesford, Macedon, Gisborne, Woodend and Bacchus Marsh among others. The region is comprised mostly of cleared agricultural landscape areas, with some large expanses of forested hills and ranges. The highest bushfire risk areas are in the Ballarat, Hepburn, Mt Alexander, Moorabool and Macedon Ranges shires as indicated by ESV’s designated Bushfire Construction Area mapping. Region 3 occupies the highest rainfall areas of Powercor’s network area along the southern coast, hinterlands and high productivity agricultural areas. It contains significant tracts of tall high productivity forests, particularly in the Otway ranges, and major timber plantation areas from around Portland to Victoria’s western border. The highest bushfire risk areas in Region 3 are in proximity to the Otway ranges and Surf Coast area where forests are extensive, tall and fast growing, and closely adjacent to significant population centres. Region 4 occupies the north western part of Victoria, principally lower rainfall cropping areas and Mallee in the west, through to higher rainfall/productivity cleared agricultural lands in the Goulburn Valley, and forests in the east around regional city of Bendigo. The highest bushfire risk areas are in Region 4 are in the Bendigo/Castlemaine area where rural and semi-rural communities live in areas adjacent to or intermixed with bushfire-prone forested hills.

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Vegetation cover and growth potential varies significantly within and between these CP-PAL vegetation management regions.

1.3 V EG E T A TI O N M AN A GE M E N T P R O G R AM - O V E R VI E W Achieving compliance with CP-PAL’s vegetation management policy and regulatory obligations requires a large scale annual program of vegetation management activities. The vegetation management activities are in essence an ongoing maintenance regime in which CP-PAL is continually monitoring the condition of the Clearance and Hazard Spaces, identifying what vegetation management actions need to be undertaken to maintain minimum clearance space compliance, and reducing the number of hazardous trees that may fall on to network assets, whilst also achieving other efficiency-driven aims such as reducing the tree cutting works volume progressively over time. An overview of the scale of CP-PAL’s vegetation management program, the key activities are represented by Figure 3 listed below.

F IGURE 3 CP-PAL ANNUAL VEGETATION MA NAGEMENT PROGRAM ACT IVITY SCOPE AND SCAL E

As identified from Figure 3 above, based on 2016 VM program data, CP-PAL’s VM program has a high volume work scope comprised as follows:    

67

Approximately half (51%) of CP-PAL’s network is within the Hazardous Bushfire Risk Area (HBRA); Approximately half (52%) of CP-PAL’s network is exposed to vegetation requiring recurrent clearance; Approximately three quarters of CP-PAL’s network is subject to vegetation inspection annually – all HBRA spans and half of LBRA spans; and A similar proportion of HBRA and LBRA spans (~ 12% of each) require action each year (total of 68,000 spans);

An annual program outline is provided at Figure 4. 2017 Vegetation Program 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr

Task

1st Qtr

2018 Vegetation Program 2nd Qtr

Fire Season PAL HBRA Lidar ~283,000 spans, 100% HBRA inspection annually. Inspection LBRA ~114,000 spans. (CP-PAL 27,000) Reliability and Safety

Hazard Tree ~6,000

2017 HBRA ~46,000 spans. Bushfire safety

2018 HBRA ~46,000 spans. Bushfire safety

Cutting LBRA ~27,000 spans.

Quality management . Consistant quality outcomes Council Engagement. Reliability and Safety Customer Engagement. ~5,000 spans of tree removals Reliability and Safety - Reducing program costs through tree population

Other Programs

Herbicide and Slashing

Herbicide and Slashing ~5,000

Reducing program costs through tree population reductions

spans. Reducing program costs through tree population reductions

Tree Growth Regulator ~100 spans. Reducing program costs Via increased cycle periods.

F IGURE 4 V EGETATION MANAGEMENT ANNUAL PROGRAM

1.4

R I S K - RE DU C T I O N

I M P AC T S O F V E GE T A TI O N M A N A G E ME N T

The impact of vegetation management strategy implementation is notoriously difficult to quantify, as the key benefit provided is in terms of avoidance or mitigation of bushfire and safety incidents and improved reliability. It is therefore problematic to measure what didn’t happen (the bushfires and safety incidents that didn’t happen because the vegetation was managed), and/or the reliability incidents (outages that didn’t happen because the vegetation was managed). Notwithstanding the difficulties of quantifying the risk reduction benefits of VM, those benefits are very substantial, greatly reducing the number of vegetationcaused faults that would otherwise have occurred. Consistent with industry practice, CP-PAL measures the impacts that did occur by recording data about the incidents that the vegetation management did not prevent. These are in the form of vegetation contact events/faults, fires started due to contact of vegetation with the overhead supply network, and industry measures of reliability and outages. Monitoring of the impacts allows trends to be evaluated.

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2

VEGETATION RISKS AND MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES

Vegetation can impact on a range of important CP-PAL business objectives, potentially public safety risks associated with bushfires and vegetation-impacting on powerlines, maintaining electricity supply reliability, and compliance with electric line clearance regulations.

2.1 R I S K

A S S ES S M E N T

CP-PAL has conducted bowtie risk analysis (GHD, 2016) for the risks associated with vegetation coming into contact with overhead supply network assets, both from sources of vegetation that grow into the network, and from sources that fall or blow on to the network. In addition to identifying the sources of risk, the bowtie analysis documents the range of risk controls that are applied (principally by CP-PAL, but also by others) in managing the risks. The most critical risk preventative controls applied by CP-PAL include:   

  

Minimum clearance space design adequacy, allowing for conductor sag and sway dynamics; Comprehensive network asset spatial data capture and maintenance so all network relevant network assets can be subject to CP-PAL’s vegetation management program; Vegetation inspection process, designed and executed effectively (so that vegetation within, and with the potential to grow inside clearance, and hazard trees which can fail and fall on to live overhead assets can be found and cut to prevent contact); Vegetation action, in various forms (including cutting, pruning, removal, herbicide spraying and mechanical clearance) is designed and executed effectively; Procedures for consulting and notifying Other Responsible Parties (ORP - principally Councils with Declared Areas) of vegetation requiring their action; and Procedures for dealing with vegetation clearance non-compliance on Private Overhead Electric Lines (POELs).

A range of other risk controls are also applied, as documented in the full risk bowtie diagrams for vegetation contact and hazard trees. The greatest risk dimension associated with vegetation is bushfire risk, principally due to the severity of the consequences that can potentially arise from a bushfire occurring in adverse fire danger conditions. All bushfire risks, including but not limited to risk arising from vegetation, is specifically addressed in CP-PAL’s Bushfire Mitigation Strategy Plan.

2.2 V EG E T A TI O N M AN A GE M E N T O B J EC TI VE S In managing the specific risk of vegetation interacting with CP-PAL overhead supply network, the key objectives of this Vegetation Management Strategy are to: 1.

Bushfire Risk – mitigate the risk of bushfires caused by vegetation interacting with live electricity assets;

2.

Electrical Safety – mitigate the risk of incidents to the public and worker safety that may be caused by vegetation interacting with live electricity assets;

3.

Compliance – achieve compliance with all relevant legislative and statutory requirements Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015, and to work collaboratively with councils to assist them to achieve compliance;

4.

Network performance – mitigate the risk of supply interruptions as a result of vegetation coming into contact with live electricity assets; and

5.

Network damage – mitigate the risk of vegetation-caused damage to CP-PAL electricity assets.

CP-PAL aims to meet these objectives in a safe, cost effective and environmentally responsible manner. CP-PAL seeks to become an innovative industry leader in vegetation management. In determining appropriate management objectives there are important matters of vegetationrelated risk management context that CP-PAL has considered. These vegetation management context matters are summarised in sections 2.2.1 to 2.2.2.

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2. 2.1 V eg et at i on r is k c an not b e el im in at e d It is not reasonably practicable to entirely eliminate network risk associated with vegetation. All trees have the potential to fail (in part or in whole) if subject to weather conditions that impart physical forces exceeding the capacity of the tree to withstand. Many factors serve to weaken the capacity of trees to resist these forces imparted by lean, asymmetry, wind, and physical impact by other trees or human activity. These include such vectors as previous wind or lightning induced damage, fire damage, root disturbance, disease, fungal decay, and wood insect attack, all of which are additive in effect and generally increase the likelihood and severity with tree age/senescence. It is important to note that not all trees or branches that fail and impact the overhead supply network have visible defects, in fact many are apparently live and healthy trees and/or branches. Also, most forest Eucalypt (and closely related genera) species produce temporary branches while they grow to their full height (which may take decades) and progressively shed branches as they grow, as the permanent branches of their crown become increasingly established. Branches shed in this way can be large and relatively long – with the potential to break conductors or cause them to clash. 2. 2.2 N et wo rk e x po s u r e t o veg et at i on CitiPower’s overhead distribution network contains a total of 59,212 spans (with a total route length of approximately 3,202 km), approximately 60 percent of the route line length is exposed to 1 vegetation . In addition there are more than 327,000 service lines extending from the network which are inspected for vegetation clearance. CitiPower’s network is completely within the Low Bushfire Risk Area (LBRA). 2

Powercor’s overhead distribution network contains a total of 499,410 spans (with a total route 3 length exceeding 67,000 km), approximately 74 percent of the route line length is exposed to vegetation. In addition there are more than 777,000 service lines extending from the network which are inspected for vegetation clearance. For the Powercor network, 56 percent of spans are in the Hazardous Bushfire Risk Area (HBRA). A high proportion of the vegetation to which CP-PAL’s network is exposed has no easement in favour of CPPAL, and therefore existing vegetation is not within CP-PAL’s jurisdiction to remove (except for Hazard Trees which may be made safe by CP-PAL, subject to notifying the owner). Accordingly, CP-PAL’s overhead supply network needs to coexist with vegetation. Hence, for CP-PAL the management of vegetation is an unavoidable and high volume task. Given the large vegetation exposure (a network tree population estimated to be several million trees) and the legal/practical impossibility of eliminating the exposure, CP-PAL aims to reduce vegetation related risks to tolerable levels. In considering what is tolerable, there are a number of factors to consider: 

Some level of residual risk is inevitable because the risks are not all identifiable (for example, apparently healthy trees or branches which fail in foreseeable weather conditions) and cannot be eliminated;



There are limits imposed by legislative and regulatory provisions (environmental among others) to what level of vegetation risk reduction can be achieved;



There are limits to what stakeholders are willing to pay (through the electricity price they pay) for risk reduction, accordingly there are limits to the vegetation risk reduction costs the economic regulator will accept;



Stakeholders, particularly those living in the areas where vegetation management is carried out, have a variety of perceptions about the degree to which action taken to reduce vegetation related risk is acceptable or otherwise; and



In Council ‘declared areas’ vegetation related risks are not CP-PAL’s responsibility to control.

1 2 3

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From 2015 Category analysis RIN data From 2015 RIN data From 2012 RIN data for ‘percentage of route line length requiring active vegetation management’ – note this does not include Council-managed vegetation in declared areas.

3

VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE MEASURES

Given the risk management context and the vegetation management objectives identified, it is possible to identify a range of leading and lagging indicators for vegetation management performance. Leading indicators provide visibility of vegetation exposure levels before any faults or impacts have occurred. Lagging indicators provide visibility of impact occurrence after vegetation-caused faults have occurred.

3.1 V EG E T A TI O N M AN A GE M E N T L E A DI N G I N DI C A T O R S CP-PAL’s leading indicators for vegetation management are identified in Table 1. T ABLE 1 V EGETATION M ANAGEMENT L EADING I NDICATORS

Performance Indicator (Leading)

Use of the indicator

Annual total of Vegetation Priority Code 4 VP1, 2 and 3s vegetation records in the Hazardous Bushfire Risk Area.

Annual occurrence rates and inter-annual occurrence trends reveal the extent to which the inspection and cutting regime is preventing vegetation from growing inside the minimum clearance space. A decreasing trend, or stable trend at a near-zero level is desirable.

Number of spans identified for trimming with current year code.

Annual occurrence rates and inter-annual occurrence trends reveal the extent to which the annual volume of current treatment cycle vegetation is increasing or decreasing. Stable or decreasing trend desirable.

Annual total of Other Responsible Party (ORP) Vegetation Priority Code VP1, 2 and 3s outstanding after 90 days.

Annual occurrence rates and inter-annual occurrence trends reveal the extent to which the annual volume of non-compliant ORP vegetation, not acted upon in a reasonable timeframe by the ORP, is increasing or decreasing. Stable or decreasing trend desirable, noting that beyond CP-PAL’s action to report non-compliant vegetation and issue reminder notices when action is not taken, action to reduce the occurrence of this indicator rests with Councils.

Hazard Tree removals

Annual find rates and inter-annual trends in the numbers of trees found and removed from the network. There may be an initially high number of hazard tree reporting and action arising from program initiation and emphasis, which should be followed by a decreasing trend as identifiable hazard trees are progressively removed from the network. The increased focus on hazard trees saw 350 hazard tree spans actioned during 2016.

Number of rework spans arising from Quality Audits.

Annual numbers of rework requirements is an indicator of contractor performance, and by extrapolation, whole VM program implementation quality.

Leading indicators will be compiled, analysed and reported annually.

4

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Code VP1, 2 and 3s is attributed to vegetation that is inside the regulated Clearance Space, with Code VP1 being for vegetation that is touching or assessed as likely to touch conductors.

3.2 V EG E T A TI O N M AN A GE M E N T L A GG I N G I N DI C A TO R S CP-PAL’s lagging indicators for vegetation management are identified in Table 2. T ABLE 2 V EGETATION M ANAGEMENT L AGGING I NDICATORS

Performance Indicator (Lagging)

Use of performance measure

Safety – Bushfire: HBRA ground fires from vegetation inside the minimum clearance space.

Annual HBRA occurrence and inter-annual occurrence trends for fires caused by intact vegetation growth contact with overhead assets. A degree of inter-annual volatility due to inter-annual variability in fire season conditions can be expected, so 6 year rolling trend analysis may be appropriate.

Safety – Bushfire: HBRA ground fires from Hazard Trees.

Annual HBRA occurrence and inter-annual occurrence trends for fires caused by vegetation by means other than the above category. A degree of inter-annual volatility due to inter-annual variability in fire season conditions can be expected, so 6 year rolling trend analysis may be appropriate.

Safety – Electrical: Electric shocks caused by vegetation for which CP-PAL is responsible.

Annual occurrence and inter-annual occurrence trends for electric shocks. Stable inter-annual trend at zero incidents desirable.

Reliability: Annual total of STPIS cost attributable to vegetation.

Annual total and inter-annual total trends indicate whether the reliability impacts attributable to vegetation are increasing or decreasing. A degree of inter-annual volatility can be expected so 6 year rolling trend analysis may be appropriate.

Compliance: EnergySafe Victoria Major Non-Compliance notices issued attributable to vegetation.

Indicator of CP-PAL’s compliance with regulatory obligations for vegetation clearance.

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4 VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE CP-PAL’s vegetation management program performance since 2011 is documented in this section.

4.1 I M PA C T S –

P ER FO R M A N C E Q U AN TI T A T I V E AN AL YS I S

CP-PAL’s recent vegetation management performance can be appraised through analysis of CP-PAL’s system of leading and lagging performance indicators. These indicators provide for annual quantification of various criteria relevant to performance, with leading indicators pertaining to vegetation clearance compliance, hazard tree removals, and the quality of vegetation contractor works, as well as lagging indicators pertaining to fire starts, electrical shock incidents, and network reliability. Performance against leading indicators is collated at Table 3, and against lagging indicators at Table 4. T ABLE 3 V EGETATION MANAGEMENT

PERFORMANCE ASSESSED AGAINST LEADING INDICATORS

Performance Indicator (Leading)

a

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Annual total of VP Coded vegetation records in the Hazardous Bushfire Risk Area.

26,771

17,106

7,169

6,372

16,232

27,596

Number of spans identified for trimming with current year code.

36,510

c

5212

Annual total of Other Responsible Party (ORP) VP Coded outstanding after 90 days.

Hazard Tree removals

Number of rework spans arising from Cutting Quality Audits.

b

56,162

59,107

50,413

59,694

No data available pre 2016 onwards

2

3

61

106

61297

7,000

66

No data available pre 2016 onwards

350

185

Table 3 notes: a 2016 – Definition of VP coded has been adjusted to reflect 2015 regulations (formally 55 and 56s). b Comparable to years 2011 to 2015 c New interpretation. Table 3 above shows how CP-PAL’s VM leading indicators have been tracking between 2011 and 2016. In relation to the occurrence of VP Coded vegetation records in HBRA areas, occurrences followed a declining trend from 2011 to 2014 – a desirable trend. However, in 2015, occurrences kicked back up significantly above 2013 and 2014 levels, but still below 2011 and 2012 levels. CP-PAL attributes the 2015 result to VM contractor issues, as during this period CP-PAL’s VM contractor became insolvent, and CP-PAL pursued new VM strategy directions. CP-PAL considers that some legacy issues from that event may also affect this indicator in 2016, however, it is predicted that substantially improved performance will be evident from 2017 onwards. With regard to the volume of current year cut code vegetation indicator results, a similar, but smaller magnitude effect to that observed for VP coded occurrences can be seen, although the 2011 result appears low. With regard to Hazard Tree removals, prior to 2014, recorded Hazard Tree removal rates were negligible. Although a formal Hazard Tree removal program was not in place from 2013 to 2015, 233 hazard trees were identified and removed during that period. With the introduction of a more formalized and methodical Hazard Tree program from 2016 onwards, CP-PAL predicts an increase in Hazard Tree removals in 2016 to 2018, which are likely to decline as hazard trees are progressively reduced around the network.

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Table 4 Impact of vegetation on CP-PAL’s network Performance Indicator (Lagging)

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

0

1

1

1

3

0

9

14

22

12

8

3

Safety – Electrical: Electric shocks caused by vegetation for which CP-PAL is responsible.

0

0

0

0

0

0

Reliability: Annual total of STPIS cost attributable to vegetation.

$12,368,337

$10,272,667

$14,696,007

$11,965,007

$7,813,880

TBA

Compliance: EnergySafe Victoria Major NonCompliance notices issued attributable to vegetation.

0

0

0

0

0

0

Safety – Bushfire: HBRA fires from vegetation inside the minimum clearance space. Note; 2011 – 2015 include LBRA and HBRA

Safety – Bushfire: HBRA fires from Hazard Trees. Note; 2011 – 2015 include LBRA and HBRA

Table 4 above shows how CP-PAL’s VM lagging indicators have been tracking between 2011 and 2015. Historically, vegetation-caused ground fire starts have not been sub-categorised on the basis of HBRA or LBRA location, and whether resulting from vegetation inside or outside the minimum clearance space. From 2016 onwards, the new indicators will be used. The only lagging indicator available for analysis over the 2011 to 2015 period is for STPIS attributable to vegetation. During the period 2011 to 2014, annual total of STPIS varied from $10.3M to 14.7M with an average of $12.3M. Pleasingly, in 2015 a significant drop to $7.8M occurred. It should be noted that the vegetation component of STPIS is sensitive to storm and high wind event occurrence and inter-annual variability is not unusual. CP-PAL’s VM strategy improvement initiatives, including LiDAR inspection, in-house VM program management, improved contractor work quality outcomes arising from consistent audit programs, and escalation initiatives for ORP Code non-compliance, are expected to improve performance in relation to this indicator.

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4.2 P R O PO R TI O N

O F FI R E I G N I T I O N S AT T RI B U TA B L E T O V EG E T A TI O N

Vegetation-caused fires as a proportion of total fires started on CP-PAL’s network for the period 2011 to 2015 are shown at Figure 5. F IGURE 5 F IRE START BY CAUSE PIE CHARTS 2011 TO 2015

Figure 5 shows that vegetation is responsible for a relatively small proportion of fire starts from CP-PAL’s network. The CitiPower network area is all within LBRA where fire starts are unlikely to have significant impacts. In the Powercor network area, during the period 2011 to 2015, 6% of all fires on the network were caused by vegetation.

4.3 U N PL AN N ED

N E TW O RK O U T A G E C O N TR I B U TI O N A T T RI B U T AB L E TO V EG E TA T I O N

Over the period 2011 to 2015 the contribution of vegetation to unplanned network SAIDI is for both the Powercor and CitiPower networks is shown at Figure 6. F IGURE 6 C ONTRIBUTION OF VEGETATION TO UNPLANNED

NETWORK

SAIDI

As can be seen from Figure 6 above, vegetation contributes 11% and 15% of unplanned SAIDI on the Powercor and CitiPower networks respectively.

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PROCEDURE Vegetation Management CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

4.4 V EG E T A TI O N M AN A GE M E N T A C TI VI T Y M E T RI C S The key controls for vegetation related risk are: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Inspect vegetation clearance to identify vegetation requiring remediation: This control has been implemented extensively across all spans across the network, with inspection conducted annually for all spans in HBRA, 2 yearly for CP, and 3 yearly cycles for PAL LBRA (see Table 5 for annual program metrics). Action (clear – trim, cut, clear/remove, or kill) vegetation reported for remediation: This control has been implemented extensively across all spans assessed to require vegetation clearance, with an annual program of vegetation treatment works conducted. See Table 5 for annual program metrics. Audit vegetation clearance compliance and contractor performance: This control has been implemented selectively across the CP-PAL network during the period 2012/13 – 2015/16, with vegetation treatment works audited annually on the network. See Table 5 for annual program metrics. Additional bushfire risk mitigation controls outside of the vegetation management program include:  Protection system design and function (CP-PAL risk control)  Network operation, including fire danger level-triggered changes to protection system operation settings (CP-PAL risk control)  Fault response crew deployment (CP-PAL risk control)  Fire and emergency service incident response and management (outside CP-PAL control) T ABLE 5 V EGETATION M ANAGEMENT ACTIVITY M ETRICS 2012– 2015

Vegetation management activity metric

12

13

14

15

16

Spans inspected

376,000

400,000

488,000

329,000

561,554

Spans cut.

51,919

55,675

46,005

56,035

61,297

Cut Spans audited

4.5 E FF EC T

OF

New indicator available from 2016 onwards

6,385

V E GE T A TI O N R I S K C O N T R O L S

From a network tree population exposure level estimated to exceed 10 million trees, vegetation clearance works are applied to approximately 50 – 70,000 spans per annum greatly reducing the quantity of vegetation contact events that would otherwise occur. Figure 7 below is compiled from vegetation management and major fault data from 2009 to 2015, and fire start data from 2012 to 2015. It is indicative of how CP-PAL’s vegetation management serves to mitigate vegetation contact-caused bushfire risk.

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PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

Vegetation-caused fires starts resulting in claims (2010-2015): 2 Annual vegetation-caused fire starts in HBRA: 6 Annual fire starts caused by vegetation: Inside Clearance: 4

Outside Clearance: 19

Major faults caused by vegetation: Inside Clearance: 14 Outside Clearance: 32

Spans cut annually: ~ 50 to 70,000 Vegetated spans: ~ 292,000 Network tree exposure: > 10 million

F IGURE 7 P ERFORMANCE M EASURES 2012 - 2015

CP-PAL’s principal means of reducing vegetation-generated risk is keeping vegetation clear of the minimum clearance space. Through implementation of CP-PAL’s vegetation inspection and clearance program, from a network tree exposure exceeding 10 million trees, vegetation-caused major faults are limited to an average of 46 annually, with storm events a major contributing causal factor. From these, an average of 23 vegetation-caused fire starts occur each year, with only 4 attributable to vegetation which has grown inside the minimum clearance space. Of these vegetation-caused faults, only a proportion is caused by vegetation for which CP-PAL is responsible. On the CitiPower network, most vegetation-caused faults are attributable to Council-managed vegetation. On the Powercor network, on average around 85% of vegetation-caused faults are attributable to CP-PAL managed vegetation, however these are mostly (more than two thirds) attributable to vegetation outside the Clearance Zone which fails and then falls on, or is blown into overhead lines. Application of an annual inspection cycle and larger Clearance Space dimensions in HBRA further reduces the proportion of fires that start in fire-prone areas where bushfire risk is highest. On days of Total Fire Ban, additional mitigation actions including adjustment of auto-re-close settings and disconnection of code non-compliant Private Electric Lines serves to further mitigate vegetation-caused bushfire risk.

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PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

5

Powercor Australia Ltd

VEGETATION MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

This section provides an overview of the recent change in vegetation management strategy pursued by CP-PAL, and the Vegetation Management Strategy model presently adopted.

5.1 O V E R VI EW

O F R EC EN T C H AN G ES I N

CP-PAL’ S V E G E T AT I O N M AN AG E MEN T S T R A T EG Y

Having taken the vegetation management function back in-house after more than 18 years with external contractor delivery, CP-PAL is presently in a transition phase from a fully outsourced vegetation management model to a more strategic, internally managed, data-driven, risk-based model of vegetation management. Essential to pursuing this vegetation management strategy change has been the acquisition and implementation of CP-PAL’s Vegetation Management System (VMS). The VMS provides CP-PAL the means to import, collate and analyse vegetation data collected on a daily basis, principally by contractors while conducting vegetation inspections and works program activities, but also by CP-PAL’s VM Team. The data collected in CP-PAL’s VMS provides CP-PAL with an evidence-based understanding, on a span-by-span basis of the quantity and condition of its vegetation exposure, including find-rates, current and future year works volumes. The VMS also provides CP-PAL with an efficient means of packaging, prioritizing and allocating vegetation works packages to its contractors, monitoring works program delivery progress, as well as designing, managing, and recording works quality assurance audit program works and results. The VMS was implemented in late 2015, and thus is still in the process of capturing a full, baseline, quality-assured vegetation data set for the network covering all vegetated spans. The VMS has been populated with pre 2015 data supplied by CP-PAL’s former VM Contractor, however, this data is of variable quality. Hence, CP-PAL’s current VM strategy and program can be said to be in the early stages of implementing major reforms, the performance of which it is too early to evaluate. Reforms implemented to-date include:

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

Implementation of a vegetation management model with the management function undertaken internally, with associated establishment of internal vegetation management capability;



Implementation of an in-house Vegetation Management System into which contractor-collected VM data is imported, facilitating improved strategy and program planning and analysis by CP-PAL;



Initiation of an internally resourced contractor works audit model to provide CP-PAL confidence in VM works contractor performance and regulatory compliance;



Transition from ground-based vegetation inspection to a combined aerial and ground based inspection system, in which LiDAR inspection is the primary means of determining vegetation clearance, complemented by targeted ground inspection as the primary means of hazard tree inspection;



Cutting specification changes (to Transition distance) aimed at improving the performance of cutting interventions;



Specification of integrated VM treatment (combining cutting, herbicide and tree growth regulator treatments) requirements for contractors aimed at preventing escalation of future vegetation treatment volumes; and



Formalising of a Hazard Tree inspection and cutting process to reduce Hazard Tree risks, with the following key process specifications: o

Spans with vegetation that can contact the line if it fails will be Hazard Tree inspected by a Certificate 4 Arborist;

o

Arborists will set the Hazard Tree inspection cycle post initial inspection;

o

Any trees determined at time of inspection as likely to fail in the next 3 years will be prioritized for removal within the normal cutting program cycle;

o

All spans with vegetation that could contact the line if it failed in BCA’s will be inspected annually for Hazard Trees;

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

o

Spans which are ground-inspected in 2016 may not be prioritized for hazard tree inspection during 2017;

o

Spans Lidar-inspected in 2016 with vegetation that could contact the line if it failed, will be hazard tree assessed in 2017.

The above VM changes represent a comprehensive package of VM reforms. These reforms will require a period of relatively stable implementation to bed-down practice and optimise delivery capacity. Further, the reform package may require further work/studies to leverage the improved annual vegetation growth data collection enabled through LiDAR inspection, for more precisely accounting for vegetation growth rates in forecasting cut cycles, future work volumes and cost projections. In selecting its vegetation management strategy, CP-PAL identified and assessed a range of options (summary options analysis at Appendix A). CP-PAL’s Vegetation Management Strategy for the period 2016 – 2022 is summarised on the following pages.

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PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

VEGETATION MANAGEMENT (VM) STRATEGY SUMMARY 2016 - 2021 VEGETATION MANAGEMENT GOALS

1. Reduce bushfire risk as far as reasonably practicable

2. Reduce public safety risk as far as reasonably practicable

3. Maintain vegetation clearance regulatory compliance

4. Improve network reliability by minimising vegetation-caused outages

5. Be a industry leader in vegetation management CitiPower- Powercor (CP-PAL) has developed a system of performance indicators for monitoring and evaluating the performance of our Vegetation Management Strategy.

VM PERFORMANCE FRAMEWORK

LEADING INDICATORS

LAGGING INDICATORS

Compliance:# Vegetation encroaching inside the Minimum Clearance Space (MCS) – VP Coded vegetation Program Volume:# Vegetation reported outside the MCS which requires cutting in the current year to prevent encroachment inside the MCS

Bushfire: # Ground fires caused by vegetation inside the Minimum Clearance Space Bushfire: # Ground fires caused by Hazard Trees falling in from outside the Clearance Space

ORP Compliance:# Timeframe for councils to rectify Vegetation inside the MCS once notified.

Electrical Safety: # Electric shock incidents caused by vegetation for which CP-PAL is responsible Network reliability: Annual total of STPIS cost attributable to vegetation

Network Hazard Reduction:# Hazard Tree Removals Contract Compliance:# Rework spans arising from Quality Audits of Asplundh cutting

Compliance: Energy Safe Victoria (ESV) major non-compliance notices issued attributable to vegetation

•VM is performed throughout the network asset life cycle. Vegetation clearance compliance and condition across the network is assessed through a systematic vegetation inspection program. Inspections apply a risk-based prioritisation of vegetation requiring action the maintain Minimum Clearance Space compliance and Hazard Tree management. Vegetation is cut by VM contractors using the most appropriate method, through a systematic annual program of vegetation works.

VM INSPECTION PRIORITISATION & ACTION STRATEGIES

INSPECTION STRATEGY

PRIORITISATION STRATEGY

VEGETATION ACTION STRATEGY

Cycle:

Vegetation is prioritised for action using a priority coding system, based on line classification, vegetation proximity, HBRA, BCA or LBRA category, and whether in or outside the CFA declared fire danger period. The assessed priority coding is recorded in the Vegetation Management System (VMS).

Minimum Clearance Space (MCS): All vegetation inside the MCS must be cleared in accordance CP-PAL VM Policy

LiDAR method: Vegetation is priority coded by automated computation using the CP-PAL’s vegetation priority coding algorithm.

Reduction: CP-PAL targeted vegetation removals and herbicide to improve program efficiency

Ground-based method: Vegetation is priority coded by the inspector. The year vegetation will grow inside the MCS is determined by consideration of tree species condition and site factors.

ORP Reported for action to responsible owner & ESV

HBRA & BCAs - Annual CP LBRA - 2 yearly PAL LBRA – 3 yearly

+ Special inspection for major events Method:

LiDAR supplemented with ground-based visual inspection

What:

CP-PAL network and associated connected private electric lines. Inspect for vegetation clearance and Hazard Trees.

HBRA = Hazardous Bushfire Risk Area LBRA – Low Bushfire Risk Area BCA= Bushfire Construction area

VM INSPECTION PRIORITISATION & ACTION PROCESS

Regrowth Space (RS): The spans with a current year cut code are to be actioned Hazard Space (HS): All trees assessed to be ‘Hazard Trees’ are to be actioned

POELs Reported for action to responsible owner (POEL)

INSPECTION PROCESS

RISK-BASED PRIORITISATION PROCESS

VEGETATION ACTION PROCESS

LiDAR inspection: LiDAR inspection uses an aircraft mounted remote sensing system to acquire 3D point cloud data providing accurate measurement of vegetation clearances. It can be applied across the network except in No Fly Zones (where ground inspection is required). Ground-based visual vegetation inspection process applies in both HBRA and LBRA, and requires identification of: 1. The applicable vegetation MCS is determined based on below; HBRA or LBRA area, line type and voltage, span length and segment, sag and sway allowance calculation; 1. The Responsible Party (CP-PAL or others); 2. Code non-compliant vegetation inside the MCS, for allocation of a VP Code VP1, VP2 or VP3; 3. For vegetation outside the MCS, growth potential is assessed to determine when the trees are in or likely to grow inside the Vegetation Buffer Space, for coding with the year it will enter the VBS; 4. For trees outside the MCS and RS: Spans with no trees ever likely to grow inside the MCS (Code NVS); 5. Identify & classify Hazard Trees; Inspector recommends treatment for each tree (trim, remove, mechanical, herbicide, slash, etc). Lidar identifies spans with tall trees, which are then targeted for Hazard Tree assessment by Arborists.

VM is a high volume, cyclic annual work program, designed, managed and quality-assured by CP-PAL, with delivery of vegetation inspection and action functions outsourced to contractors.

For vegetation that is CP-PAL’s responsibility to action, CP-PAL will action vegetation:

1.

Inside MCSe – VP1; Vegetation in first 10% of MCS. VP2; Vegetation in middle 70% of MCS. VP3;Vegetation in last 20% of MCS for energised HV and LV energised assets. (Excludes telecommunication cable and assets) 2. Inside or will grow into VBS: 17; A span where vegetation is in the CitiPower Powercor Vegetation Buffer Space or will be within the calendar year. The VBS is within 1 years growth of the MCS (Nominally 1 meter of MCS) 3. Outside VBS but requires action in the current year to prevent it encroaching into the VBS or MCS: Assigned current year code; 4. Outside clearance and not requiring action in the current year: Vegetation which will require action within the next 7 years (Code for the year it will grow inside MCS). Hazard trees are referred for action in the current year program. LiDAR method: LiDAR data provides the means for accurately determining the proximity of vegetation to each line. Vegetation inside the MCS is allocated VP Code depending on proximity. Vegetation less than 1 metre outside the MCS (the VBS) is allocated a current year priority code., Vegetation less than 1 metre outside the VBS is allocated a current year priority code, and then for each further 0.5 metre increment, an additional year is added, up to a maximum of 7 years from the current year. Ground-based method: Vegetation is priority coded by the inspector. The year vegetation will grow inside the MCS or VBS is determined by consideration of tree species & condition and site factors. Guidance for determining regrowth allowance is provided in CP-PALs Vegetation Reference Guide.

1. Inside clearance as a priority, according the to the assigned priorityde; 2. Outside clearance – as scheduled via the Vegetation Annual Execution Plan (VAEP) Integrated VM, including the use of herbicides, tree growth regulators, tree removal and mechanical clearing are the preferred option in spans where long term benefits may be gained from reducing future clearance work volumes. Councils with Declared Areas are notified of Code non-compliant vegetation conditions that require action (and ESV is informed) - Councils are responsible for their own vegetation. Affected Persons notification process undertaken 14 to 60 days in advance of scheduled vegetation action. Vegetation cutting extent should be to the lowest/furthest previous cut points, or the transition space applicable to the area, whichever is the greater. All CP-PAL responsibility Hazard Trees are actioned. All vegetation action and revised tree codes are to be recorded on the Contractors mobility device, in accordance with contractual requirements, for upload into CP-PAL’s VMS.

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VEGETATIONMANAGEMENT (VM) Summary STRATEGY 2016- 2021 CP -PAL’s 2017 vegetation program scope and Task

2017 Vegetation Program 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr

high level schedule is outlined below: 1st Qtr

2018 Vegetation Program 2nd Qtr

Fire Season PAL HBRA Lidar ~283,000 spans, 100% HBRA inspection annually. Inspection LBRA ~114,000 spans. (CP-PAL 27,000) Reliability and Safety

Hazard Tree ~6,000

VM ANNUAL WORKS PROGRAM INDICATIVECutting SCOPE & SCHEDULE

2017 HBRA ~46,000 spans. Bushfire safety

2018 HBRA ~46,000 spans. Bushfire safety LBRA ~27,000 spans.

Quality management . Consistant quality outcomes Council Engagement. Reliability and Safety Customer Engagement. ~5,000 spans of tree removals Reliability and Safety - Reducing program costs through tree population

Other Programs

Herbicide and Slashing

Herbicide and Slashing ~5,000

Reducing program costs through tree population reductions

spans. Reducing program costs through tree population reductions

Tree Growth Regulator ~100 spans. Reducing program costs Via increased cycle periods.

AUDIT SAMPLE PROCESS Audit scope :

10% of work package area selected for Quality Audit. Sample randomly generated by VMS. Audits undertaken by CP -PAL Engagement & Quality Officers. Each year, in each sub -contractor area, one or more 20% audits will be undertaken for comparison against 10% a udit results.

AUDIT STANDARD

VM WORKS QUALITY AUDIT

Audit pass/fail :

Pass = 100% compliance to contract specification; all other results constitute a Fail.

AUDIT FAILURE CONSEQUENCE MANAGEMENT Operational :

Financial:

Failed work packages are returned to the Contractor for rework, identifying the number and nature of fail items, but not spec ifi c locations. The Contractor is to re -inspect the failed work package, identify failed items and take remedial action. When the Contractor r eports re work is complete, CP -PAL will complete a second random 10% audit. If the Contractor fails again, CP -PAL will undertake a 100% au dit of the work package, at the Contractor’s cost. Payment for a work package is not approved until the work package has passed CP=PAL’s quality audit.

PERFORMANCE MONITORING Performance indicators : CP-PAL’s system of leading and lagging indicators will be used to evaluate performance againstdesired trends/targets.

VM STRATEGY PERFORMANCE MONITORING, REPORTING & CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

Performance evaluation will be undertaken annually. Performance evaluation in conjunction with monitoring of industry technology and practice improvement opportunities will inform and drive VM strategy continuous improvement. PERFORMANCE REPORTING Performance reports : A weekly program status report incorporating performance status is prepared and provided to -PAL CP senior management.

Annual VM Program level performanceevaluation will be undertakenannually and reported to CP-PAL Senior Management. PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT Performance evaluation in conjunction with monitoring of industry technology and practice improvement opportunities willrminfo and drive VM strategy continuousimprovement. Opportunities for improvement are assessed through -CP PAL’s corporate business case evaluation process.

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6 Strategy Options Analysis 6.1 Inspection Inspection strategy is keystone component of the overall vegetation management strategy. The inspection process is essentially about targeting the most suitable types of vegetation treatment works activities to the right vegetation in the right places at the right times. Optimising the scope of the annual treatment works program has a high dependency on inspection strategy and program outcomes. Inspection strategies need to optimise discrimination between higher risk/priority vegetation and lower risk/priority vegetation for action. Strategies biased to over-reporting of vegetation requiring treatment lead to over-scoped treatment works programs with the potential consequence of over-servicing/excessive cost and/or inability to complete treatment cycles on time. Strategies biased to under-reporting of vegetation requiring treatment lead to under-scoped treatment works programs with the potential consequence of undetected or unreported vegetation risks and with increased safety and reliability consequences, and potentially also escalation of future work volumes. CitiPower Powercor considered the relative cost and risk benefits of new developments in Lidar capabilities for implementation verses traditional ground based inspections. Factors risk of tree line contact, adjustment of cycles, hazard tree information (refer Option analysis 3), and value. Inspection program decision points 1.

Inspection method.

Option

Strategy and analysis

Approximate Cost ranking

Risk reduction ranking

1

Ground-based visual inspection

$



2

Inspection using LiDAR to maximum extent.

$$



3

LiDAR inspection supplemented by ground inspection of no fly zones & LiDAR targeted hazard tree areas

$$



Analysis A minor cost premium is paid for Lidar versus traditional ground base inspection. The accuracy of Lidar data will reduce cutting by removing the inaccuracies and general conservative assessment taken by ground inspectors. Other business uses for captured Lidar data eg design, conductor clearance, and asset inspection, the business has chosen to utilise Lidar as the primary inspection tool. LiDAR and ground inspection combination strategies have the advantage that:         

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They can be implemented on all spans; LiDAR gives consistent and accurate clearance measurement, significantly more accurate, reliable and more comprehensive than ground inspection; LiDAR provides quantitative evidence base for clearance; LiDAR has additional application potential for assessment of growth rates that are not practicable using ground inspection; LiDAR gives work volume in a timely manner; LiDAR improved the targeting of ground hazard tree inspections; CP-PAL has experienced that the competence of ground inspectors is highly variable; Ground inspections cover any spans unsuitable for LiDAR; Ground-based inspections well-executed, can identify vegetation conditions that can’t be detected by LiDAR,

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty     

Powercor Australia Ltd

Historically LiDAR has proven to be reliable in identifying vegetation requiring clearance; All necessary vegetation data can be captured using LiDAR; There is adequate competition from LiDAR and ground inspection providers; CP-PAL’s experience is that costs are comparable between LiDAR and ground based methods. Targeted hazard tree inspections of spans where trees have capacity to contact conductors if they fail.

CP-PAL historically have proven the combination of the strategies above give accuracy and no increased risks. Majority of LiDAR gives opportunity to assess with more details, growth rates, and improved discrimination between spans requiring action. LiDAR if required for small scale inspection processes can be less timely than ground based inspection, however at the bulk inspection package level LiDAR is considerably faster. Lidar compatible spans; 553,400 Spans that require traditional inspections; 8154

2.

Selection of inspection cycle frequency.

Option

Strategy and analysis

Cost ranking

Risk reduction ranking

1

Annual inspection cycle across full network

$$$$



2

Two year inspection cycle across full network

$



3

Annual inspection in HBRA; two yearly inspection in CP LBRA; three year inspection in in PAL LBRA (current strategy)

$$$



4

Annual inspection in HBRA using LiDAR, and two yearly inspection in LBRA both CP & PAL with non-vegetated areas excluded (maximum of 5 years) based on LiDAR confirmation (option under consideration)

$$



Analysis For the distribution network, a primary driver of network vegetation inspection cycle selection the priority of reducing public safety risk particularly from bushfire in extreme and high bushfire risk areas, but also for network reliability. The lowest risk options is Option 1. The lowest cost options are Options 2 and 4. Potentially, CPPAL considers that LiDAR inspection will enable large areas of unnecessarily inspected spans to be excluded from inspection generating inspection program savings with no additional risks, with the potential that Option 4 could be less expensive than Option 2 depending on number of spans excluded through LiDAR analysis. On this basis, CP-PAL considers Option 4 should be examined further to be a potential replacement for Option 3 which is the current option. To undertake this further analysis, evidence of clearance non-compliance in 2 year versus 3 year inspection areas needs to be undertaken, and potentially STPIS impact, as well as cost differential. There are ~100,000 NVS spans in PAL HBRA ~20,000 of which PAL consider could revert to a 5 year cycle on the basis they are multiple spans in a row and pole inspectors visit the locations every 2.5 years and can confirm Lidar capture information remains the same.

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The potential risk for unforeseen vegetation growth in excluded spans is managed by the 5 year maximum timeframe limitation that is proposed to apply. CP-PAL considers excluded areas will apply in low rainfall areas where growth is slow, and in cleared agricultural landscapes where trees and tall growing shrubs are absent. The low impact of STPIS in the Powercor LBRA and significant level of Non-compliance of council managed trees should be further assess when considering a change from 3 and 2 year inspection cycles respectively. Additional matters raised are to conduct re-analysis of how HBRA and LBRA areas are defined, and if there are opportunities to improve the basis for differentiating areas conduct strategy options analysis. CP-PAL consider remaining cycle and reconsider for budget 2018.

3.

Hazard tree inspection strategy HBRA and BCAs.

Note: No targeted hazard tree inspections in urban LBRA as fire ignition in these areas is highly unlikely.

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Option

Strategy and analysis

Cost ranking

Risk reduction ranking

1

Current Ground based inspection of all spans and hazard trees.

$$



2

LiDAR inspection only with hazard trees only detected opportunistically where cutting works and going on

$



3

LiDAR inspection supplemented by a LiDAR analysis triggered selection of spans based on tree height for ground inspection annually

$$$



4

LiDAR inspection supplemented by a LiDAR analysis triggered selection of spans based on tree height, for inspection by a ground based inspector (not arborist) plus filtering out spans which have been cut within 2.5 years (equivalent to inspections for decay in poles)

$$



5

LiDAR inspection supplemented by a LiDAR analysis triggered selection of spans based on tree height, plus filtering out spans which have been cut within a cycle determined by a Level 4 arborist. BCA areas will be inspected for hazard trees annually. (note: inspections to be done by Level 4 arborists) (selected option)

$$



PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

Analysis All options would be applied to HBRA and BCA’s, noting that the re-analysis of risk areas is flagged to be conducted which can be used to determine if additional areas are prudent to include. Lidar cannot determine the health condition of a tree. Option 1 continue the existing ground based inspection process, risk and cost are similar to the chosen option 4, however option 4 will see the deployment of Arborist’s to spans to assess vegetation, rather than a lesser qualified inspector, and spans will be targeted consistently to through the accuracy of Lidar nominating spans with potential vegetation rather than subjectivity of a ground based inspector. Option 2 is the highest risk due to opportunistic inspection only where cutting is being undertaken, therefore leaving potentially high numbers of spans without hazard tree inspections. This option is not considered defendable. While the implementation cost is relatively low, there are likely to be significant costs arising from the consequences of the high risk, when hazard trees that are not detected due to the opportunistic inspection process fall in lines and start fires. Option 3 is the highest cost due to continuing annual ground based inspection frequency. Option 4 is aligned with an established cycle for wood pole maintenance which incorporates decay detection, however there is no validation as to whether this would be a relevant frequency for live and dead trees. Option 4 may be a viable option but may need to be tested with scientific rigour. Option 5 ensures that all spans are inspected for hazard trees and has the benefit that a subject matter expert (Level 4 arborist) is undertaking the inspection work and setting future inspection cycles which may have benefits both on the risk reduction side and cost reduction side. ~31,000 spans are currently projected on the network requiring hazard tree inspections, with ~450 spans located in BCAs (Actual span numbers will be captured as part of 2017 inspection cycle). This option targets the spans with tall vegetation that may have a hazard tree with capacity to contact a line. Due to the projected consequences of a fire start in BCAs and relative low numbers of trees that can affect the line in these area, an annual inspection for hazard tree will be conducted.

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PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

6.2 V EG E T A TI O N

Powercor Australia Ltd

T R E A TM EN T

Vegetation treatment is the major vegetation management activity and the highest cost OPEX component of the vegetation management strategy. The treatment process is essentially about remediating the vegetation found during inspections to require action to prevent/remedy growth inside clearance and to address other significant vegetation risks. Optimising the scope of the annual treatment works program has a high dependency on inspection strategy and program outcomes. Vegetation treatment types have varying degrees of effectiveness. Trimming branches and shoots is very often a temporary remedy, noting that vegetation will typically respond to being trimmed by reshooting from near the cut section. New shoots may grow quickly and be less securely attached to the branch or stem than the original section cut. Many tree species if cut back to ground level are able to reshoot strongly from below the cut, often with multiple stems replacing the single stem that was cut, and are able to regrow quickly on account of their wellestablished root system and in many native Eucalypt species also using the resources of their lignotuber. Unless an effective herbicide treatment is applied in combination with cutting, the cutting treatment alone will very often be a temporary remedy requiring recurrent treatments in future years. Trees adjacent to easements or cleared areas under clearance spaces can disperse seed into these areas and where the seed finds favourable conditions for germination and establishment, additional tree recruitment in previously clear areas can and does occur. If not promptly treated these can grow to dimensions for which less expensive easement maintenance methods such as slashing are no longer possible, necessitating substantially more expensive treatments such as larger mulching machinery or labour intensive hand cutting and poisoning. Accordingly, application of the most efficient and appropriate treatment or combinations of treatments is required to optimise treatment effectiveness. 1.

Selection of vegetation clearance cutting scope.

Option

Strategy and analysis

Cost ranking

Risk reduction ranking

1

Cut all vegetation in minimum clearance space and within the Regrowth Space up to 1 m from the Vegetation Buffer Space (selected option for LiDAR)

$



2

Cut all vegetation in minimum clearance space and within the Regrowth Space up to 2 m from the VBS

$$$



3

Cut all vegetation in minimum clearance space. Determine cutting priority of vegetation within the VBS and Regrowth Space based on vegetation inspector’s assessment of the year that the vegetation will next grow inside clearance (selected option for ground inspection)

$$



Analysis Historically, NSP has cut all vegetation within the Clearance and Regrowth Spaces. The cutting of vegetation in the Regrowth Space serves to reduce the likelihood of vegetation growing into the minimum clearance space, and therefore reduces electric shock, fire and reliability risk on the distribution network. Options 1 and 2 are the lowest risk options. Option 1 although it provides less separation than Option 2, the degree of separation allowed for has been found to be adequate historically evidence by the low number of code VP1s identified through LiDAR. Option 3 is considered a higher risk option principally because of the potential for human error in assessing the clearance distance and the amount that the vegetation will regrow. Conclusion: NSP has selected Option 1 for LiDAR and Option 3 for ground inspections.

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6.3 Audit strategy NSP’s distribution network vegetation management program is a large program involving: 

One or more inspection contractors;



Two or more VM works contractors;



Annualised operating expenditure of ~$30M;



Causal factor relationship to one of NSPs major risks – Bushfire Risk.

Accordingly, there are strong business imperatives for NSP to undertake a robust annual VM audit program across the vegetation inspection and cutting services implemented by contractors are performed and completed according to the Technical Specifications of the contract. Inspection contractor including LiDAR audit On the network, NSP engages vegetation inspection and clearance contractors whose inspections are focussed on vegetation clearance and condition, and associated clearance requirements for the network. However, as inspection contractors must cover a high proportion of the network annually (all HBRA) and deliver to prescriptive, time-bound inspection cycles, there is a risk that contractors may shortcut inspection quality/completeness to meet timelines, particularly if they experiencing difficulty meeting delivery timelines. A key audit imperative is to ensure that vegetation inside clearance and regrowth spaces are not missed during inspections, and that young regeneration/sapling stage RS Code vegetation beneath clearance and regrowth spaces is identified for removal. VM clearance works contractor audit NSP engages vegetation clearance contractors whose work is focussed on trimming back vegetation from within the clearance and regrowth space, and on removing young tree regeneration/saplings from transmission easements, and from under clearance and regrowth spaces on the distribution network. Poor work quality can lead to increased grow-in fault occurrence and ground fire ignition risk, and increased future trimming work/cost if sapling removal opportunities are missed. Accordingly, the key audit imperative is to ensure that the clearance and regrowth spaces are clear of vegetation after cutting, and that young regeneration/sapling stage RS Code vegetation beneath clearance and regrowth spaces is removed / killed. VM audit system NSPs Engagement and Quality Team undertake auditing of services performed and provided by the Vegetation Clearance Contractors on the network. Distribution line vegetation works audit strategy options 1.

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Selection of appropriate audit effort level.

Option

Strategy and analysis

Cost ranking

Risk reduction ranking

1

Apply a random low audit effort level (5%) to both inspection and vegetation treatment works contractor, across the distribution network, with the exception being 100% audit of spans cut in BCA

$



2

Apply a random moderate audit effort level (10%) to both inspection and vegetation treatment works contractor, across the distribution network, with the exception being 100% audit of spans cut in BCA. (current option)

$$



3

Apply a random high audit effort level (20%) to both inspection and vegetation treatment works contractor, across the distribution network, with the exception being 100% audit of spans cut in BCA

$$$



4

Apply a targeted risk-based audit regime applying low audit effort (5%) to all inspection works and vegetation treatment works in LBRA; and a moderate audit effort (10%) to vegetation treatment

$$



PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

works in HBRA, and 100% audit of spans cut in BCA 5

Apply a full 100% audit of all work to both inspection and vegetation treatment works contractor, across the distribution network

$$$$$



Analysis CP-PAL audit program consists of many levels of observations/audits:    

Formal assessment listed below Asplundh General Forman audits reported on weekly consistent with CP-Pal findings Line condition observations – Reports to vegetation Sub-contract self-assessment – measured via rework levels

The most expensive audit option is Option 5. This would require audit resources many times greater than the current level of resources and thus require hiring substantial number of quality and engagement officers. Whilst 100% audit provides the highest possible confidence, at the currently levels of audit CP-PAL already have highly satisfactory results and therefore the substantial increase in resources makes Option 5 not justifiable. The second most expensive audit option is Option 3. As the audits are applied by internal staff who have other tasks, the extra cost involved would likely be for employment of additional audit capacity. Options 1, 2 and 4 are assessed to be roughly equivalent in cost, even though fewer audits is required under option 1, the distribution of audit effort is still the same. In terms of risk, the highest risk is associated with the lowest audit effort being Option 1. This option is not currently considered tolerable given the range of vegetation management changes currently in the early stages of establishment. The remaining options provide an acceptable level of risk, where Option 2 is the current option applied with highly satisfactory results approximately 95%. If audit results did not remain highly satisfactory, then CP-PAL has the option to consider targeting HBRA areas and/or increase the volume of auditing. However, these are not considered necessary as part of the audit regime at present. While normally CP-PAL’s audit strategy is a minimum 10% across the board at all times, CP-PAL have the ability to increase the audit frequency on at least two occasions per year in a selected location the audit sample size will be doubled for comparison against the effectiveness of the 10% audit strategy. Higher audit percentages have been undertaken by CP-PAL with no better results observed. Accordingly, there is no evidence at this stage that a higher audit level will deliver a better result. Should vegetation inspection or vegetation treatment program performance decline or be at suboptimal levels, alternative audit effort options may need to be reconsidered. Further, while the overall quantum of audit effort has the above program bounds, higher or lower levels of audit can be targeted to certain areas or contractors within these program bounds. Audit program targeting will be influenced by a range of factors including contractor performance, and historical find rates and issues. The total audit volume is calculated from a percentage of the number of spans cut on a weekly basis, although this may be increased where NSP considers prior poor performance by a contractor warrants additional audit focus.

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6.4 B U S H F I RE C O N S T RU C TI O N A RE A

Powercor Australia Ltd

S T RA T EG Y

“Electric Line Construction Areas” (referred to by CP-PAL as Bushfire Construction Areas) are declared and gazetted under the Electricity Safety (Bushfire Mitigation) Regulations 2013 (as amended by the Electricity Safety (Bushfire Mitigation) Amendment Regulations 2016). In gazetted ELCAs (BCAs), the regulations require electricity distribution networks to operate to heightened safety standards. Gazetted areas in CP-PAL’s network area are mapped below.

A range of electric line construction and operation requirements apply in BCA’s. Additionally a substantial bushfire ignition disincentive/penalty scheme applies in BCAs with a maximum $2.5 million penalty applicable for electricitycaused fire ignition within a BCA on a Total Fire Ban day (and other lesser penalties scaling down according to Fire Danger Index). CP-PAL’s vegetation management team have considered what vegetation management strategies may be prudent to apply in these areas, considering various approaches, as analysed in this strategy options analysis. Vegetation inspection in BCAs will be undertaken by LiDAR wherever possible, therefore risk reduction enhancement options are principally directed to what vegetation clearance actions CP-PAL should pursue.

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PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty 1.

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Powercor Australia Ltd

Vegetation clearance enhancement in BCAs.

Option

Strategy and analysis

Cost ranking

Risk reduction ranking

1

Cut all woody vegetation within falling distance of lines (determined by LiDAR) of powerlines in the BCA

$$$$



2

Maintain existing corridor widths and apply additional branch/top-height reduction to prevent fall-ins, excluding areas with REFCLs operating. (Most realistic option – preferred)

$$$



3

Continue existing practice as for HBRA, except increase current year cutting trigger to 2m outside minimum clearance.

$$



4

Continue existing practice as for HBRA, with no enhancements

$



PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

Analysis Option 4 would continue the existing HBRA vegetation management practice in BCAs. While CPPAL’s existing HBRA vegetation management practice has not resulted in high consequence insurance claim fires, including on the highly adverse Black Saturday conditions, there is potential for tree or branch failures to occur in the strong winds which occur in Total Fire Ban days, with the potential that large fines could be incurred for fires occurring under such conditions. Thus there is a significantly higher level of financial risk for CP-PAL in BCA’s than in HBRA, therefore the vegetation team considers a higher level of risk management is prudent in BCA’s. Accordingly option 4 is not preferred. Option 3 would have the effect of reducing ‘grow-in’ potential, but would be unlikely to have any effect on ‘fall-in’ vegetation caused fire potential. ‘Fall-in’ caused fires occur at about four to five times the rate of ‘grow-in’ caused fires, therefore risk-based program enhancement for BCAs should target reducing ‘fall-in’ risk. Accordingly, Option 3 is considered sub-optimal. Both Options 1 and 2 will inevitably involve trees on private land and public land tenures, on which the agreement of the landowner will be required to action trees beyond normal HBRA cutting regimes. Hence both options 1 and 2 will involve a significant program of consultation and negotiation with owners to implement. Option 1 would involve tree removal, effectively widening existing corridors. This is likely to be the least feasible option (due to tree owner objection to removal) and the most expensive to implement. Whilst Option 2 will involve substantial cutting interventions to trees within falling distance of lines, the degree of intervention is substantially less than complete removal, typically involving top-height reduction and/or removal of overhangs and corridor-side branches. This may be a more palatable and therefore realistic to many tree owners. The cost would be less than for complete tree removal and would effectively be a one off establishment cost. It is likely that a proportion of tree owners may object to the proposed top/branch cutting treatment. Topping, lopping or branch removal would be to a degree that tree/branch failure will not contact lines. Costs of Option 2 would need to be estimated based on LiDAR inspection data, however, preliminary estimates of cutting costs using ~1,000 spans projected using Lidar requiring treatment, and costs averaging $800 per span to action give a preliminary coarse cost estimate in the order of $800,000 (which is less than one third the cost associated with the maximum possible fine for a single vegetation-caused fire in the BCA on a Total Fire Ban day. Network areas with REFCL’s operating may be considered for exclusion from the enhanced vegetation treatments on the basis REFCL’s may achieve an acceptable level of fall-in vegetation caused fire risk reduction. Option 3 could be phased in over a 3 year period and implemented in conjunction with the normal cutting program thus reducing implementation cost. It is worth noting that progressive installation of Rapid Earth Fault Current Limiters over future years will not prevent phase to phase fault-caused fires, which are is a significant fault mode associated with vegetation fall-ins (vegetation fall-ins, particularly large branch failures, may cause phase to phase contact without first causing phase to ground contact which would cause REFCL operation). Additional ongoing risk reduction measures for implementation in association with option 2 proposed are: 



a LiDAR targeted audit of BCAs by a suitably qualified arborist during December to verify tree clearance in BCA. (This would likely involve less than 1000 spans at program start, and then rapidly declining in volume because of the number of trees actioned during the cutting phase). it is proposed that Fault Follow Up action for vegetation fall-in caused faults be mandatory in the BCA.

Summary: Option 2 for further scoping and business case development for possible inclusion in 2018 budget.

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7 STRATEGY MONITORING AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT CP-PAL has developed a system of leading and lagging indicators for vegetation management. The system of leading and lagging indicators is detailed in Section 3. Performance target levels for lagging indicators are detailed in Table 7 in section 1. This system of leading and lagging indicators and performance targets will be used to evaluate performance against established targets. Performance evaluation will be undertaken annually.

7.1 M O N I TO RI N G

O F L EA DI N G I N DI C A TO R S

The leading indicators relate to vegetation on the network, determined by the proximity of vegetation to conductors: 

Annual total of VP coded vegetation records in the High Bushfire Risk Area;



Number of spans for identified for trimming with current year code;



Annual total of Other Responsible Party (ORP) VP coded spans outstanding after 90 days;



Hazard Tree removals;



Number of rework spans arising from Quality Audits.

Monitoring occurrence rates and inter-annual trends in these leading indicators provides a means of measuring the performance of vegetation management activities in keeping vegetation clear of overhead assets, and the quantum of vegetation that is likely to require treatment in future cutting cycles. CP-PAL has only been collecting leading indicator data since acquiring and implemented its Vegetation Management System in late 2015 (previous years data is from vegetation management contractor databases), therefore is currently collecting baseline year data for its system of leading indicators.

7.2 M O N I TO RI N G

O F L AG GI N G I N DI C A TO R S

The lagging indicators relate to the occurrence of different impacts arising from vegetation-caused faults on the network, principally bushfires, electric shock incidents and reliability impacts. Monitoring occurrence rates and inter-annual trends in these lagging indicators provides a means of measuring the vegetation management performance through identifying the degree of vegetation impacts that were not prevented by vegetation management activities. CP-PAL has been collecting lagging indicator data for many years, and therefore already has robust baseline data which has been used to inform the development of performance targets, against which annual lagging indicator performance is assessed. Whilst a range of reports are required associated with tracking vegetation management program delivery leading up to and during the bushfire season, a formal annual review of performance against CP-PAL’s program targets will be conducted. Where performance at the leading or lagging indicator level is not as expected, more detailed causal factors analysis will be undertaken.

7.3 F AU L T

FO L L O W - U P A N D I N V ES TI G A TI O N

CP-PAL conducts fault follow-up procedures for vegetation-caused faults in accordance with the CP-PAL’s Vegetation Management Procedure (Section 2.4 – Fault Follow-Up Inspection Work Instruction). Fault Follow-Up is conducted in the following circumstances: 

It is mandatory to initiate Vegetation Fault Follow Up Inspection on all Major Vegetation-Caused Faults (CMOS>100,000 minutes).



As part of a current review of VM procedures applying specifically to Bushfire Construction Areas, mandatory Vegetation Fault Follow Up Inspection on all Vegetation-caused Faults with a Sub-Cause of “Fall-in” in Bushfire Construction Areas is proposed.

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Discretionary Vegetation Fault Follow Up Inspection will be considered for Vegetation-caused Faults with a Sub-Cause of “Fall-in” in HBRA, Comment field indicating Trees inside clearance or Trees Down.

7.4 C O N TI N U O U S

IMPROVEMEN T

CP-PAL regularly participates in industry peak body forums relating to vegetation management, including those convened by the Energy Networks Association, as well as industry initiatives among Network Service Providers to share information about technology trials and process improvement relating to vegetation management. CP-PAL also reviews research and development work relevant to the vegetation management field, and gleans relevant information from relevant industry conferences and trade fairs such as are organised by the Utility Arborists Association of Australia. CP-PAL also invites its vegetation management contractors to identify opportunities for process improvement and potential application of new and emerging technologies. Additionally, CP-PAL reviews the outcomes of formal inquiries, legal proceedings, and less formal ‘lessons learnt’ material from other NSP’s and shares such information from CP-PAL’s vegetation management experience. CP-PAL considers and evaluates opportunities for continuous improvement through a combination of all the above sources. Each opportunity is formally evaluated from a cost and impact/risk basis, with those opportunities which present viable performance/efficiency improvement subject to more details business opportunity assessment and adoption into service/practice where appropriate. In preparation of this strategy CitiPower Powercor have considered the following management options, further detail can be found in Attachment B Inspection Option

Strategy and analysis

Approximate Cost ranking

Risk reduction ranking

1

Ground-based visual inspection

$



2

Inspection using LiDAR to maximum extent.

$$



3

LiDAR inspection supplemented by ground inspection of no fly zones & LiDAR targeted hazard tree areas

$$



LiDAR inspection supplemented by ground inspection of no fly zones & LiDAR targeted hazard tree areas was considered the lowest risk and best value. Lidar inspection will be implemented in 2017. Inspection Cycle

93

Option

Strategy and analysis

Cost ranking

Risk reduction ranking

1

Annual inspection cycle across full network

$$$$



2

Two year inspection cycle across full network

$



3

Annual inspection in HBRA; two yearly inspection in CP LBRA; three year inspection in in PAL LBRA (current strategy)

$$$



4

Annual inspection in HBRA using LiDAR, and two yearly inspection in LBRA both CP & PAL with non-vegetated areas excluded (maximum of 5 years) based on LiDAR

$$



PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

confirmation (option under consideration)

Annual inspection in HBRA; two yearly inspection in CP LBRA; three year inspection in in PAL LBRA (current strategy) will remain as the inspection cycles through 2017, with evaluation of option 4 for consideration for inclusion in 2018 budget cycle.

Hazard tree inspection strategy HBRA and BCAs. Note: No targeted hazard tree inspections in urban LBRA as fire ignition in these areas is highly unlikely. Option

Strategy and analysis

Cost ranking

Risk reduction ranking

Previous practice

Current Ground based inspection of all spans and hazard trees.

$$



1

LiDAR inspection only with hazard trees only detected opportunistically where cutting works and going on

$



2

LiDAR inspection supplemented by a LiDAR analysis triggered selection of spans based on tree height for ground inspection annually

$$$



3

LiDAR inspection supplemented by a LiDAR analysis triggered selection of spans based on tree height, for inspection by a ground based inspector (not arborist) plus filtering out spans which have been cut within 2.5 years (equivalent to inspections for decay in poles)

$$



4

LiDAR inspection supplemented by a LiDAR analysis triggered selection of spans based on tree height, plus filtering out spans which have been cut within a cycle determined by a Level 4 arborist. BCA areas will be inspected for hazard trees annually. (note: inspections to be done by Level 4 arborists) (selected option)

$$



CitiPower Powercor consider Lidar as the most effective tool for inspection, so option 1 is not able to be compared. LiDAR inspection supplemented by a LiDAR analysis triggered selection of spans based on tree height, plus filtering out spans which have been cut within a cycle determined by a Level 4 arborist. BCA areas will be inspected for hazard trees annually. Note: Option 4 incorporating Hazrad Tree inspections undertaken by Level 4 arborists is the selected option based on value and risk and the use of expertise targeting locations providing confidence above normal industry practice.

Vegetation Clearance Cutting Scope

94

Option

Strategy and analysis

Cost ranking

Risk reduction ranking

1

Cut all vegetation in minimum clearance space and within the Regrowth Space up to 1 m from the minimum clearance space (selected option for LiDAR)

$



PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

2

Cut all vegetation in minimum clearance space and within the Regrowth Space up to 2 m from the minimum clearance space

$$$



3

Cut all vegetation in minimum clearance space. Determine cutting priority of vegetation within the Regrowth Space based on vegetation inspector’s assessment of the year that the vegetation will next grow inside clearance (selected option for ground inspection)

$$



Options 1 and 3 are preferred based as they represent the best risk outcome. Appropriate audit level Option

Strategy and analysis

Cost ranking

Risk reduction ranking

1

Apply a random low audit effort level (5%) to both inspection and vegetation treatment works contractor, across the distribution network, with the exception being 100% audit of spans cut in BCA

$



2

Apply a random moderate audit effort level (10%) to both inspection and vegetation treatment works contractor, across the distribution network, with the exception being 100% audit of spans cut in BCA. (current option)

$$



3

Apply a random high audit effort level (20%) to both inspection and vegetation treatment works contractor, across the distribution network, with the exception being 100% audit of spans cut in BCA

$$$



4

Apply a targeted risk-based audit regime applying low audit effort (5%) to all inspection works and vegetation treatment works in LBRA; and a moderate audit effort (10%) to vegetation treatment works in HBRA, and 100% audit of spans cut in BCA

$$



5

Apply a full 100% audit of all work to both inspection and vegetation treatment works contractor, across the distribution network

$$$$$



Audit pass levels for 2016 are consistently in the 93 to 100% pass rate using the current 10% random audit process. It was consider an increase in method would not alter the current outcome, but an approach of occasional increased sample sizes should be implemented to verify results.

Vegetation clearance enhancement in BCAs.

95

Option

Strategy and analysis

Cost ranking

Risk reduction ranking

1

Cut all woody vegetation within falling distance of lines (determined by LiDAR) of powerlines in the BCA

$$$$



2

Maintain existing corridor widths and apply additional branch/top-height reduction to prevent fall-ins, excluding areas

$$$



PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

with REFCLs operating. (Most realistic option – preferred) 3

Continue existing practice as for HBRA, except increase current year cutting trigger to 2m outside clearance.

$$



4

Continue existing practice as for HBRA, with no enhancements

$



Powercor consider the most appropriate action for the increasing of clearance in BCA areas, is to lay the vegetation away from the conductor to avoid the potential for fall in and blow in. A business case is to be developed for consideration for 2018 budget cycle.

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PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

8 VM QUALIFICATIONS TRAINING STANDARDS The qualifications, training and experience of all CP-PAL employees and contractors undertaking vegetation management activities shall be appropriate for the task they are to perform. Training requirements are agreed in the joint to VESI requirements and are listed in the VESI Vegetation Management Guideline published at www.vesi.com.au In addition to the VESI requirements CP-PAL requires:  Vegetation Workers who will be classified as Ground Crew will require a Certificate II in ESI – Powerline Vegetation Control. The following table outlines the Units of Competency required to be undertaken for the Vegetation Ground Crew role. All Mandatory (M) units of competency shall be completed to undertake the role. Other units of Competence may be required to fulfil the role and the task being undertaken.  Workers classified as Ground Crew to be trained annually in Safe Approach Distances – Vegetation Work.  All Vegetation workers to be trained in Maintain safety at an incident scene (PUAOHS0002B) Qualification / Competency Standard Unit (CSU) number

Ground Crew

Legend

UET20312

M

Apply Occupational Health Safety regulations, codes and practices in the workplace

UEENEEE101A

M

Comply with sustainability, environmental and incidental response policies and procedures

UETTDREL13A

M

Working safely near live electrical apparatus as a non-electrical worker

UETTDREL14A

M

Operate and maintain chainsaws

AHCARB205A

M

Plan the removal of vegetation up to vegetation exclusion zone near live electrical apparatus

UETTDRVC23A

M

Monitor safety compliance of vegetation control work in an ESI environment

UETTDRVC27A

M

Operate specialist equipment at ground level near live electrical apparatus

UETTDRVC31A

M

Fell small trees

AHCARB202A

M

Apply chemicals under supervision

AHCCHM201A

M

Operate machinery and equipment

AHCMOM304A

M

Operate a mobile chipper/mulcher

FPIHAR2206B

A

M - Mandatory A - Additional - If worker requires this training for the works being performed Qualification Certificate II in ESI - Powerline Vegetation Control Certificate II Powerline Vegetation Control – Core Competency Standard Units

Certificate II Powerline Vegetation Control – Elective Competency Standard Units

Training requirements are confirmed as meeting the agreed industry and CP/PAL standards prior to a Vegetation worker commencing work on the Network and in system audits. Prior to a Vegetation worker commencing work the employer submits evidence of all training requirements and this is verified. System Audits are undertaken to verify that Vegetation workers training records are being maintained and are current. CP/PAL will engage individuals as “under supervision” to enable them to be assessed as competent to perform a given task or while training is being completed. Individuals will attend all training applicable for the role and be deemed competent by a Training Provider. Evidence to demonstrate competence, including Statement of Attainment, Certificate of Completion, will be provided to Powercor and when all valid evidence is provided the “under supervision” will be removed.

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PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

8.1 ATTACHMENT A

98

A U DI T S C H ED U L E

Powercor Australia Ltd

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

REFERENCE J Vegetation Management Procedure

Vegetation Management Procedure Purpose The purpose of the CitiPower and Powercor (CP-PAL) Vegetation Management Procedure is to provide clear and concise guidance in how to mitigate the risks to the community and the environment for the interaction of trees and powerlines. The Management Policy and Vegetation Management Strategy also elaborates in detail how best this can be achieved. Objectives Is To manage the specific risks associated with vegetation interacting with CP-PAL’s overhead supply network, CP-PAL’s has categorised its Vegetation Management Procedures into the following key objectives: 1. Bushfire Risk – mitigate the risk of bushfires caused by vegetation interacting with live electricity assets; 2. Electrical Safety – mitigate the risk of public and worker safety incidents caused by vegetation interacting with live electricity assets; 3. Compliance – achieve compliance to all relevant legislative and statutory requirements Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015, and to work collaboratively with councils to assist them to achieve compliance; 4. Network performance – mitigate the risk of supply interruptions as a result of vegetation coming into contact with live electricity assets; 5. Network damage – minimise the risk of damage to CP-PAL electricity assets caused by vegetation. CP-PAL aims to work towards and meet these objectives in a safe, timely, environmentally responsible and cost effective manner. CP-PAL seeks to become an innovative industry leader in the area of vegetation management. Vegetation Management is a broad term that includes inspection by ground staff and aerial assessment by Light Imaging, Detection, And Ranging (LIDAR), tree pruning; brush removal through the use of power saws and mowers; the judicious use of herbicides and tree growth regulators; hazard tree identification and removal; the implementation of strategies to minimise the establishment of incompatible species under and near power lines; and the general control of weeds.

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PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

Document Control Document ID: 0001 .doc Date

Rev No

Details

Revision

Typist

Author

Verifier

10/2016

Process rewrite

GHD

2/2017

Vegetation Code and clearance review

Wayne Evans

Minor corrections

Bob Rachubnski

Final

Matt Thorpe

10/03/2017 31/3/2017

100

01

Approver

Vegetation Management Process Flow: The following flowchart outlines the activities conducted by all stakeholders to complete the process from inspection to final vegetation report.

VP

Warning: HARD COPIES OF THIS DOCUMENT MAY NOT BE THE LATEST VERSION. The most up-to-date document is located on the Intranet.

Applies To

Issue Number and Date

This Procedure applies to all of the following areas: 

Vegetation within CP-PAL ) Distribution Network including power lines and assets



Vegetation within TOA and TOA2 Distribution Network including power lines and assets.



All CP-PAL personnel who undertake Vegetation roles, and



All CP-PAL contractors engaged to execute Vegetation activities

The Issue Number of this Procedure is: 

Issue 2

The Issue Date of this Procedure is: 

Date Last Reviewed

The Procedure was last reviewed by the Business Process Owner (BPO) on the following date: 

Related Documents

04 October 2016

02 February 2017

Figure 1. Describes the Hierarchy of the Related Documents for Vegetation Management. This Procedure supports the following documents: 

Vegetation Management Policy



Vegetation Management Strategy



Electric Line Clearance Management Plans (ELCMP)

This Procedure is also supported by the following documents: 

Document Owners

Vegetation Annual Execution Plan (VAEP)

The document has the following Business Process Owner (BPO) and Business Process Analyst (BPA):  

Business Process Owner (BPO) title: Manager, Network Compliance Business Process Analyst (BPA) title: Technical Officer, Vegetation Management

Warning: HARD COPIES OF THIS DOCUMENT MAY NOT BE THE LATEST VERSION. The most up-to-date document is located on the Intranet.

Key Stakeholders

The following people must be consulted when changes to this Procedure occur: Title

Team & Business Unit

Vegetation Manager

Network Compliance

Vegetation Contract Op Delivery Officer

Network Compliance

Head of Network Compliance

Network Compliance

Hierarchy of Vegetation Management Documents

Hierarchy of Key Documents. The following diagram represents the hierarchy of key documents for Vegetation Management within CP-PAL.

Vegetation Management Policy

Conduct Vegetation Inspection

Work Instructions Guidelines

103

Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015

Electricity Safety Act 1998 (Vic)

Work Instructions Guidelines

Vegetation Management Strategy

Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plans

Vegetation Management Procedures

Vegetation Annual Execution Plan (VAEP)

Conduct Consultation for Vegetation Action

Work Instructions Guidelines

Execute Vegetation Action

Work Instructions Guidelines

Work Instructions Guidelines

Conduct Vegetation Reporting

Work Instructions Guidelines

Work Instructions Guidelines

Verify Contractor Compliance & Determine Amount Payable

Work Instructions Guidelines

Work Instructions Guidelines

Terms and Definitions Item

Definition

Arborist

As defined in the Code an Arborist is a person that is trained to the National Certificate Level IV in Horticulture & Arboriculture who is suitably qualified with at least 3 years of field experience in assessing trees

Affected Person

Person who, in relation to the cutting or removal of a tree on land is the owner or occupier (including a person who is responsible for the management of public land) of adjacent land where the cutting or removal will affect the use of that adjacent land

Blue Book

The Electrical Safety Committee (ESC) publishes the CODE OF PRACTICE on electrical safety for work on or near high voltage electrical apparatus, this Code of Practice is known as the (Blue Book). The Blue Book applies to all persons working on, near or in the vicinity of High Voltage (HV) apparatus that is capable of being energized, (including transmission and HV customers)

BFM (Bush Fire Mitigation) Group

Group that performs the following: TBA

CFA (Country Fire Authority)

Country Fire Authority is a volunteer and community based fire and emergency services organisation responsible for fighting fires in rural areas of Victoria

Minimum Clearance Space (MCS)

See definition Vegetation Management Policy

Code

Code of Practice contained in the Schedule of the current Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations

CP-PAL

CitiPower and Powercor

CRO (Contract Responsible Officer)

Personnel who manages assigned contracts on behalf of CP-PAL

Concerned Customer

Customer who has not been able to have their concerns addressed as per CP-PAL’s customer service processes

Cutters

An appropriately trained person that undertakes the trimming or removal of Vegetation in relation to CP-PAL’s network

Cutting

Vegetation cutting or trimming works that have been, or need to be, undertaken in relation to clearance of power lines

Cutting Work Pack

Information supplied to Cutters that outlines what is required at the job location

Declared Area

An area of land that has been declared to be managed by a local government body such as a rural or metropolitan municipality

104



TBA

Item

Definition

ELCMP (Electric Line Clearance Management Plans)

ELCMP has been prepared to comply with requirements of the Electricity Safety Act 1998 and the current Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations. Objectives of the ELCMP are to describe: 

Management procedures for standards and practices to be adopted and observed in vegetation cutting or removal in the vicinity of electric lines and the keeping of the whole or any part of vegetation clear of electric lines; and



Management procedures to minimise the danger of electric lines causing fire or electrocution due to Vegetation contact

Environmental Due Diligence

Process of confirming that areas of works proposed for action does not breach council, state or federal regulations and acts.

ESI (Electricity Supply Industry)

Guidelines to encourage nationally consistent practices in training standards for safe work on electricity networks by the Energy Networks Association

FFU (Fault Follow-Up) Summary Report

A report that has been generated from a reported fault and further investigation is required by Vegetation department

Fire Danger Period

Annual Regulatory period that is governed by CFA

Green Book

The Electrical Safety Committee (ESC) publishes the Code of Practice on electrical safety for the work on or near HV electrical apparatus (the Blue Book). The Blue Book applies to all persons working on, near or in the vicinity of HV apparatus that is capable of being energized, (including transmission and HV customers) The distribution network operators have different requirements to those transmission companies and the Electrical Safety Rules for the Victorian Distribution Networks (the Green Book) is how we meet those requirements whilst demonstrating compliance to the Blue Book The Green Book also provides practical guidance in maintaining safe systems of work in relation to the control of risks associated with work on, near or in the vicinity of ‘VESI’ Electrical Apparatus. Part 2, specifically Tables 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, of the Green Book regarding Safe Approach Distances apply when undertaking vegetation clearing in the vicinity of Electrical Apparatus.

Hazard

Any situation with the potential to cause harm to a person’s health, safety or to the environment

Hazard Tree

A tree, or part of a tree, that having regard to foreseeable local conditions, is likely to fall onto or otherwise fail and come into contact with an electric line. For practical application during inspection, the following Hazard Tree definition interpretation is to be used: Trees with stems or branches that have obvious and visible structural defects, as viewed from the point of vegetation clearance inspection, which can fail and impact an electric line.

Hazardous Bushfire Risk Area (HBRA)

Hazardous Bushfire Risk Area as declared by the CFA and represented in the CP-PAL Geographical Information System (GIS) database.

105

Item

Definition

Transition Space

The distance vegetation was pruned beyond the regulated MCS when the span was transitioned for compliance with 2010 regulations.

Inspection

Is the process that CP-PAL employs to monitor Vegetation via ground staff and aerial LIDAR to ensure it is managed in accordance with the Regulation and Acts.

Inspection Work Package

Information supplied to the Inspector that outlines what is required at the job location

Inspector

An appropriately trained person that determines the MCS of the electrical asset and assigns an appropriate year code to the said electrical asset within CP-PAL’s network

Low Bushfire Risk Area (LBRA)

LBRA means a Low Bushfire Risk Area as declared by the CFA and represented in the CP-PAL Geographical Information System (GIS) database

National Skills Passport

The Australian ESI Skills passport system was rolled out in the VESI in 2010 to provide a mechanism to record the training, authorities and inductions of an individual. The Passport is issued to all ESI workers who hold an authority issued by a Network Operator and/or are required by a Network Operator to undertake any training and/or assessment for field based activities. It is a requirement of the Network Operators that Skills Passports are made available at worksite upon request e.g. for the purposes of an audit

Non-Standard Vegetation Work

Undertaking of works that are not in the scope of works as per the service contract.

Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Notifiable Incident

An incident which is required to be reported to the Work Health and Safety Regulator as defined in the OHS Act 2004 Part 5

ORP (Other Responsible Person)

ORPs are defined under the Electricity Safety Act (ESA) as persons responsible for managing Vegetation near power lines that are growing on/ from Public Land. For example: Councils, who are responsible for Vegetation growing within Declared Areas on road reserves or in a Council park

Outstanding Span

Any span VP coded span within the HBRA that cannot be actioned within required Vegetation Management Policy timeframes. Due to unforeseen circumstances.

POEL (Private Electric Line)

Private Overhead Electric Lines that are the responsibility of the landowner/ occupier (person who is in actual occupation of the land and who should monitor the vegetation clearance between powerlines and trees to ensure that MCS is free of Vegetation at all times)

Safety Links system

Is the enterprise software that manages CP-PAL’s Health and Safety incident reporting and management

Scar Trees

Are trees which have had bark removed by indigenous Australians for the creation of canoes, shelters, shields and containers, such as coolamons

Service Line

Terminating span of low voltage (LV) electric lines used to take electricity from the CP-PAL network to a point of supply

106

Item

Definition

Significant/ Important Vegetation

Trees identified as habitat for fauna that are: 

threatened in accordance with section 10 of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988, or



Federal Environment Protection biodiversity and Conservation Act, or



listed in the Threatened Invertebrate Fauna List with a conservation status in Victoria and under Federal legislation of “vulnerable", "endangered" or "critically endangered", or listed in the Threatened Vertebrate Fauna List with a conservation status in Victoria and Federally listed of “venerable”, “endangered” or “critically endangered” SWMS (Safe Work Method Statement)

A document that identifies work that is high risk construction work; and states the hazards and risks to health or safety of that work; and the a safe method to undertake work.

Mobility Device

Mobility device that is able to send and receive data that is collected by Cutters and Inspectors electronically via a mobile telecommunications link to the VMS, as specified in the Contract

Technical Alternative

Engineering activity to alter a powerline where the costs are generally borne by the individual making the request

Tree of Interest

Tree identified to have one or more structural faults with the potential to lead to a tree or branch failure which may potentially impact a powerline in the medium to long term

VMS (Vegetation Management System)

A structured set of data that enables CP-PAL to manage Vegetation as per compliance to the Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations and CP-PAL Corporate Strategy

Vegetation

All plant life including but not limited to trees, palms, vines, shrubs, grasses such as bamboo, but not lawns

Vegetation Action

Is the type of works such as cutting, removal, slashing or herbicide that is required at the location identified from an Inspection

Vegetation Codes

Vegetation Codes VP1, VP2, VP3, 2017 are used to priorities’ the cutting and inspection.

Vegetation Annual Execution Plan (VAEP)

Provides direction on resource allocation for Key Vegetation Activities to be performed during the year, i.e. it facilitates:  

Vegetation Contractor Vegetation Quality Officer

107

availability of financial resources for Vegetation activities, and optimum matching of manpower resources to action items.

Specialist company contracted for the performance of Vegetation fieldwork such as Inspection and/or Cutting Officer appointed by CP-PAL with the responsibility to assess quality of works by service providers

Item

Definition

VESI (Victorian Electricity Supply Industry)

VESI is not a company, corporation or a business. It is a registered trademark and when the five Major Electricity Companies jointly agree to a procedure, practice or process then they brand it as a VESI document to enable consistency, compliance and transportability across the companies The five Victorian Major Electricity Companies (formerly known as Distribution Networks or Distribution Businesses (DBs)) are: 

CitiPower



Powercor



AusNet Services

 Jemena, and United Energy, with the transmission network owned and operated by AusNet Services Wet Span

108



A span that is difficult to clear due to an inability to physically access the span or tree with the necessary equipment due to water or the effects of water/flooding

Vegetation Management Procedures

109

Chapter 1 Vegetation management Procedure Development and delivery of the Vegetation Annual Execution Plan

110

1.

Development and Delivery of the Vegetation Annual Execution Plan (VAEP)

This procedure covers both the development and delivery phase of the VAEP. 1.1

Development of the VAEP

Purpose and Overview The purpose of the Vegetation Annual Execution Plan (VAEP) is to identify, prioritise, schedule the vegetation management works and estimate resource requirements, for the year to which the plan applies. In essence VAEP development is an annual works program scoping and scheduling process. The works and activities included in the plan are:  Vegetation Inspection Program;  Vegetation Action Program;  Customer Management Program; and  Quality Audit Program. Prior to the end of a calendar year, a VAEP is prepared for the following year. The planning process involves: a) Identify all feeders on network. b) For each feeder separately identify HBRA spans and LBRA spans. c) Identify number of HBRA and LBRA spans on each feeder that will require inspection in the coming year, noting that for LBRA this will be all spans not inspected in the last 12 months, and for HBRA it will be all spans. d) Applying knowledge of inspection work rates from previous experience, for ground-based and LiDAR inspections, estimated inspection timeframes are determined for each feeder. e) A key consideration in the planning process is working out an efficient order of work taking into consideration such matters as seasonal climate patterns, site access, logical/efficient workflow; and maintaining stable work continuity for individual work areas. f) The output of the planning process is a plan incorporating all feeders, with a preliminary order of works project plan with indicative resourcing requirements. g) The VAEP developed during the initial planning/scoping phase can be expected to change during the delivery phase due to a range of factors including weather, unanticipated find-rates, contractor workloads, essential machinery breakdowns and other reasons. Therefore, it can be expected that the VAEP will require constant progress monitoring during the delivery process, with work schedules needing amendment, as required, to ensure timely work progress so that all works can be completed by the required end date (prior to the bushfire danger period). Vegetation Inspection Program HBRA spans are automatically included for inspection in each year’s inspection program. LBRA spans shall also be included to achieve the objective of inspecting all PAL LBRA spans at least once every 3 years and all CP LBRA spans at least once every 2 years. The following factors shall be considered in prioritising the inspection program: 1. Is the span on the part of the network assessed as “wet”? Assessed as “wet” means the area traditionally receives high spring rainfall which creates access issues, therefore the area is prioritised for inspection at the start of the year to enable clearing to be completed prior to the spring.

111

2.

3. 4. 5.

Which spans have the highest number of current Vegetation Codes? Spans with the highest number of Vegetation Codes shall be prioritised for inspection at the start of the year to facilitate efficient clearing and accurate forecasting. Feeders with a higher frequency of vegetation related to supply interruptions, shall be prioritised for inspection at the start at the year where practicable. All HBRA spans shall be inspected to facilitate completion of clearing works by the start of the declared fire season, or by 1st of December each year (nominally one month earlier). All LBRA spans shall be inspected to facilitate completion of clearing works by 23rd of December of each year (nominally 14 days earlier).

Vegetation Action Program During implementation of the inspection program all spans are assigned a Vegetation Code as set out in the vegetation management policy which defines the action required. Any spans identified as having vegetation in the Minimum Clearance Space (MCS) or a Vegetation Code corresponding to the current year will be issued for cutting. Vegetation works shall be packaged and allocated to the vegetation contractor to facilitate completion per the ELCMP, where practical HBRA action by 1st of December (or such earlier date as declared by the CFA) and all LBRA actioned by 23rd of December of that year. All vegetation clearing works are to maintain the Transition Space that was achieved when each span was transitioned to comply with 2010 Regulations. In addition to standard works in maintaining the Minimum Clearance Space , the vegetation action program shall include the application of herbicide to approximately 10,000 spans, the slashing of approximately 1,500 spans and the removal of approximately 10,000 small trees (15 cm DBH) in locations to be determined during the course of the year, based on reducing CP-PAL’s long term vegetation clearing costs. The current year’s inspection information will nominate the most appropriate spans for treatment and will be determined by the following factors:  Herbicide – for significant number of spans in a geographical area carrying unsuitable species up to 2 m high.  Slashing – a significant number of spans in geographical area carrying dense slashable vegetation.  Removal – of significant number of spans in a geographical area carrying small unsuitable species. Customer Management Program All Councils with declared areas shall be visited annually to confirm their Declared Area clearing program and to update joint important tree plans as required. Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo Councils, plus all CP Councils, shall also be visited twice per year to foster good working relationships, to review the outworking of Council’s ORP obligations, to review the outworking of special programs applicable in some areas (Grand Prix area for Port Phillip and Skilled Stadium area for Geelong) and to improve the efficiency of the interfaces with CP and PAL’s vegetation team. Other PAL Regional Councils shall be visited annually. Quality Review Program

112

A program of work quality audits completed against the scope of works, as defined in the Contract and Directed to be conducted. Compliance results from audits will be used to determine the amount payable. Output Feeders by feeder plans are generated for incorporation into the VAEP, for the execution of vegetation inspection, action and herbicide. The Vegetation Management Execution Plan format below, is to be completed and filed in the Vegetation Management Drive > Execution Plan – Works Program, in the current year’s folder. The VAEP scheduling format will include:  Task name;  Duration;  Start date;  Finish date;  Predecessors; and  Resource names. 1.2

Delivery of the VAEP

The VAEP delivery is an operations management process which is coordinated through extracting work completed data from the VMS, reviewing work progress rates and what work remains to be done, and amending the forward plan as required. This operational management process is achieved through:  Weekly internal operations meetings; and  Weekly contractor operations progress meetings. Weekly internal operations meetings A weekly internal operations meeting is conducted throughout the year to review weekly progress of the VAEP so that the works program delivery progress is constantly monitored enabling adjustments to be made to allow progress to be kept on track. These internal operations meetings always occur prior to the contractor progress meetings, for the purpose of gathering relevant information for the subsequent contractor operations progress meetings. Weekly contractor operations progress meetings Following CP-PAL’s internal weekly operations meeting, a weekly contractor operations progress meeting is convened with the Principal Contractor. The purpose of this meeting is to monitor and discuss progress against targets, safety issues, contractual matters, audits, performance against KPIs and generally to ensure the VM contract work delivery remains on track to achieve completion of the VM program by the scheduled end date, as well as provide a forum for resolving any operational or contractual issues. There is a contractual requirement for the contractor to provide a weekly progress report on program process covering both inspection and cutting to CP-PAL. The following items are standard items for discussion during the weekly contractor operations progress meetings:  HSE and Safety Report;  Program progress;  Resourcing structure;  Works Performance – compliance, quality and audit results; and  Other operational matters.

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This operational work program, monitoring and management process is applied throughout the year up to the program completion date, and is an ongoing annual cycle. Process for determining herbicide and tree removal prioritisation The Vegetation Contract Operational Delivery Coordinator (VCODC) analyses inspection data results in conjunction with CP-PAL vegetation staff recommendations to identify areas for herbicide application and small tree removal. LiDAR process for herbicide and tree removal prioritisation When LiDAR inspection is fully implemented, the LiDAR outputs will be used to identify areas for potential application of herbicide and small tree removals. The ground-based inspection process will still apply in no fly zones where LiDAR is not used.

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Process Outline (VAEP Delivery) The following flowchart outlines the activities conducted by stakeholders to complete the process.

Review (internal) VAEP delivery progress & issues (weekly)

Review VAEP delivery progress & issues with Principal Contractor (weekly)

Technical Officer, Vegetation Management

Review (internal) VAEP delivery progress & issues (weekly)

Review (internal) VAEP delivery progress & issues (weekly)

Engagement & Quality Team Leader

VAEP

Review (internal) VAEP delivery progress & issues (weekly)

Review (internal) VAEP delivery progress & issues (weekly)

Review VAEP delivery progress & issues with Principal Contractor (weekly)

Vegetation Management Contractors

Vegetation Contract Del Op Officer

Vegetation Manager

VAEP Delivery

Report VM works progress / issues / KPIs (weekly)

Review VAEP delivery progress & issues with Principal Contractor (weekly)

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Forward list of Feeders / Areas due for Inspection & Action

Compile & issue list of Feeders / Areas due for Inspection & Action

Execute QA audits on completed works

Execute Inspections & Action Work Packages Report completion / results in VMS Prepare weekly report

Cycle restarts

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Chapter 2 Manage Vegetation Inspection

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PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

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2. Manage Vegetation Inspection Trigger Event This process starts when the following event has occurred or requirements are met: 

Need arises for Vegetation inspection, given occurrence of one or more factors: o Regulatory requirement; o Business requirement; o Region; o Weather; o Bush fire mitigation; o Time lapse since last inspection; o History; o Budget; o Vegetation proximity to conductors; and/or o Line reliability.

Outcomes On completion of this process, the following areas have been achieved: 

LiDAR and/or ground-based visual inspections have identified vegetation that is or will be inside the MCS or the Vegetation Buffer Spaces within the following 12 months.



Hazard tree inspections have identified vegetation that may pose a fall-in risk to the network.



Data collected from inspections are complete, accurate and enables effective decision-making on Vegetation Action.



Inspections have been conducted in a timely and financially sustainable manner.

Records of Outputs The following records are outputs generated by this process: 

Inspection Work Packages for issue to contractors.



Collated inspection data (uploaded into VMS).



LiDAR data files for LiDAR inspected spans.

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Process Outline Manage Ground Based Vegetation Inspections The following flowchart outlines the activities conducted by stakeholders to complete the ground-based visual inspection process.

Technical Officer, Vegetation Management

Vegetation Contract Del Op Officer

Vegetation Manager

Manage Ground-Based Vegetation Inspection

Development of the Annual Execution Plan

Vegetation Service Request

Conduct Vegetation Reporting Procedure

#1 Forward list of Feeders / Areas to be inspected to Technical Officers

#2 Compile Inspection Work Package Work Instruction

Vegetation Management System

Vegetation Management System

Inspectors (Contracors/ Internal)

No

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#3 Execute Vegetation Inspection Work Instruction

Urgent Vegetation?

Yes

#4 Contact Vegetation Contract Op Delivery Officer

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

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Task Detail Compile Vegetation Inspection Work Package As per the Compile Vegetation Inspection Work Package Work Instruction. Execute Vegetation Inspection Conduct Vegetation Inspection as per the Execute Vegetation Inspection Work Instruction. Vegetation Inspection can be undertaken by internal Vegetation Management staff or external contractors.

Notes to Step 2 Notes to Step 3

Notes to Step 4

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Urgent Vegetation 

In the event that Urgent Vegetation is identified, the Inspector is to: o Ensure that the observation is tagged as “Urgent Vegetation” in the Mobility Device; and o Bring the observation to the immediate attention of the CP-PAL’s Vegetation Contract Op Delivery Officer via telephone call and email.



At the decision of the CP-PAL’s Vegetation Manager or delegate, CP-PAL will take appropriate action.

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

Process Outline Manage LiDAR Vegetation Inspections The following flowchart outlines the activities conducted by stakeholders to complete the airborne LiDAR inspection process.

Technical Officer, Vegetation Management

Vegetation Contract Del Op Officer

Vegetation Manager

Manage LiDAR Vegetation Inspection

Development of the Annual Execution Plan

Conduct Vegetation Reporting Procedure

#1 Forward list of Feeders / Areas to be inspected to Technical Officers

#2 Compile Inspection Work Package Work Instruction

Vegetation Management System

Conduct Data Validation Checks & Reformat for VMS Compatability

Vegetation Management System

LiDAR Inspection Contractor

No

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#3 Execute LiDAR Vegetation Inspection Work Instruction

Urgent Vegetation?

Yes

#4 Contact Vegetation Contract Op Delivery Officer

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

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Task Detail Notes to Step 2

Compile Vegetation Inspection Work Package As per the Compile Vegetation Inspection Work Package Work Instruction.

Notes to Step 3

Execute Vegetation Inspection Conduct Vegetation Inspection as per the Execute Vegetation Inspection Work Instruction. Vegetation Inspection can be undertaken by internal Vegetation Management staff or external contractors.

Notes to Step 4

Urgent Vegetation 

In the event that Urgent Vegetation is identified, the Inspector is to: o Ensure that the observation is tagged as “Urgent Vegetation” in the Mobility Device; and o Bring the observation to the immediate attention of the CP-PAL’s Vegetation Contract Op Delivery Officer via telephone call and email.



At the decision of the CP-PAL’s Vegetation Manager or delegate, CP-PAL will take appropriate action.

Hazard Trees

It is not feasible to detect hazard trees using LiDAR, therefore a supplementary visual ground–based inspection process will be required to detect hazard trees. Lidar will identify spans where vegetation can fall onto powerlines, these spans will then be programmed for a hazard inspection by an Arborist. The Arborist will not only assess the span for visible hazards, he will set the next inspection cycle based on the health of the trees in the span. BCA areas are to be assessed on an annual basis. In 2017 spans inspected using ground based techniques in 2016 will not be re-inspected. In areas where LiDAR is not practical, a combined ground inspection for vegetation clearance and hazard trees will be required. Trees that are likely to fail within the next 3 years will be programmed based on urgency, where a tree is an immediate danger it will be prioritised for cutting, non immediatenon-immediate hazards will be programmed as part of normal works.

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2.1

Powercor Australia Ltd

Compile Vegetation Inspection Work Package – Work Instruction

Purpose The purpose of this Work Instruction is to guide Vegetation Management staff in the creation and allocation of Inspection work packages within the Vegetation Management Workbench, to ensure they are delivered providing clear information on the area to be inspected to ensure adherence to CP-PAL’s Vegetation Execution Plan. Inspection Notifications are generated on selected spans annually or periodically as per regulatory or business requirements. Inspections can be carried out by internal Vegetation Management staff or external contractors. This Work Instruction shall be conducted to ensure that the vegetation MCS is maintained around CP-PAL assets to comply with the requirements of the Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015. This Work Instruction shall be followed to ensure: 

Vegetation staff can issue inspection work to internal or external inspectors; and



Inspections are undertaken as per the Vegetation Execution Management Plan.

Applies To This Work Instruction applies to the following: 

Vegetation within CP-PAL Distribution Network or within the vicinity of CP-PAL powerlines;



All CP-PAL personnel who undertake Vegetation roles;



All CP-PAL contractors engaged to execute Vegetation activities; and



Conduct Vegetation Inspection Procedure.

Records of Output The following records are outputs generated by this process: 

Inspection Work Packages issued to internal & external vegetation inspectors



What outputs are delivered when completing the work instructions: eg. SAP Report, completed form, email etc.



via mobility device computers

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Task Detail

Step 1 Inspection Notification Creation Step 1. 2. 3.

Inspection notifications are created in the annual planning board via the vegetation management workbench.

Description Run Transaction ZVEGMGT Input selection criteria for example selection by feeder Click

4. 5. 6.

Click Enter selection criteria for example use the classification search to extract span equipment for a feeder. Click Change and save a layout.

7.

Select the span equipment for inspection

8.

and click Enter a description and Planned Start and End dates in the pop up window and click

9.

10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

Values/Result/Output Initial screen ready for input VM014 Vegetation workbench open listing notifications for selected feeders Annual planning board initial screen open ready for input See basic, searching by classification A list of span equipment returned that match the selection criteria. See basic selection and layout variants

A messages box is displayed detailing the notifications created.

Notifications can also be created using the Map display. Zoom into the map and click Draw a shape around various spans.

Spans are selected in the list.

Repeat Step 7 and 8 to generate notifications Click

to close the message box

Click twice to go back to vegetation management workbench Click

Notifications created will be displayed in the Unassigned notification list

Note: Naming Convention for the Description field = Direction No / Feeder / Date / Fire Area For example - Dir 2016/3 001 BAS011 22032016 F. This ‘package’ can then be located in the vegetation management workbench.

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Step 2 Allocating Work to Internal or Contractor Inspectors Step 1.

2. 3. 4.

Powercor Australia Ltd

Internal Inspection notifications, created in step 1, are then issued via the vegetation management workbench. The following shall be followed when allocating work to Internal Inspectors

Description Run transaction ZVEGMGT and enter selection criteria for example selection by feeder Click  For Internal execute steps 4 and 5  For External execute steps 6 to 9 Select Notifications for internal assignment

5.

and click In the work type pop up box select internal work.

6.

Select Planned (Not Released) tab

7.

Select lines to be assigned to internal inspector use the column Ctrl (control key) to determine internal or external work.

Values/Result/Output List of notification displayed in ZVEGMGT. Search by Direction Number in Description List of unassigned notification displayed.

Work orders are generated with an internal operation and notifications are moved from Unassigned Notifications to Planned (Not Released) list.

Notification Planned (they have an order) are displayed. Lines with control key INTP selected

8.

9.

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Click Enter the personnel number

Work Order operation is updated with personnel number of the inspector. The work orders are release and moved from Planned (not released) to Released/Send to Field

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

External Inspection notifications are then issued via the vegetation management workbench. The following shall be followed when allocating work to External Inspectors. Step 1. 2.

3.

4.

Description Select Notifications for External Assignment

Values/Result/Output

and click In the work type pop up box select standard

The system will determine the service lines and present the following:  If one contract exists then the service line from that contract will automatically be selected based on contract mapping table.  If more than 1 contract exists then the user shall choose which service lines are allocated. Click

5.

Run transaction ZVEGMGT and enter selection criteria for example selection by feeder

6.

Select Planned (Not Released) tab

7.

Select lines to be assigned to contractor inspector use the column Ctrl (control key) to determine internal or external work.

Orders are generated with an external operation and the service line added. Notifications are moved from Unassigned notifications to Planned (Not Release) list. Vegetation Management work bench open displaying notifications for the selection criteria (unassigned notifications) Notification Planned ( they have an order) are displayed. Lines with control key ZVM3 selected

8. 9.

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Click Deselect “Send work to contractor”

Work Orders for contractor Inspector is released and moved from Planned (not released) to Released/Send to Field

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Step 3 Assign Work to Internal Inspector Step 1.

Powercor Australia Ltd

The following steps are to apply to allocation of inspection work packages to internal inspectors.

Description Run transaction ZVEGMGT and enter selection criteria for example selection by feeder

2.

Select Planned (Not Released) tab

3.

Select lines to be assigned to internal inspector use the column Ctrl (control key) to determine internal or external work.

Values/Result/Output Vegetation Management work bench open displaying notifications for the selection criteria (unassigned notifications) Notification Planned (they have an order) are displayed. Lines with control key INTP selected

4.

Click Enter the personnel number

5.

Step 4 Assign Work to Contractor Inspector Step 1.

2.

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Work Order operation is updated with personnel number of the inspector. The work orders are release and moved from Planned (not released) to Released/Send to Field

The following steps are to apply to allocation of inspection work packages to external inspectors

Description Run transaction ZVEGMGT and enter selection criteria for example selection by feeder Select Planned (Not Released) tab

Values/Result/Output Vegetation Management work bench open displaying notifications for the selection criteria (unassigned notifications) Notification Planned ( they have an order) are displayed.

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty 3.

Select lines to be assigned to contractor inspector use the column Ctrl (control key) to determine internal or external work.

Powercor Australia Ltd Lines with control key ZVM3 selected

4. 5.

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Click Deselect “Send work to contractor”

Work Orders for contractor Inspector is released and moved from Planned (not released) to Released/Send to Field

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

2.2

Powercor Australia Ltd

Conduct Ground-Based Visual Vegetation Inspection – Work Instruction

Purpose This Work Instruction aims to provide instruction to CP and PAL personnel who undertake Vegetation roles and CP and PAL contractors engaged to execute Vegetation activities, to ensure that vegetation inspections are performed: 

At the direction of the CP-PAL’s Vegetation Manager or their delegate who will package work in accordance to priorities determined in the Vegetation Strategy and Vegetation Annual Execution Plan.



By appropriately skilled Inspectors (CP-PAL personnel or contractors).



In accordance to the Inspection process articulated in the Conduct Vegetation Inspection procedure and the Quality Review Schedule.



With assessments made using CP-PAL in-year Vegetation Codes.



Using Mobility Devices provided to inspectors by CP-PAL.

Applies To This Work Instruction applies to the following: 

Vegetation within CP-PAL Distribution Network or within the vicinity of CP-PAL powerlines;



All CP-PAL personnel who undertake Vegetation roles;



All CP-PAL contractors engaged to execute Vegetation activities; and



Conduct Vegetation Inspection Procedure.

Hazards The warnings below alert the user to potential health and safety hazards specific to this Work Instruction: Employees should be aware of the following Policy and Guideline: 

Refer to the Employees Working Alone Policy, section 7.15 of CP-PAL Health and Safety Manual.



Use of Electronic Devices in Vehicles Guideline.

Qualifications and Skills Personnel required performing the key activities: 

Inspectors (contractors); and



Inspectors (CP-PAL personnel).

The person conducting this Work Instruction must have the qualifications and skills as detailed in the VESI Skills Matrix – Assessor.

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Tools and equipment needed to perform the key activities:  Vehicle suited to the environment; 

Mobility Device (as specified in the Contract);



Vegetation clearance Charts guideline;



Current Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations;



Electric Line Clearance Management Plans (ELCMP);



Photo Identification must be carried at all times and worn when entering private property; and



Joint Council Management Plans.

Records of Output The following records are outputs generated by this process and are to be retained as evidence: 

Inspection Work Packages;



Collated Inspection Data (uploaded into VMS);



Completed Work packages for quality assessments delivered; and



Regulatory reporting.

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The Inspector will inspect every span that has been allocated in the work package and will collect data from the following checklist while outside of the vehicle, with the Mobility Device: INSPECTION CHECKLIST This Checklist should be used in conjunction with CP-PAL’s Vegetation Reference Guide which provides additional guidance material on how procedural requirements can be met. NB: Preventative controls in place for entries into mobile devices. Mandatory fields, drop-down lists and pre-populated fields to ensure accurate reporting on vegetation status. Determine Whether there is a residence on the property where the inspection is occurring and the activities of the inspector will be in sight of the occupants of the residence. Inspectors are to determine the appropriate MCS for each span as per the Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations and ELCMP and Vegetation clearance Chart guideline. These charts assist to determine the required MCS as provided in span information on the mobile device. Sag and sway need to be taken into account when determining Minimum Clearance Space, see vegetation policy for further detail.

Action  The inspector will advise the occupier/property owner of their presence. If unable to advise, then a calling card must be left advising of the attendance and purpose.  Enter into mobile device.  Provide a photo of the span looking down the line from the furthest pole looking back, upload on mobile device.  Provide the GPS points of Vegetation on mobile device.

Determine if Vegetation is within the electrical asset MCS as per the ELCMP, Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations and the Vegetation clearance charts (refer to Vegetation clearance Chart guideline) Determine if modified clearance is present which will be displayed as part of the span data on the mobile device. Review council management plan before commencing inspection in townships to determine what vegetation clearances are required.

 

Determine if Vegetation work is required at the site i.e. trimming or removal. This will identify whether a site negotiation is required based on the vegetation clearance requirements provided as part of the span data displayed on the mobile device.

 

Provide recommendation for type of Vegetation Action required i.e. trim, remove or herbicide.



Enter into mobile device. Provide a photo of the span looking down the line from the furthest pole looking back, upload on mobile device. Provide the GPS points of Vegetation on mobile device.

Enter into mobile device. Provide a photo of the span looking down the line from the furthest pole looking back, upload on mobile device.  Provide the GPS points of Vegetation on mobile device. Enter into mobile device.  Trim – vegetation is cut to a designated point that complies with vegetation clearance requirements as per regulations.  Remove – vegetation is completely removed in the maintenance of the regrowth Space i.e. tree is cut to ground level and/ or stump ground out.  Herbicide use – all suckers, saplings or immature trees in the Clearing Zone

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(area to be cleared for the installation of a new powerline) is to be treated with herbicide to prevent regrowth. 

Mechanical Plant – use of machines other than EWP & Chipper Tippers. Machines that may be used, but not limited to, are Sky and Kwik Trims, Hedgers, Slashers and Skid steer mounted mulchers.

Identify voltage of conductor affected by Vegetation.

Enter into mobile device.

Determine size of Vegetation required to be actioned i.e. sapling, mature or scrub.

Enter into mobile device.

Determine the distance that the Vegetation is required to be actioned i.e. how much the tree is required to be trimmed to re-establish the transition space. The Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations and conductor requirements i.e. sag and sway need to be taken into account when determining what is to be trimmed or removed. Recommend cut to Vegetation Code.

Enter into mobile device.

Identify locations where clearance between commercial timber plantations of 40 hectares or greater and any PAL overhead Power line does not comply with the minimum 20 m clearance either side of the HV line, as specified in the Code of Practice for Timber Production 2007. Refer to the Vegetation Reference Guide for guidance on meeting inspection requirements adjacent to plantations.

Enter into mobile device.

Perform vegetation coding of the tree that is required to be actioned in the cycle and code of 5 trees, or groups of trees, that require works in future cycles which is represented in the year code that is allocated to the tree. For example, there may be a number of trees in the span that can be identified to be actioned in some way that could include trimming or removal. The coding of a tree is an important strategic tool to forecast workloads in future years. For vegetation that is outside the Minimum Clearance Space , it will be necessary to determine and record which year the inspector considers the vegetation is likely to grow into the Minimum Clearance Space , allowing for future growth. Refer to the Vegetation Reference Guide for guidance on determining vegetation growth/regrowth rates. For example, there can be a number of VP codes in a span and a number of code 18’s. The Vegetation Codes are entered in by the inspectors and from this and the system will generate a span Vegetation Code based on the worst tree Vegetation Code in the span.

Enter into mobile device.

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Provide additional remarks/information e.g. directions to the property or indications that a customer requires to be contacted before works etc.

Enter into mobile device.

Provide information surrounding a concern raised by CP-PAL or a customer relating to a pole located on the property. This information is represented as part of the span data on the mobile device and can be updated by crews and inspectors.

Enter into mobile device/ or raise directly with CP-PAL.

Provide information if the span may not be cleared by required target dates due to physical or situational reasons that make access to the span or Vegetation difficult.

Enter the following parameters into mobile device.  Need access to Live Line – vegetation that may be too close to the conductor or that access by traditional crews for vegetation action is restricted.  Shutdown – vegetation action that cannot be completed safely by traditional or Live Line crews without power being isolated.  Traffic Management – type of traffic plan required for works at the span.  Concerned customer – customers who may require further negotiation to enable the vegetation to be cut i.e. customer may require notification to be posted or to be present on site when vegetation is being actioned.  Access issues – instructions on how to access the site or procedures such as site inductions.  Follow-up action – customer may require notice of completion or environmental permits may be required to action the site. Inspector may find information on site that identifies an issue to be followed up.

Determine type of easement (area of work) i.e. rail crossing, creek crossing, farm land or urban street, as per drop down list.

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 Wet Span – where the span cannot be accessed by equipment or resources, i.e. EWP, Climbing Crew or Tree Felling Crew as the access is too wet to traverse. Where the tree within the span cannot be accessed with the necessary equipment or resources as the area surrounding the tree(s) is inaccessible as part of the span is underwater or too wet to traverse. Enter into mobile device.

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

Determine if the Vegetation is hazardous i.e. comprise of dead or dangerous limbs; have physical defects or it is apparent that there are other trees or limbs that may be unstable and could fall on the powerline under the range of weather conditions that can be reasonable expected to prevail in that locality. Refer to CP-PAL’s Vegetation Reference Guide for Guidance on determining Hazard Trees. An Inspector will enter on the Mobility Device in the hazard tree section. Once the potential tree is entered in the VMS, it will be allocated for action without further assessment, unless it is on private property in which case, if it was not initially reported by an arborist, an arborist will be assigned to the tree to assess. If the tree is assessed as a hazard it will be programed to be cut and if it is not, it will be placed back into a cycle of normal inspection.

Enter into mobile device.

Determine the Vegetation Code for overhang, to inform when the Vegetation will be in the MCS (different to the Vegetation to the side and underneath of the conductor).

Enter into mobile device.

Identify the spans that require suppression or shutdown.

Enter into mobile device.

Identify if Vegetation that has been identified as one of that is of importance by various land mangers or organisation’s i.e. Avenue of Honour trees, significant road side vegetation EPBC.

Enter into mobile device.

Provide vegetation coding of up to 5 trees i.e. 2 trees are VP2, 1 code 16 and 2 code 24.

Enter into mobile device.

Identify trees that are taller than the conductor that could make contact with the line if it was to fall at ground level (Note: number of tree is an estimate).

Enter into mobile device.

Define the land manager where the tree is located i.e. Private or Council.

Enter into mobile device.

Identify new Vegetation that has been planted by private or ORP that will affect the electrical assets, i.e. commercial plantations.

Enter into mobile device.

Determine the concentration of Vegetation in the span i.e. 50% scrub located in the span or 10% saplings.

Enter into mobile device.

Determine the type of resources required to action the Vegetation in the span i.e. size of EWP, chipper/tipper or ground crew, as per drop down list.

Enter into mobile device.

Determine the Vegetation Code to be assigned to the Span (refer to Vegetation Codes contained within the vegetation management policy).

Enter into mobile device.

Provide Collect information of a past evidence of vegetation failure in the span, e.g. fallen limb, fallen tree.

Enter into mobile device.

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Identification of vegetation defect affecting Private Electric Line.

Powercor Australia Ltd

Enter into mobile device.

Task Detail Collate Inspection Work Package/ Notifications 

The Inspection Work Package is comprised of data collated from the Vegetation Work Bench that is relevant to the current Inspection: o Vegetation Codes; o Region reliability trends; o Region maps (ground access); o History; o Completion dates; o Concerned Customer; o Significant Tree Register; and o PEL.



The Vegetation Contract Op Delivery Coordinator will determine from discussions with Vegetation Manager the region and feeders required to be inspected, as per the Execution Plan.



The Technical Officer will formulate and allocate the Inspection Work Packages in Vegetation Work Bench as per instruction from Vegetation Contract Op Delivery Coordinator to contractor.

Conduct Inspection

134



Inspectors will receive on Work Packages on their mobile Mobility Device from the Vegetation Work Bench.



Inspectors must ensure that the data they collect on their Mobility Device at the span they are inspecting is accurate, consistent and free from typographical error, duplication and omissions.



Several controls have been put in place to mitigate the risk of incomplete and inaccurate data captured into the Vegetation Work Bench: o Implementation of preventative controls, for example:  Mandatory fields (Vegetation Work Bench system control mobile platform).  Drop-down lists (Vegetation Work Bench system control).  Pre-populated fields (Vegetation Work Bench system control).  Environmental Due Diligence.  OHS System Audit. o Implementation of detective controls, for example:  Automatic Vegetation Work Bench system flags to CP-PAL’s Technical officers.  Error reports that are produced in the Vegetation Work Bench that will be analysed by Technical Officer and reported to the Vegetation Contract Op Delivery Coordinator, contractor and

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

   

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Vegetation Manager. Periodic analysis of Vegetation data. Process performance metrics. Onsite Vegetation Quality Reviews. Payment restrictions.



The Inspection activity examines the span length and conductor type to determine the MCS required for coding.



In assessing each span, Inspectors are required to: o Make an allowance for regrowth based on existing conditions (Climate, Rainfall, localised conditions) and Tree Type and health; o Consider Historic Declaration Dates and existing growth patterns; o Allow for regrowth for the region as per the cycle for the span; o Consider Local and Regional Conditions; and o Include an allowance for the sag and/or sway.



Inspectors are to ensure that spans have an appropriate year code associated with that particular span: o The updated year Vegetation Code may be coded out into the next year (due to slow growing conditions) or be brought back a year depending on growing conditions and other factors influencing the span’s growth potential as per Vegetation Codes set out in the vegetation management policy; and o Refer to the Vegetation Reference Guide for guidance on determining vegetation growth/regrowth rates to apply in deciding what year Vegetation Code to assign.



Inspectors will collate information as specified by CP-PAL in the Inspection Data Collection template synced from the Vegetation Work Bench onto Mobility Devices: o The most important part of the Inspection process is the recording of Vegetation status and ensuring that data is updated into the Vegetation Work Bench which is an automated process; o Mobility devices will be used for all ground based Inspections; o Inspection of the span is only considered complete at the point when Inspection Data has been submitted and successfully uploaded into the Vegetation Work Bench; and o Data cannot be entered into the system if it does not match the VMS requirements.



To ensure that all Vegetation identified as being within the MCS is actioned in a timely manner, it is important for the Inspector to be familiar with the Vegetation Management Policy.



The Vegetation Management Policy provides guidance on the time-frame for the actioning of all Vegetation within the MCS in: o High Bushfire Risk Areas (HBRA) during the Fire Danger Period; o In HBRA outside the Fire Danger Period; and o In Low Bushfire Risk Areas (LBRA).

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

Urgent Vegetation 



In the event that Urgent Vegetation is identified, the Inspector is to: o Ensure that the observation is tagged as “Urgent Vegetation” in the Mobility Device; and o Bring the observation to the immediate attention of the CP-PAL’s Vegetation Contract Op Delivery Coordinator. Where the Coordinator is not available, contact the Vegetation Manager. Contact is to be via telephone call and email.

At the discretion of the CP-PAL’s Vegetation Manager, CP-PAL will engage Cutters to perform the urgent Cutting or removal of Vegetation in the following circumstances: o Encroachment or growth that was unanticipated in the Vegetation Execution Plan; o Fallen tree or tree becoming damaged and entering into the Minimum Clearance Space ; o Confirmation by an arborist of an imminent likelihood of contact with electrical assets; o Cutting will be in accordance with clause 6.6 of the Code; o The works will be sent to the cutting contractor from the Vegetation Work Bench as a work order; and When works are complete the crew will update the work order and in turn this will update the Work Bench.

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PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

2.3

Powercor Australia Ltd

Private Electric Line Inspection – Work Instruction

Purpose This Work Instruction shall be conducted to ensure compliance to the following provisions: 

Compliance with Electricity Safety Act (ESA) 1998 Regulations and Amendments;



Compliance with Electric Line Clearance Plans (ELCMP);



Notification of Non-Compliant vegetation to Private Electric Line owners; and



Identification of Non-Compliant trees where the tree causing Non-Compliance is on a different property than the Private Electric line (and therefore either CP-PAL’s responsibility or an ORP Council’s responsibility to action).

Applies To This Work Instruction applies to the following: 

All Private Electric Lines connected to CP/PAL Distribution Network;



CP-PAL’s Inspection Contractors (LiDAR and ground-based-visual vegetation inspectors); and



CP-PAL personnel who undertake Vegetation roles.

Qualifications and Skills For ground-based visual inspections, the person conducting this Work Instruction must have the qualifications and skills as detailed in the VESI Skills Matrix for ‘Assessor’. Tools and equipment needed to perform the key activities:  Vehicle suited to the environment;  Mobility Device;  Vegetation clearance Charts;  Current Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations; and  Electric Line Clearance Plans. “Note” Photo Identification must also be carried at all times and worn when entering private property For LiDAR inspections, the LiDAR Inspection contractor will conduct the automated vegetation clearance calculation and PEL and tree owner identification process in accordance with methods and algorithms specified in CP-PAL’s LiDAR Inspection contract specifications.

Records of Output The following records are outputs generated by this process: 

Collated inspection data (uploaded into VMS); and



Weekly Notification lists of all PEL Non-Compliances requiring written notification issue by CP-PAL Customer Compliance Group.

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PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

Process Outline Private Line Inspection and Notification The following flowchart outlines the activities conducted by stakeholders to complete the process.

Customer Compliance Group

Vegetation Contract Ops Del Coordinator

Vegetation Inspector

Private Electric Line Inspection and Notification Process

Conducts PEL Clearance Inspection (by LiDAR or ground inspection)

PEL code noncompliance recorded in VMS

Weekly report generated listing PEL code non-compliances

Records actioned in VMS

Standard letter mail out to each PEL property owner notifying code noncompliance

Customer Compliance Group receives customer notification response – relays to VCODC

Customer

Yes

138

Customer receives code non-compliance notification

Customer actions vegetation and reports rectification to CP-PAL

Records actioned in VMS

Reminder notice issued at expiry of requirement implementation date

Customer response referred to VCODC

Yes

No

Customer acts on reminder notice and reports rectification to CP-PAL

On Total Fire Ban Days customer is disconnected

No

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

Task Detail

Step 1 Instruction

Notes to Step 2

Notes to Step 3

139

Inspector Conducts PEL Inspection 

If the inspection is done by a ground-based inspector, the Non-Compliance will be recorded on the Inspectors mobility device as a VP Coded span, and uploaded to VMS. A timeline for action is determined based on VP rating system.



If the inspection is done by LiDAR, the Non-Compliance will automatically be calculated by the LiDAR system based calculated proximity of vegetation to the Private Electric Line, and the ownership of the offending tree will be determined using tree trunk location and cadastral data – this will be used to determine the responsible party and property address for issue of nonCompliance notices.



The Technical Officer LiDAR will format LiDAR inspection results data for import into VMS, and generate a weekly report of PEL owner Non-Compliances for referral to CP-PAL’s Customer Compliance Group (which will then execute notification procedures).

Non-Compliance Issue by Customer Compliance Group (CCG) 

Customer Compliance Group issues PEL Non-Compliance notifications to PEL owners (using CCG standard letter template and mail out process). Compliance notices include an “Action required by” date based on CP-PAL’s VP urgency classification system (in accordance with CP-PAL’s Vegetation Management Policy).



When a customer has actioned the Non-Compliant vegetation and returned the Action Completed form to CP-PAL (received by the CCG), CCG relays completion of required works to the Vegetation Contract Operations Delivery Coordinator who records the Non-Compliance close-out in VMS.



If no response to the notification has been received by CP-PAL by the “Action required by” date, CCG will issue a Reminder Notice (which contains a warning that if action is not taken and reported as complete to CP-PAL by the due date, Total Fire Ban disconnection procedures will apply).

Un-actioned PEL Non-Compliances 

Until CP-PAL receives written advice that the Non-Compliance has been appropriately actioned, it is assumed the Non-Compliance remains, and thus remains as an open defect/non-compliance in CP-PAL’s VMS.



When Total Fire Bans (TOBAN) are declared any Non-Compliant Private Electric Lines in the declared TOBAN area will be issued for disconnection.

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

2.4

Powercor Australia Ltd

Fault Follow Up Inspection – Work Instruction

Purpose This Work Instruction shall be conducted to ensure: 

Mandatory Fault Follow Up (FFU) reporting is undertaken for major vegetation-caused faults (those with CMOS exceeding 100,000 minutes);



Appropriate discretionary Fault Follow Up is undertaken to improve understanding about vegetation fault/failure modes; and



That fault data is collected by fault crews for faults deemed to be caused by vegetation, so that appropriate Fault Follow Up can be facilitated.

Applies To This Work Instruction applies to the following: 

All spans within the CP-PAL Distribution Network;



CP-PAL’s personnel who undertake Fault Follow Up inspections for vegetation-caused outages; and



CP-PAL personnel Vegetation roles who communicate with CP-PAL personnel who manage or undertake fault response.

Qualifications and Skills For CP-PAL personnel undertaking vegetation-caused Fault Follow Up inspections, the person conducting this Work Instruction must have the qualifications and skills as detailed in the VESI Skills Matrix for auditors. The tools and equipment needed to perform the key activities are listed as:  Vehicle suited to the environment;  Mobility Device;  Vegetation clearance Charts;  Current Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations; and  CP-PAL vegetation Reference Guide. “Note” Photo Identification must also be carried at all times and worn when entering private property.

Records of Output The following records are outputs generated by this process: 

Collated FFU inspection data (uploaded into VMS);



For Major Faults (CMOS > 100,000 minutes), a full Fault Follow Up Report; and



Arborist report on tree failure cause for major faults and discretionary tree failure investigations.

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PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

Process Outline Fault Follow-Up The following flowchart outlines the activities conducted by stakeholders to complete the process.

Vegetation FFU Inspector

Vegetation Q&E Team Leader

Fault Crew

Fault Follow-Up Process

141

Non-transient fault occurs requiring Fault Crew response

Fault Crew investigates fault & records fault data in OMS

Note 1

Peruses all fault reports to find reports involving vegetation Initiates mandatory on discretionary vegetation FFU

Note 2 Quality review of FFU report

Yes

Investigates vegetation cause of fault & prepares major fault report

No

Inspects fault site (span) vegetation & enters inspection results & cause into Mobile Device

Major fault? Note 3

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

Task Detail

Note 1 Instruction

Fault Crew record entry into OMS 

Non-transient faults investigated by Fault Crews and fault data entered into OMS.



For Faults identified to be caused by Vegetation, the Fault Cause selected is “Vegetation”. For “Vegetation” caused faults, sub-cause information shall also be entered selecting from: Sub-causes: 

Tree: CP-PAL responsibility o Tree: CP-PAL responsibility – Compliant. o Tree: CP-PAL responsibility – Non-Compliant. o Tree: Council responsibility – Compliant. o Tree: Council responsibility – Non-Compliant. o Tree: Customer responsibility – Compliant. o Tree: Customer responsibility – Non-Compliant. o Bark/branch. o A Comment Field is also available for recording additional relevant information. Note: The present Vegetation Sub-Cause category option drop-downs are inadequate. RIN Reporting requirements require reporting of Ground Fires caused by vegetation, and in three vegetation sub-categories: 

Grow-in;



Fall-in; and

 Blow-in. The Sub-Cause category options under “Vegetation” need to be amended to enable capture of the following data: 

Vegetation Category: o Grow-in. o Fall-in. o Blow-in.  Did Fault Cause Ground Fire? o Yes or No option.  Vegetation -Compliant? o Yes or No option.  Vegetation Responsibility: o CP-PAL. o Council. o Customer.  Vegetation location: o Enter nearest pole ID. Optional additional category  Ground fire type: o 1. Did not spread from ignition point vegetation. o 2. Remained in cleared area under power line. o 3. Spread from clear area under power lines to adjacent vegetation.

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PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

Until such time as the appropriate fault data collection fields can be programmed into OMS, the CP-PAL Vegetation Manager will need to develop and deliver training in Vegetation-Caused Fault comment field completion for Fault Crews, so the above data can be collected via the Comment Field. When the appropriate fault data collection fields have been programmed into OMS they should be mandatory fields (record cannot be completed until all Sub-Cause data fields completed).

Note 2

143

Vegetation-caused Fault Follow Up Decision 

It is mandatory to initiate Vegetation Fault Follow-Up Inspection on all Major Vegetation-Caused Faults (CMOS>100,000 mins).



It should also be made mandatory to initiate Vegetation Fault Follow Up Inspection on all Vegetation-caused Faults with a Sub-Cause of “Fall-in” in Bushfire Construction Areas.



Discretionary Vegetation Fault Follow-Up Inspection should be considered for Vegetation-caused Faults with a Sub-Cause of “Fall-in” in HBRA, Comment field indicating Trees inside MCS or Trees Down.

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Note 3

144

Powercor Australia Ltd

Vegetation-Caused Fault Follow Up Inspection 

For Vegetation-Caused Fault Follow-Up Inspections involving a Fall-in Tree, it is highly preferable that the tree be inspected by a Level 4 Arborist.



Fall-in tree inspection during Vegetation FFU should include assessment of: o Was the tree recorded presently or at any previous time been recorded , in VMS as a Hazardous Tree? o Did any externally visible tree stem, branch or root structural defects contribute to tree/branch failure? If so – specify. o Did any tree stem, branch or root structural defects that would not be visible from the direction viewed during normal ground-based visual inspection, contribute to tree/branch failure? If so – specify. o What, if any, structural defects where not externally visible and contributed to tree/branch failure? If so – specify. o Was the tree lean a contributing factor? If so – give an estimate. o What wind strengths (average maximum, and maximum gust strengths) would have been applicable at the site at the time of failure? (Obtain data from the Bureau of Meteorology Observations web page or for the most applicable local weather station site). o Did the tree appear to be affected by a recent fire or within the (last 12 months)? o Were there any other factors that may have contributed to the tree/branch failure? o Any other relevant information.

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Chapter 3 Vegetation Action

145

Powercor Australia Ltd

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

3. Manage Vegetation Action Trigger Event This process starts when the following event has occurred or requirements are met: 

The area has been identified for Vegetation clearance through Vegetation Inspection, Consultation, ad hoc reporting or review of existing data.

Outcomes On completion of this process, the following criteria have been achieved: 

Vegetation clearance has been actioned in a standardised and effective manner to ensure compliance with the ELCMP, and Electric Line Clearance Regulations; and



All applicable legislation requirements, Health & Safety and Environmental concerns have been taken into consideration.

Records of Outputs The following records are outputs generated by this process: 

Environmental Due Diligence; and



Cutting Work Package completed.



M code added to the relevant Span code for any span which has been approved by the CP-PAL Vegetation Manager to be managed as an exception under the Code of Practice for Electric Line Clearance.

146

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

Process Outline Manage Vegetation Action The following flowchart outlines the activities conducted by stakeholders to complete the process.

Vegetation Contract Op Delivery Officer Technical Officer, Vegetation Manager Vegetation Cutters (contractors)

Manage Vegetation Action

Manage Vegetation Action

147

FROM Conduct Vegetation Inspection Procdure

FROM Conduct Consultation for

VMS #3 Manage Outstanding Spans

Vegetation Action Procedure

FROM Development of the Annual Execution Plan

TO: Verify Contractor Compliance & Determine Amount Payable #1 Compile Vegetation Action Work Package

#2 Execute Vegetation Action

Update VMS

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Task Detail Notes to Step 1

Powercor Australia Ltd

Issue Cutting Work Package 

Purpose of the Cutting Work Package is to provide information to Contractors on the location of works, site information, including restrictions, environmental significance, customer requests (i.e. for requirement to be present).



The Cutting Works Package is compiled using the Compile Vegetation Action Work for Package Work Instructions.



The Cutting Work Package comprises of data collated from the Vegetation Workbench that is relevant to the current Vegetation clearance activity: o Data collected from Inspections; and o Environmental Due Diligence findings.

Notes to Step 2

Execute Vegetation Action As per Execute Vegetation Action Work Instruction, the contractor is required to plan vegetation works and provide notification to affected landowners of such works.

Notes to Step 2

Management of Outstanding Spans As per Management of Outstanding Spans during the Fire Season Guideline.

148

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

3.1

Powercor Australia Ltd

Compile Vegetation Action Work Package – Work Instruction

Purpose This Work Instruction shall be conducted to ensure that the vegetation MCS is maintained around CP-PAL assets to comply with the requirements of the Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015. This Work Instruction identifies the actions required to achieve line clearance objectives for the purposes of prevention of fire and vegetation related reliability issues in an environmentally responsible manner. This Work Instruction shall be followed to ensure: 

Compliance with Electricity Safety Act (ESA) 1998 Regulations and Amendments;



Compliance with Electric Line Clearance Management Plans (ELCMP);



Prevention of vegetation infringing clearance requirements along the CP, PAL and TOA network; and

 Mitigation of vegetation related outages. This process aims to ensure that: 

Content Guideline Work Packages are issued to Vegetation Contractors via the Vegetation Management System (VMS) to enable the clearing of vegetation to be performed in a standardised, effective manner, taking into consideration applicable legislation requirements, Health & Safety and Environmental concerns.

Applies To This Work Instruction applies to the following: 

Vegetation within CP-PAL Distribution Network or within the vicinity of CP-PAL power lines;



All CP and PAL personnel who undertake Vegetation roles;



Job Role – Technical Officer, Vegetation Management; and



Manage Vegetation Action.

Authorisation and Access The person conducting this Work Instruction must have the following authorisation and access: 

Vegetation Technical Officer.

Qualifications and Skills The person conducting this Work Instruction must have the following qualifications and skills: 

Vegetation Technical Officer; and



Proficient in the use of CP-PAL Vegetation Management System.

Records of Output The following records are outputs generated by this process: 

Cutting Work Package; and



Issued in a timely manner.

149

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

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Process Outline Compile Vegetation Action Work Package The following flowchart outlines the activities conducted by stakeholders to complete the process.

Technical Officer

Engagement & Quality Team Leader

Title: Compile Vegetation Action Work Package

FROM: Manage Vegetation Inspection Procedure

Vegetation Management System

#1 Extract / Receive Cutting Works required from VMS

TO: Conduct Customer Complaints & Consultation for Vegetation Action

FROM: Conduct Customer Complaints & Consultation for Vegetation Action

#2 Undertake Due Diligence Assessment

#3 Issue Vegetation Cutting Work Package

Contractor

FROM: Execution Plan

150

TO Execute Vegetation Action Work Instruction

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

Task Detail

Notes to Step 1

The Manage Vegetation Inspection and Conduct Consultation for Vegetation Action processes will generate notifications in the Workbench for Vegetation Action. The Technical Officers and Vegetation Contract Op Delivery Officer will meet each Tuesday to determine the work packages to be issued to ensure that works are completed using available resources and to align with the Execution Plan. The Technical Officers will review new Cutting notifications that are created on a daily basis to ensure that spans identified as VP s are actioned within required timeframes as set out in the Vegetation Management Policy.

Notes to Step 2

Undertake Environmental Due Diligence 

The Environmental Due Diligence is a fact-finding mission that reviews and evaluates the areas identified for Vegetation clearance to: o Protect CP-PAL by making sure all potential environmental issues are known prior to Clearing activity; o Ensure that the area is free from material environmental issues that may prevent performance of the Clearing activity; and o Ensure that all Federal, State and Local Government environmental legislations are being upheld.



The Environmental Due Diligence is performed to meet the requirements of the: o CP-PAL – Environmental Policy; and o Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). Desktop Searches (Technical Officer)

151



Technical Officer is to undertake desktop searches, to identify any Significant Native vegetation, Victorian and National threatened species and ecological communities as follows: o Search by Work Area  Department of the Environment and Primary Industries Biodiversity Interactive Website, utilising the CP-PAL Google Earth Enterprise Environmental overlay. o Search by Feeder Area  Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), List of threatened flora, List of threatened ecological communities, List of threatened fauna and the Protected Matters Search Tool.



http://www.environment.gov.au/cgibin/sprat/public/publicthreatenedlist.pl?wanted=flora



The Technical Officer will issue, via email, to the Vegetation Contract Operational Delivery Officer where important or significant vegetation has been identified in the above searches for further assessment, i.e. site visit, stakeholder engagement.

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd



Receive confirmation from Vegetation Contract Operational Delivery Officer, via email, that the issue of important or significant vegetation has been resolved (Vegetation Contract Operational Delivery Officer required to enter how this has been resolved into VMS).



Document management – Ensure all relevant findings and information are included in the Cutting Work Package (including attachments).

Referral for significant vegetation identified in desktop search – Vegetation Contract Operational Delivery Officer Receive request from Technical Officer to review important or significant vegetation 

Conduct further Site field assessment if threatened or Significant flora and fauna identified;



Stakeholder Engagement – Vegetation Contract Operational Delivery Officer is to liaise with governing bodies, where required (e.g. local council, Victorian Government, etc.);



Engage ecologist to conduct desktop search or site visit and provide report;



Document outcomes in VMS; and



Refer back to Technical Officer, via email.

Notes to Step 3

The Vegetation Cutting Work Package is issued to the Vegetation Management System as below. Cutting Notification Processing Notifications with Coding Code – CUT – that are identified with Work Type TRIM created following Inspection (or manual creation) will be in the Unassigned Notifications Tab in the Workbench. Notifications with Coding Code – CUT – that are identified with Work Type REMV created following Inspection (or manual creation) will be in the Unassigned Notifications Tab in the Workbench.

152

Step 1.

Description In the Unassigned Notifications tab select Cutting Notifications and click

2.

In the work type pop up box select standard for TRIM or Non Standard REMV

Values/Result/Output

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty 3.

4.

Powercor Australia Ltd

The system will determine the service lines and present the following:  If one contract exists then the service line from that contract will automatically be selected based on contract mapping table.  If more than 1 contract exists then the user shall choose which service lines are allocated. Click

Orders are generated with an external operation and the service line added. Notifications are moved from Unassigned notifications to Planned (Not Release) list.

Release Work Step 1.

2.

Select Planned (Not Released) tab

3. 4.

Select cutting lines to be released

5.

153

Description Run transaction ZVEGMGT and enter selection criteria for example selection by feeder

Click Deselect “Send work to contractor” if you are not sending a list of work to the contractor.

Values/Result/Output Vegetation Management work bench open displaying notifications for the selection criteria (unassigned notifications) Notification Planned (they have an order) are displayed. Cutting lines selected

Work Orders are released and moved from Planned (not released) to Released/Send to Field

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

3.2

Powercor Australia Ltd

Execute Vegetation Action – Work Instruction

Purpose This Work Instruction shall be conducted to ensure that the vegetation MCS is maintained around CP-PAL assets to comply with the requirements of the Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015. This Work Instruction identifies the actions required to achieve vegetation clearance objectives for the purposes of prevention of fire and vegetation related reliability issues in an environmentally responsible manner. This Work Instruction shall be followed to ensure all areas are complied with: 

Compliance with Electricity Safety Act (ESA) 1998 Regulations and Amendments;



Compliance with Electric Line Clearance Management Plans (ELCMP);



Prevention of vegetation infringing clearance requirements along the CP, PAL and TOA network;



Adherence to CP-PAL Vegetation Management Policy, Vegetation Strategy and Execution Plan;



Mitigation of vegetation related outages; and



Adherence to the CP-PAL Environmental Policy.

This process aims to ensure that: 

Clearing of vegetation is performed in a standardised and effective manner; and



Applicable legislation requirements, Health & Safety and Environmental concerns are taken into consideration.



Spans that in which CP-PAL are unable to achieve the MCS are recorded and actioned via either exception provision or as Alternative Compliance Mechanisms.

Applies To This Work Instruction applies to the following: 

Vegetation within CP-PAL Distribution Network or within the vicinity of CP-PAL powerlines;



CP-PAL personnel who undertake Vegetation roles;



CP-PAL contractors engaged to execute Vegetation activities;



Vegetation – Ground Crew;



Tree Climbers;



Cutters; and



Manage Vegetation Action.

Hazards The warnings below alert the user to potential health and safety hazards specific to this Work Instruction: 

Refer to the Employees Working Alone Policy, section 7.15 of CP-PAL Health and Safety Manual; and



Use of Electronic Devices in Vehicles Guideline.

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Authorisation and Access The person conducting this Work Instruction must have the following authorisation and access: 

Australian ESI Skills Passport.

Qualifications and Skills The person conducting this Work Instruction must have the following qualifications and skills: In regards to this procedure, “Execute Vegetation Action” the following is highlighted: 

Task (main activity(s) to be performed): o Refer to Vegetation Quality Review Schedule – Quality Review Inspector Requirements and Process to Undertake Tasks for definition.



VESI Skills and Training Matrix.



Tools & Equipment (enablers to perform task): o Vehicle suited to the environment; o Mobility Device (as specified in the Contract); o Vegetation clearance Charts; o Current Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations; and o Electric Line Clearance Management Plans (ELCMP).

Records of Output The following records are outputs generated by this process and are to be retained as evidence: 

Environmental Due Diligence; and



Cutting Work Package completed and uploaded.

155

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Task Detail Notes

156

Powercor Australia Ltd

Requirements of Contractor As part of the contract arrangement, all contractors are required to augment their JSEAs or adopt CP-PAL’s JSEA to ensure that appropriate controls are put in place for the following works practices: Noise o At all times, the noise emissions must be in accordance with State environment protection policy SEPP N-1 or where applicable, in accordance with EPA publication: Noise from Industry in Regional Victoria. Any person who emits or causes to be emitted objectionable noise within the means of the regulations would be guilty of an offence and liable to a penalty; and o Normal working hours will be restricted where practical, to between 7am and 6pm Monday to Friday, and 8am to 1pm Saturday, where activities are expected to cause nuisance noise. Waste o Waste to be disposed of in accordance with the Contract; and o Waste includes (but is not limited to) mulch matter, clippings, branches and general waste. Incident Reporting o Contractor to report all Environmental Incidents to the Responsible Officer i.e. CP-PAL’s Vegetation Contract Op Delivery Officer who will perform an investigation and report via CP-PAL’s SafetyLinks system; and o Type of environmental Incidents include (but is not limited to) unauthorised removal/damage of flora and fauna, transfer of contaminated soils, pests or weeds from site, chemical, oil or fuel spills, a pollution event , noise complaints etc. Chemical Management o All chemicals in use are to be pre-approved by CP-PAL; o Ensure herbicide used is an approved herbicide as per the contract and as per Herbicide label instructions; o If a new product is used, Contractor to first obtain approval from the CP-PAL Responsible Officer (RO); o Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are to be made available to the Contractor and must be in-date 5 years; o The chemicals in use are to be stored and transported as per the MSDS e.g. a locked toolbox/ container away from fresh water, food etc.; and o Vehicles leaking chemicals must be removed from service and bunded until either removed from site or repaired. Onsite Re-fuelling o During re-fuellings, care should be taken to avoid spillage; o Contractor to have a spill kits available and staff to be trained in their use; o Re-fuelling shall not take place within close proximity to a drainage line, storm water inlet, waterway or other sensitive areas; and o Vehicles leaking fuel or oils must be removed from service and bunded until either removed from site or repaired.

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Notes (Cont)

Powercor Australia Ltd

Conduct Calling-Card Notification 

Cutter (Contractor) to conduct letter-drop of Trees and Powerline Pending Work Notification as per requirements of the 14-60 day time period in the Electric Line Clearance (Vegetation) Management Plan. The contractor will receive notification via the Vegetation Management System with a task to issue a letter drop. Once this task is completed and updated in the System, a task for Action is automatically generated.

Approach & Methodology (how to perform task): 

The cutting crew will follow the required actions as per the cutting work packages on the mobile device. Every span that has been allocated will be actioned as per their Direction.



All information relating to the allocated works will be entered on the service provider’s mobility devices that will be linked to CP-PAL’s Integrated Vegetation Management System.



In order to maintain the MCS required by the ELCMP, one or more of the following Vegetation Actions may be requested by CP-PAL (but is not limited to): o Pruning of existing trees; o Removal of existing trees; o Removal of unsuitable species not necessarily at mature height but is most likely to grow into the MCS at maturity; and o Herbicide application of stumps to prevent re-growth. o Referral back to CP-PAL of spans which are unable to meet the MCS, LBRA only, which contain trees of a type referred to in clauses 4, 5 & 6 of the Code of Ppractice for Electric Line Clearance.

Manage Outstanding Spans 

157

The following process is to be followed in the event that vegetation is unable to be actioned due to Wet Weather or a Concerned Customer: o Inside Declared Fire Season:  Update Vegetation Management System; and  Refer to Management of Outstanding Spans during the Fire Season. o Outside Declared Fire Season:  Update Wet Weather/Concerned Customer Register (in Vegetation Management System); and  This information can be entered into the Vegetation Management System by Cutters, Inspectors and the CP-PAL Vegetation Management team.

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

Chapter 4 Vegetation Contractor Compliance & Quality Assurance

158

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

4. Verify Vegetation Contractor Compliance and Determine Amount Payable Trigger Event This process starts when the following events have been initiated: 

Conduct Vegetation Inspection; (including LiDAR inspection)



Manage Vegetation Action; and



At the request of the Vegetation Manager or delegate.



When a referral has been made requiring assessment of a span for inclusion as an M type span.

Outcomes On completion of this process: 

CP-PAL will have performed an objective and independent assessment of Vegetation works undertaken by a contractor and provided the business with reasonable assurance that: o Data collected from Inspections is accurate and complete; o All spans have been inspected as per direction; o Vegetation has been cut and actioned as determined per Contract scope or Direction; o A safe and effective work place for all employees, contractors, subcontractors and the general public has been maintained; o Regulatory requirements associated with vegetation has been achieved; and o Payment will be made to the contractor for works completed according to CP-PAL Contract requirements.

Records of Outputs The following records are outputs generated by this process and are to be retained as evidence: 

Vegetation Quality Review Schedule;



Job Safety and Environmental Assessment; and



Quality Review Results.



Span Code noted with the “M” designation as approved for exception.

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PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

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Process Outline Contractor Compliance Amount Payable The following flowchart outlines the activities conducted by stakeholders to complete the process. Title

Verify Vegetation Contractor Compliance & Determine Amount Payable

Engagement & Quality Officer

Engagement & Quality Team Leader

Vegetation Manger

Phase

160

#3 Approve Payment

Conduct Vegetation

Reporting Procedure

FROM: Conduct Vegetation Reporting Procedure

FROM: Conduct Vegetation Inspection

#1 Determine Scope of Quality Reivew and Assign to Staff or Contractor

Vegetation Management System

Vegetation Management System

FROM: Manage Vegetation Action Procedure

#2 Undertake Quality Review as per Conduct Quality Review Work Instruction

Task Detail

Notes to Step 1

Notes to Step 2

Notes to Step 3

161

Determine Scope of Quality Review and Assign Vegetation Quality Officers 

The Engagement & Quality Team Leader will coordinate the completion of the Quality Review Schedule using suitably qualified staff or contractors.



The Engagement & Quality Team Leader and Engagement & Quality Officers (internal or contracted) are responsible for the conduct of the Vegetation Quality Reviews.



VMS randomly selects a sample of sites from a work package for auditing. The size of the sample is based on a percentage selected by the Engagement and Quality Team leader. Reference Engagement and Quality Audit Work Instruction.



The engagement and Quality Team Leader will assign a suitably qualified Engagement and Quality Officer to assess and determine the suitability of a referred span for inclusion in the database as a managed span.

Undertake Quality Review 

CP-PAL’s vegetation reviews are primarily targeted as a review and verification of systems. These office-based reviews are further supported by field verification and compliance monitoring, as required.



The Vegetation Audit Schedule is updated annually and shall be referred to for direction in conducting Quality Reviews.



Quality Review to be undertaken as per: o Conduct Quality Review Work Instruction; o Quality Review Schedule; o Vegetation clearance Charts; and o Quality Review Scope. o Code of Practice for Electric Line Clearance clauses 4, 5, 6 and 31.

Approve Contractor for Payment 

Validate that the contractor has been awarded a “Pass”.



Review documents prepared for payment to determine accuracy.



Route to CP-PAL Accounts Payable department for payment execution.

4.1

Conduct Quality Review – Work Instruction

Purpose This Work Instruction shall be conducted to ensure: 

Compliance with Electricity Safety Act (ESA) 1998 Regulations and Amendments;



Compliance with Electric Line Clearance Plans (ELCMP);



Prevention of vegetation infringing clearance requirements along the CP, PAL and TOA network; and



Mitigation of vegetation related outages.

This process aims to: 

Review the effectiveness of the Vegetation process vis-à-vis the Vegetation Strategy and the Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations;



Determine any re-work or defective work rectification required; and



Assess a referred span for suitability as a “managed span”; and



Determine amount payable to contractors.

Applies To This Work Instruction applies to the following: 

Vegetation within CP-PAL Distribution Network or within the vicinity of CP-PAL powerlines;



CP-PAL personnel who undertake Vegetation roles; and



CP-PAL contractors engaged to execute Vegetation activities.

Hazards The warnings below alert the user to potential health and safety hazards specific to this Work Instruction and the assurance to our policy and procedures: Employees should be aware of the following Policy and Guideline: 

Refer to the Employees Working Alone Policy, section 7.15 of CP-PAL Health and Safety Manual; and



Use of Electronic Devices in Vehicles Guideline.

Authorisation and Access The person conducting this Work Instruction must have the following authorisation and access entitlements: 

Engagement & Quality Officers.



Technical officers



Contractors

162

Qualifications and Skills The person conducting this Work Instruction (field assessment only) must have the qualifications and skills as detailed in the VESI Skills Matrix – Auditor (for internal inspectors) and the Skills Matrix – General Auditor – in the Supply of Vegetation Management Services – Inspection Contract (for external inspectors). Tools and equipment needed to perform the key activities: 

Vehicle suited to the environment;



Mobility Device;



Vegetation clearance Charts;



Current Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations; and

 Electric Line Clearance Plans (ELCMP). Photo Identification must be carried at all times and worn when entering private property.

Records of Output The following records are outputs generated by this process: Process Measure/Metric

Issue Addressed

Evidence Location

Cycle Time for performing Inspection Quality Review

Lengthy period to conduct Inspection/ Cutting Quality Review Lengthy period to conduct Inspection/ Cutting Quality Review Compliance and accuracy of Inspection Data recorded Compliance and accuracy of Cutting Data recorded Compliance and accuracy of Vegetation works performed

VMS (Date Stamps)

Cycle Time for performing Cutting audit No. of Inspection Data errors No. of Cutting Data errors No. of Other Vegetation Quality Review errors

163

VMS (Date Stamps)

VMS

VMS VMS

Process Outline Stakeholder Activities The following flowchart outlines the activities conducted by stakeholders to complete the process.

Vegetation Manager

Conduct Quality Review VM.CI.1.WI01

Vegetation Contract Op Delivery Officer

Vegetation Over-cut

#3 Review Audit failure and determine next course of action

#8 Determine Action

B Vegetation Under-cut C

Yes

A

Engagement and Quality Coord Engagement & Quality Officer

#9 Approve & Refer on for Payment

Yes

No

Conduct Vegetation Inspection/Action

No

#2 Pass?

#1 Conduct Quality Review

#7 Conduct Quality Re-Review Other vegetation Audit/Safe Work Practice, etc

Pass?

#2 Pass?

Inspectors/Cutters (Contractors)

Yes

164

#4 Compliance Required A

#5 Conduct ReInspection B

#6 Conduct ReCutting C

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

Task Detail

Step 1 Instruction

Notes to Step 2

165

Conduct Quality Review 

The Vegetation Audit Schedule is updated annually and shall be referred to for direction in the conduct of CP-PAL’s Vegetation Audits, particularly: o Scope – provides for Primary, Targeted and Ad hoc audits; o Structure Guidelines – provides suggestions on baseline review areas; o Process – provides direction on planning and preparation, commencement, conclusion, documentation, review, presentation and monitoring of action items; o Results – provides definition on conformances and non-conformances; and o Stakeholder Reporting – provides RASCI of key vegetation stakeholders.



Sample size for Vegetation Audits is determined as 10%. The Work Bench will allocate 10% of the following works for Audit: o Inspection/Cutting data entered into Vegetation Management System; and o Work stipulated in each agreement between CP-PAL and the Vegetation contractor.



The Quality Review will be undertaken utilising the Quality Review Schedule and the Vegetation clearance Charts.



The “Managed Span” review shall be conducted to ensure that each requirement of the Code of Practice for Electric Line Clearance is met. o The trees meet the size and clearance requirements of the Code; o Where applicable the advice of an arborist has been obtained and is recorded against the span in SAP o The CP-PAL Vegetation Manager has approved the application of the exception; o The span/s are coded by the addition of an M in the span code to indicate they are a “managed span”

Pass? 

A “Pass” is awarded to the contractor only when 100% conformance is achieved.



Non-conformances shall be determined in strict accordance with the particular Audit Scope. Any significant issues identified, which fall outside of the audit scope may be recorded as Observations.



A Non-Conformance is defined as failure to comply or achieve the base expressed requirements of any: o Regulation; o Contract clause; o Policy; o Work Instruction; o Procedure; o Contract Occupational, Health & Safety (OHS) plan; and

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

o 

Notes to Step 3

Step 7 Instruction

166

Control Measure.

For further details on criteria for the award of audit findings, refer to “Audit Results (Non-Conformances, Observations and Improvement Opportunities)” within the Vegetation Audit Schedule Guideline.

Review Audit failure and determine next course of action 

A – Failure relates to Contract Occupational, Health & Safety (OHS), Personnel, Vehicles and Plant to be referred on to contractor to confirm compliance.



B – Vegetation related works to be referred on to contractor for reinspection.



C – Vegetation under-cut to be referred on to contractor to rectify.



Vegetation over-cut to be referred directly to Determine Action.

Conduct Quality Re-Review 

A Re-Review is required on all non-conformances identified during the Quality Review and that have been referred back to the contractor. A ReReview can be performed on: o Inspection data non-conformances; and o Vegetation being under-cut.



Where the vegetation has been over-cut, “10#. Determine Penalties” step should be invoked.



100% compliance is required for all items being re-reviewed.

Step 8 Instruction

Step 9 Instruction

Powercor Australia Ltd

Determine Action 

Penalties are in place to drive contractors to execute their agreed tasks with accuracy and effectiveness.



The following steps are to be performed in the event that a non-conformance event is identified (during the “#1. Conduct Quality Review” step): o Inspection data non-conformance: Perform Re-inspection; o Vegetation under-cut: Perform Re-cutting; and o Other vegetation Quality Review non-conformances: Perform rectification of the non-conformance e.g. if training is not up-to-date, to ensure training is obtained/passed; and if the wheels on the truck are bare, to ensure that the truck wheels are changed, etc.  In the event that serious safety non-conformances are found, these shall be reported (by phone) to the Vegetation Manager ASAP to enable appropriate action to be taken. These may require a cessation of a work activity and/or immediate stand-down of a crew.

Approve Contractor for Payment 

Validate that the contractor has been awarded a “Pass”.



Review documents prepared for payment to determine accuracy.



Route to CP-PAL Accounts Payable department for payment execution.

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

Chapter 5 Affected Persons Notification & Consultation

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5 Conduct Affected Persons Consultation for Vegetation Action Trigger Event This process starts when notification of any of the following event has occurred: 

Need for notification to Affected Persons is identified as a result of: o Where Inspection has recommended Vegetation Action occur and CP-PAL have approved that Vegetation Action is required; o General Communications and/or notification required; and o Customer complaints & inquires related to Vegetation Management are received.

Outcomes On completion of this process, the following has been achieved: 

Notification of Vegetation Action to Affected Persons; and



Agreement on next course of action has been obtained.

Records of Outputs The following records are possible outputs generated by this process and are to be retained as evidence: 

Trees and Powerline Pending Work Notification;



Technical Alternative Application Form;



A print and/or electronic media notification advising of pending works Notification to councils of pending works in their council area in accordance with agreed protocol in a joint CP-PAL & Council Tree Management Plan;



Unsuitable Trees and Powerlines on Your Property Notice;



Trees and Your Electricity Service Wire Notice; and



Planting Trees near Powerlines – A Guide for Home Gardens and Rural Properties.

168

Process Outline Conduct Consultation with Affected Persons The following flowchart outlines the activities conducted by stakeholders to complete the process.

Vegetation Manager

Conduct Vegetation Inspection Procedure

Managing Customer Complaints & Disputes

Engagement & Quality Team Leader

169

Veg Contract Op Del Officer

Conduct Customer Complaints & Consultation for Vegetation Action

Conduct Affected Persons Consultation for Vegetation Action

Customer Referrals/Complaints Vegetation Cutting/Removal Required

#1 Determine Consultation & Negotiation Required

Significant/Important and/or Urgent Vegetation Cutting Required

TO: Consultation & Negotiation for Method to Maintain the Clearance Space Work Instruction

TO: Consultation & Negotiation for Method to Maintain the Clearance Space Work Instruction

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

Task Detail

Notes to Step 1

Determine Consultation & Notification Required Consultation and Notification on required vegetation action shall be conducted in accordance with Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015, Schedule 1 – Code of Practice for Electric Line Clearance, clause 15 (7) (the Code). Prior to vegetation action: 

A minimum of 14 but not more than 60 days of notice in writing shall be given to all Affected Persons by the Vegetation contractor; or

 A print and/or electronic media notification advising of pending works. When there is no response to an affected persons notice, this is deemed as an approval and the cutting works will proceed as planned. Where there is a dispute in relation to an affected persons notice, the dispute will be resolved in accordance with dispute resolution process in the ELCMP. The type and method of Consultation & Notification will be determined as follows: o Urgent Vegetation – For emergency clearing situations, the Responsible Person or landowner shall be notified as soon as practicable after the event, in accordance with clause 18 (Notification And Record Keeping Requirements For Urgent Cutting Or Removal) of the Code. Notification is provided via a physical drop-off, posting or SMS of an urgent works notice. o Significant/Important Vegetation – Prior to any pruning or clearing being undertaken, CP-PAL shall notify all Affected Persons of the impact of the recommended action and the steps to be taken. Private Electric Lines (PELs) are noted in the VMS by the vegetation inspector and a report is generated to the Customer Compliance Group.

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5.1 Consultation and Negotiation for Method to Maintain the regrowth Space – Work Instruction Purpose In conducting activities to ensure that the vegetation MCS is maintained around CP-PAL assets to comply with the requirements of the Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015, this Work Instruction shall be conducted to ensure the: 

Notification of Affected Persons including Other Responsible Persons (ORP) affected by pruning, clearing or other Vegetation activities;



Consider most appropriate method to maintain the Minimum Clearance Space , including Alternative Compliance Mechanisms;



Management of any disputes to reach agreement on the next course of action;



Reduction in complaints; and



Improved Customer Satisfaction.

Applies To This Work Instruction applies to the following: 

Vegetation within CP-PAL Distribution Network or within the vicinity of CP-PAL powerlines;



All CP-PAL personnel who undertake Vegetation roles; and



All CP-PAL contractors engaged to execute Vegetation activities.

Hazards The warnings below alert the user to potential health and safety hazards as specified in these Work Instruction: Employees should be aware of the following Policy and Guideline: 

Refer to the Employees Working Alone Policy, section 7.15 of CP-PAL Health and Safety Manual; and



Use of Electronic Devices in Vehicles Guideline.

Records of Output The following records are outputs generated by this process: 

Technical Alternative Application Form;



Unsuitable Trees and Powerlines on Your Property Notice;



Trees and Your Electricity Service Wire Notice;



Planting Trees near Powerlines – A Guide for Home Gardens and Rural Properties; and



Trees and Powerline Pending Work Notification.

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Process Outline Method To Maintain Vegetation clearances The following flowchart outlines the activities conducted by stakeholders to complete the process.

Vegetation Manager

Consultation and Negotiation for Method to Maintain the Clearance Space

Yes

Quality & Engagement T/L

#4 Negotiate -

Negotiation direction (determined)

#5 Consult ESV for direction

No agreement/Alternate Mechanism/ Exemption Sought

Technical Alternative/ Alternative Mechanism/ Cutting/ Exemption

Alternative Mechanism/ Technical Alternative Sought or Exemption by Affected Person

No

Viable Agreement to Tech Alternative/ or agreement to cut

Engagement & Quality Officer Vegetation Contract Op Delivery Officer

Title

No Cutting/Removal req’d In accordance with AS4373 as far as practicable

172

#3 Conduct Consultation & Negotiation

Urgent Cutting Works

Significant/Important Vegetation

#1 Determine Requirements for Vegetation Consultation

Urgent Cutting Works

Agreement reached

#2 Arrange Urgent Cutting Works

Yes

No

#3 Conduct Consultation & Negotiation

Deferral or Special Permit Agreed

Update VMS

Yes

Conduct Vegetation Inspection Procedure Vegetation Trimming Required

Exectute Vegetation Action

#3 Conduct Consultation & Negotiation

Exectute Vegetation Action

Exectute Vegetation Action

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

Task Detail

Notes to Step 1

Determine Requirements for Vegetation Consultation Consultation and Notification on required vegetation action shall be conducted in accordance with the Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015, Schedule 1 – Code of Practice for Electric Line Clearance (the Code), clause 15 (7). A minimum of 14 but not more than 60 days’ notice is given in writing, or the publication of a notice in a newspaper circulating in the general area informing all Affected Persons prior to vegetation action.  

Unsuitable Species Identification: CP-PAL actively promotes responsible planting strategies with land owners, land managers, Councils and the public to ensure that appropriate species are planted near powerlines.  Planting of inappropriate species near powerlines significantly adds to the cost of complying with the Code.  CP-PAL makes available free of charge, publications such as “Planting Trees near Powerlines – A Guide for Home Gardens and Rural Properties”.  Publication is available on the CP-PAL website, from the CP-PAL Call Centre or CP-PAL representative.  Significant/Important Vegetation:  Special consideration is required in actioning Significant/ Important Vegetation located in the vicinity of CP-PAL powerlines.  Pruning or clearing for Significant/ Important Vegetation can only be undertaken outside of the breeding season. Where it is not practicable to undertake cutting or removal outside of the breeding season for that species, translocation of the fauna will be undertaken wherever practicable.  Significant/ Important Vegetation located on private property will be managed utilising the same processes as those located on public land.  Significant/ Important Vegetation will be highlighted in the Joint CP-PAL & Council Tree Management Plan. The type and method of Consultation & Notification will be determined by the Category of vegetation and Responsible Person as follows:  Urgent Vegetation – For emergency clearing situations, the Responsible Person or landowner shall be notified as soon as practicable after the event, in accordance with clause 18 (Notification and Record Keeping Requirements For Urgent Cutting Or Removal) of the Code. Notification is provided via a physical drop-off, posting or SMS of an urgent works notice.  Significant/ Important Vegetation – Prior to any pruning or clearing being undertaken, CP-PAL shall notify all Affected Persons of the impact of the recommended action and the steps to be taken.  ORP – CP-PAL consults and notifies ORPs (public land) as per the Conduct Consultation & Notification – ORP work instruction. Note: Private Electric Lines (PELs) are noted in the VMS by the vegetation inspector (as per Execute Vegetation Inspection work instruction and a report is generated to the Customer Compliance Group from the VMS. 

173

In non-urban areas, the minimum level of notification required is via publication

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

in a newspaper. IT System / Tool Documentation

Notes to Step 2

VMS Unsuitable Trees and Powerlines on Your Property Notice



Trees and Your Electricity Service Wire Notice

 

Tree and Powerline Pending Work Notification Private Overhead Electric Lines Defect Management Manual

Urgent Vegetation 

At the decision of the Vegetation Manager, CP-PAL will engage Cutters (contractors) to perform the urgent cutting or removal of vegetation in the following circumstances: o Encroachment or growth that was unanticipated in the Vegetation Execution Plan; o Fallen tree or tree becoming damaged and entering into the Minimum Clearance Space ; o Confirmation by an arborist of an imminent likelihood of contact with electrical assets; and/or o Cutting will be in accordance with clause 13.2 of the Code.



For emergency clearing situations, the Responsible Person or landowner shall be notified as soon as practicable after the event, in accordance with clause 18 (Notification and Record Keeping Requirements For Urgent Cutting Or Removal) of the Code. Notification is provided via a physical drop-off, posting or SMS of a urgent works notice.

IT System / Tool Documentation

174

 

 

VMS Unsuitable Trees and Powerlines on Your Property Notice



Trees and Your Electricity Service Wire Notice



Notice by Publication Guideline

 

Tree and Powerline Pending Work Notification Private Overhead Electric Lines Defect Management Manual

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Step 3 Instruction

Powercor Australia Ltd

Conduct Consultation & Negotiation Prior to any pruning or clearing being undertaken, CP-PAL, or its contractor, shall notify all Affected Persons of the impact of the recommended action and the steps to be taken. In negotiating with Affected Persons for tree removal, the relevant officer is to explore all options within their authority including discussion on the “Planting Trees near Powerlines – A Guide for Home Gardens and Rural Properties” brochure. Engagement & Quality Officers may provide the following goodwill gestures to Affected Persons, as follows:  Provision of Tree Mulch; and  Nursery Vouchers to the value of $20 (the Engagement & Quality Team Leader may increase this offer to a Nursery Voucher to the value of $100). All agreed actions, including whether a voucher has been provided, are to be recorded in the VMS. The provision of discretionary vouchers is to be monitored by the Engagement & Quality Team Leader. While CP-PAL must decide how to maintain the MCS as per the Code, this does not preclude Affected Persons from negotiating conditions under which other solutions may be undertaken. Alternate options for maintaining Minimum Clearance Space s include, but is not limited to a:  Technical Alternative – Engineering activity to alter a powerline where the costs are generally borne by the individual making the request (Technical Alternative Application Form);  Deferral – Vegetation Contract Op Delivery Officer will negotiate with Affected Persons where vegetation action is to be postponed outside breeding season or involves the engagement of specialists for relocation of fauna species; and  Special Permit – Vegetation Contract Op Delivery Officer will negotiate with Affected Persons where there is a requirement to proceed with vegetation action to be undertaken in sensitive areas e.g. areas with native grasslands. IT System / Tool Documentation

175

 

VMS Technical Alternative Application Form



Unsuitable Trees and Powerlines on Your Property Notice



Planting Trees near Powerlines – A Guide for Home Gardens and Rural Properties

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Step 4 Instruction

Powercor Australia Ltd

Exceptions to the MCS as per Clauses 4, 5 & 6 of the Code of Practice. The CitiPower & Powercor process applies to: i) Structural branches around insulated low voltage electric lines in LBRA & HBRA areas. ii) Structural branches around uninsulated low voltage electric lines in LBRA areas. iii) Small branches around insulated low voltage electric lines in LBRA areas. CitiPower and Powercor intends to manage exceptions on certain trees in accordance with the Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015 Code of Practice schedule 1 Part 2 clauses 4, 5 & 6. The exceptions will be used in situations where existing tree branches meeting the exception criteria are within the clearance space and it is not reasonably practical to prune these branches. The branches in this situation pose an acceptable level of risk, within set criteria. It is CitiPower and Powercor’s intention that that where branches greater than 130mm exist which can be pruned or removed without adversely affecting tree health , structure or amenity value then the exception will not be applied. This process to manage exceptions is based on the following criteria: Structural branches around insulated low voltage electric lines. Exemption can only be applied to:  insulated low voltage electric lines  a branch wider than 130mm at the point it enters the MCS  a branch more than 300mm from the line Requirements for branch to be retained:  an annual Arborist (see Procedure Arborist definition) assessment of the branch and tree  the Arborist assessment confirming that the tree does not have any obvious structural defect that could cause the branch to fail and make contact with the line  details of the Arborist assessment recorded in VMS  records will be maintained for a minimum of 5 years The Arborist assessment is based on appraisal of the risks posed by the branch relating to the tree species, size and location. The risk assessment for exceptions for structural branches around insulated low voltage electric lines is based on:  branches greater than 130mm typically have low or no movement and can be intrinsic to the structural integrity of an established tree  insulated lines have reduced risk associated with contact with vegetation. Small branches around insulated low voltage electric lines. Can only be applied to:  insulated low voltage electric lines  a branch less than 10mm at the point enters MCS  growth is from branch that was removed within the last 12 months Structural branches around uninsulated low voltage electric lines in LBRA. Can only be applied to:  uninsulated low voltage electric lines locted in LBRA  a branch wider than 130mm at the point enters MCS  a branch less than 500mm inside MCS  spreaders are fitted to the span if a branch is within the middle two thirds of the span. 1 spreader for a span of 45 metres and 2 spreaders for a span greater than 45metres. Requirements for branch to be retained:  an annual Arborist assessment of the branch and tree

176

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty  

Powercor Australia Ltd

the Arborist assessment confirming that the tree does not have any obvious structural defect that could cause the branch to fail and make contact with the line details of the Arborist assessment recorded in VMS, Records will be maintained for a minimum of 5 years

The Arborist assessment is based on the appraisal of risks posed by the branch relating to the tree species, size and location. When assessment considers the tree contains a defect the defect should be removed or the tree is considered not suitable for application of the exceptions process.

Alternative Compliance Mechanisms  Alternative Compliance Mechanisms such as retrofitting insulation to bare conductors, replacing bare conductors with insulated cable, offsetting conductors to increase the regrowth space may be considered.  Alternative Compliance Mechanism applications must be submitted to ESV by the Vegetation Manager or their delegate with the details of the technical standards and procedures to be adopted for commissioning, installing, operating, maintaining and decommissioning.  Application for approval of an Alternative Compliance Mechanism must be accompanied by a documented risk assessment.  Cost for Alternative Compliance Mechanism solution to be borne by either Affected Person (customer) or Responsible Person (CP-PAL). Technical Alternatives  Where Alternative Compliance Mechanisms are not appropriate, Technical Alternatives such as line retirement, line relocation, underground, may be considered.  Quality & Engagement Team Leader forwards the form to CP-PAL’s Customer Connections team to: o Develop a Technical Alternative; and o Propose a budget quotation for the Technical Alternative.  Quality & Engagement Team Leader provides the proposed Technical Alternative solution and budget quotation to the Affected Person.  Quality & Engagement Team Leader updates the Customer Connections team on receipt agreement from the Affected Person in writing.  Customer Connections plans for the Technical Alternative to be actioned.  Quality & Engagement Team Leader updates the VMS on current status and the agreed vegetation action. For emergency clearing situations, the Responsible Person or landowner shall be notified as soon as practicable after the event, in accordance with clause 18 (Notification and Record Keeping Requirements For Urgent Cutting Or Removal) of the Code. Notification is provided via a physical drop-off, posting or SMS of an urgent works notice.  Technical Alternative s must be viable and an agreement on cost reached with the Affected Person. Cutting  Where cutting action has been agreed, enter into the VMS.

177

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

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Exemption  Vegetation Manager, or their delegate, may apply to Energy Safe Victoria for an Exemption to the Minimum Clearance Space. IT System / Tool Documentation

178

 

VMS Technical Alternative Application Form

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Step 5 Instruction

Consult ESV for direction   



 



The Vegetation Manager will submit Alternative Compliance Mechanism Engineering Solution to ESV. The Vegetation Manager will submit a request for Exemption to ESV. As per CP-PAL’s Complaints and Dispute Resolution Procedure, every attempt will be made to settle issues and avoid unnecessary escalation to an external dispute resolution body. Disputes cost time and money and reflect poorly on CP-PAL’s reputation. CP-PAL offers an internal escalation process to resolve issues, prior to referring the matter to Energy Safe Victoria (ESV). o In the first instance:  The Quality & Engagement Team Leader is to explore all options within their authority including discussion on the “Planting Trees near Powerlines – A Guide for Home Gardens and Rural Properties” brochure. The Quality & Engagement Team Leader may suggest a Technical Alternative, or provide goodwill gestures to Affected Persons, as follows; Provision of Tree Mulch; Tree or Nursery Vouchers – according to their Delegation of Authority. Typically, vouchers to be in the amount of $20 per tree, up to a maximum of $100. Any increase to this amount is at the discretion of the Vegetation Manager. Tree Removal:  Where a resolution is reached, the following steps are to be taken:  Record the agreed action into the VMS and provide a copy of the agreed action to the Affected Person in writing;  Seek confirmation of agreement from the Affected Person, where practicable; and  Update VMS on the agreement (to avoid any future dispute where the agreed action is to take place over a period of time). o Escalation, where resolution has not been achieved:  The issue is escalated to the Vegetation Manager;  The Vegetation Manager may request for:  Further negotiations with Affected Persons (including a request to the Customer Connections team to develop additional Technical Alternatives);  A review with an Arboreal Adviser; or  Immediate escalation to ESV (ESV decisions are final and binding on both CP-PAL and the Affected Persons) or the Energy and Water Ombudsman (Victoria).

IT System / Tool Documentation

179

Powercor Australia Ltd

 

VMS Technical Alternative Application Form



Planting Trees near Powerlines – A Guide for Home Gardens and Rural Properties

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

Chapter 6 Other Responsible Parties (ORP) Notification & Consultation

180

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

6

Powercor Australia Ltd

Manage ORP Notification of Non -C ompliance

Trigger Event This process starts when the following events have occurred: 

A vegetation inspection has identified non-compliant ORP vegetation in a declared area; and



Customer complaints and enquiries relating to ORP vegetation.

Outcomes On completion of this process, the following has been achieved: 

Notification of ORP non-compliant vegetation to the relevant ORP;



Reminder notices for un-actioned non-compliances are notified monthly to the ORP;



ORP councils have confirmed compliance in HBRA Declared Areas by declaration of the fire danger period;



Where un-actioned non-compliances remain outstanding for a period exceeding 90 days of the ORP notification, an escalation notice is issued to the ORP and direction sought on appropriate action from Energy Safe Victoria (ESV).

Records of Outputs The following records are possible outputs generated by this process and are to be retained as evidence: 

A SAP generated Business Intelligence (BI) ORP report detailing non-compliances by Council;



A SAP generated BI spreadsheet detailing individual non-compliances to individual Councils and ESV;



Response reports from Councils notifying actions undertaken in regard to the BI ORP notification;



Monthly reminder notices of un-actioned non-compliances to ORPs (in email form);



Escalation notices detailing non-compliances not actioned for more than 90 days to ESV;



Formal direction from ESV in relation to response to escalation notice; and



Technical Alternative Application Form from Councils for alternative compliance mechanisms.

181

Process Outline M anage ORP Non Complianc e The following flowchart outlines the activities conducted by stakeholders to complete the process.

182

Vegetation Manager Council Liaison Officer Council (ESV)

Conduct Customer Complaints & Consultation for Vegetation Action

Manage ORP Notification of Code Non-Compliance

Conduct Vegetation Inspection Procedure

Managing Customer Complaints & Disputes

ORP NonCompliance Notice

No ORP Action

Reminder Notice

Escalation Notice to ESV After 90 Days

No Go Zone

Council Actions Non-Compliance

Non-Compliance Actioned ORP Response to Notice

ESV Direct

Task Detail

Step 1 Instruction:

Determine ORP Trees Requiring Action & Issue Notification Councils are responsible for vegetation growing within Declared Areas on road reserves or in a Council park. To minimise risk to the safe operation of electric lines due to vegetation within the Minimum Clearance Space , CP-PAL has developed 2 long-term communication strategies: 1. ORP Non-Compliance Notification CP-PAL communicates with Councils and ORPs on local or specific issues relating to compliance. Each month, the Council Liaison Officer will obtain, from the Vegetation Management System, a report (via the BI ORP) on notifications received for required vegetation works for ORPs and issue:  Email to relevant Council to advise of their responsibility to maintain MCS between council trees and powerlines, with a list detailing locations.  An email including a Spreadsheet to ESV containing all notifications for required works for ORPs. 2. Direct Assistance CP-PAL can provide assistance to ORPs (in carrying out their duties) and the general public (with any queries) about the management of vegetation that is in close proximity to powerlines. Copies of Joint CP-PAL & Council Tree Management Plans are located in the Vegetation Management drive > Program Management > ORP for each council. On request, CP-PAL can provide direct assistance to Responsible Persons to safely prune or clear vegetation near powerlines by:  Providing specialist advice on safe work practices;  Advice on sag and sway calculations;  De-energising lines at ORP cost;  Live line clearing assistance at ORP request and cost;  Suppressing the auto reclose feature on HV circuits;  Providing a list of authorised local service providers; and  Explaining methods to identify where cutting and tree removal is required.

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Step 2 Instruction:

Powercor Australia Ltd

ORP Initiated Technical Alternative Request Whilst the ORP must decide how to maintain the MCS, this does not preclude them from seeking alternative compliance mechanisms. Alternatives for maintaining Minimum Clearance Space s include, but is not limited to a:  Technical Alternative – Engineering activity to alter a powerline where the costs are generally borne by the individual making the request (Technical Alternative Application Form).  Deferral – Council may negotiate with relevant parties where vegetation action is to be postponed outside breeding season or involves the engagement of specialists for relocation of fauna species.  Special Permit – Council may consider a special permit where there is a requirement to proceed with vegetation action in sensitive areas e.g. areas with native grasslands. Council to provide ESV approval to CP-PAL of alternatives.

Step 3 Instruction:

Receive Vegetation Cut Date and Vegetation Code from ORP Councils will advise CP-PAL, via spreadsheet, when action has been undertaken and the new Vegetation Code relevant to the actioned vegetation.

Step 4 Instructions:

Update VMS Information received from councils is updated into the Vegetation Management System (with the actual cut date and Vegetation Code) by CP-PAL Vegetation Technical Officer.

Note: In addition to managing the non-compliance process, CP-PAL Council Liaison Officer runs a program involving scheduled meetings with Councils for the purpose of clarifying what the imperatives are for vegetation clearance, consequences of non-compliance (including STPIS claims), assistance that can be provided by CP-PAL, and industry initiatives for vegetation management for collaboratively improving compliance.

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6.1

Powercor Australia Ltd

Conduct Consultation & Notification – ORP Work Instruction

Purpose To provide information to Other Responsible Persons in relation to their requirement to ensure that the vegetation MCS is maintained around CP-PAL assets to comply with the requirements of the Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015. This Work Instruction shall to ensure consistency in the: 

Notification of Other Responsible Persons (ORP) where they are responsible for vegetation by pruning, clearing or other Vegetation activities; and



Management of any disputes to reach agreement on the next course of action.

Applies To This Work Instruction applies to the following: 

Vegetation within CP-PAL Distribution Network or within the vicinity of CP-PAL powerlines;



All CP-PAL personnel who undertake Vegetation roles; and



All CP-PAL contractors engaged to execute Vegetation activities.

Hazards The warnings below alert the user to potential health and safety hazards specific to this Work Instruction: Employees should be aware of the following Policy and Guideline: 

Refer to the Employees Working Alone Policy, section 7.15 of CP-PAL Health and Safety Manual; and



Use of Electronic Devices in Vehicles Guideline.

Records of Output The following records are outputs generated by this process and are to be retained as evidence: 

Notifications to ORPs Responsibilities for Clearing Trees around Powerlines;



Vegetation Management System;



Joint CP-PAL & Council Tree Management Plan; and



Technical Alternative Application Form.

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Process Outline Consultation & Notification -ORP The following flowchart outlines the activities conducted by stakeholders to complete the process. Conduct Consultation & Notification - ORP

#3 Conduct Further Negotiation

Council Liaison Officer

No

#1 Determine ORP Trees requiring Action & Issue Notification

Conduct Vegetation Inspection

#2 Vegetation Acton Agreed?

#7 Update VMS

Yes

Yes

#4 Receive Vegetation Cut Date from ORP

#5 Update VDB

No

186

#6 Cutting Occurred on Scheduled Date?

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

6.2 ORP R E P O R T F O R V E G E T A T I O N W O R K S W I T H I N T H E N O G O ZONE – WORK INSTRUCTION Purpose In an effort to minimise the risk to the safe operation of our network, CP-PAL work with Other Responsible Persons to assist in the management of vegetation on road reserves or council parks that is growing in close proximity to powerlines. Similar assistance may also be requested by private tree owners seeking to do out of cycle works on private trees that extend into the No Go Zone. For this instance CP-PAL may provide assistance as follows:  Specialist advice on safe work practices;  De-energising lines;  Suppressing the auto reclose feature on HV circuits;  Providing a list of authorised local service providers; and  Explaining methods to identify where cutting and tree removal is required. This Work Instruction shall be conducted to ensure that vegetation works that are required to be undertaken by Other Responsible Persons (ORPs) within the No Go Zone is performed safely.

Applies To This Work Instruction applies to the following: 

Job Role – Council Liaison Officer; and



Procedure – Customer Complaints and Consultation for Vegetation Action.

Records of Output The following records are outputs generated by this process: 

Council Requests recorded in the Customer Projects Management System;



Councils invoiced for works undertaken by CP-PAL.

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Process Outline Responding To ORP Request for Services The following flowchart outlines the activities conducted by stakeholders to complete the process

No Go Zone Coord Technical Officer

#1 Receive Request from ORP via CP-PAL website request system

#3 Conduct site visit to address request, determine required service scope and develop work qualification

#4 Receive Agreement from ORP and arrange works

#2 Create CR

Council

Responding to ORP Requests for Vegetation Services

Responding to ORP Requests for Vegetation Services

Task Detail Step 1 Instruction

188

Receive Request from Council Council Liaison Officer receives requests from council, via the Customer Compliance Group, for assistance in clearing vegetation that they cannot cut due to clearance breaches, i.e. <700 mm or overhang. The Council Liaison Officer will determine whether the works require a shutdown (to be managed by the Customer Compliance Group, and referred back to them), Live Line works or works undertaken by the Council Contractor under the control of CP-PAL (both managed by the Vegetation Group). Where Live Line or Council Contractor works are required, the Council Liaison Officer will refer the notification to the Technical Officer to enter into SAP and acknowledge receipt of the request to council. Most requests are for cutting vegetation outside the No Go Zone (council or private) or a plantation owner requesting ACR suppression. Technical Officer will create Customer Request (CR) in the Customer Projects Management System (CPM) and issue acknowledgement notification to Council.

Execute Vegetation Action

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Step 2 Instruction

Step 3 Instruction

Step 4 Instruction

189

Powercor Australia Ltd

Create CR Technical Officer will create Customer Request (CR) in the Customer Projects Management (CPM) System and issue acknowledgement notification to council. The Technical Officer will update the Status to Acknowledged, then to Approval Request. This will send a Workflow to the Council Liaison Officer, as the CPM Responsible Person.

Determine works and issue Quote On receipt of the Workflow, the Council Liaison Officer will scope the required work and obtain all costs for the required works by negotiating costs with contractors for field works and by using the ACS Costing Sheet in CPM (Creating/Attaching Documents). The Council Liaison Officer will update the costs in CPM, approve these costs and issue a Quote and Agreement to the requesting Council or private tree owner.

Receive Agreement from Council or Private Tree Owner and Arrange Works Upon receipt of Agreement from requesting customer, the Council Liaison Officer will update SAP to update the Status, via the Vegetation CPM Workbench, to Customer Accepted. The Council Liaison Officer will then arrange the works.

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

Step 5 Instruction

Receive Confirmation of Completion of Works and refer for invoicing The Council Liaison Officer will advise the Technical Officer by email that the job is completed and that invoicing is required.

Step 6 Instruction

Issue Invoice to Council The Technical Officer will pick up the CR from the To Invoice Tab in the Vegetation CPM Workbench and issue the invoice to the requesting customer, utilising Order Numbers 407461 for Powercor and 407462 for CitiPower.

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PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

Chapter 7 Vegetation Reporting

191

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

7

Powercor Australia Ltd

CONDUCT VEGETATION REPORTING

Trigger Event This process starts when the need arises given the occurrence of one or more factors: 

Regulatory requirement;



Business requirement; and



Weather.

Outcomes On completion of this process, the following has been achieved: 

Updates on the Vegetation Program provided to Energy Safe Victoria (ESV);



Updates on the Vegetation Program provided to the Australian Energy Regulator (AER); and



Updates on the Vegetation Program provided to CP-PAL Management.

Records of Outputs The following records are outputs generated by this process and are to be retained as evidence: 

Reporting of non-compliances for vegetation in HBRA: o BFM Flat File – Weekly during Bushfire Season; and o BFM Reporting Table – Weekly during Bushfire season.



Reporting of Major Electric Company (MEC) Other Responsible Person (ORP) Compliance.



MEC Compliance Reporting.



CP-PAL Weekly Report.



TFB Day Requirements.

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TABLE 1: LIST OF VEGETATION MANAGEMENT REPORTS5 Re p ort Ty p e (C o mp l ian ce, Pro gra m or Sta tu s) Co mp lian c e

In t ern a l / E xt ern a l

Fr eq u en cy

Pu rp o s e

Recipients

In t ern a l, E xt ern a l

We ek ly

Id en ti fy an d r ep o rt t h e n u mb er o f Cod e VP sp a n s wi th in HB RA id en ti fy in g th o s e th at a re ou t s id e th e CP - PAL Ve g eta tion Ma n ag e m en t Pol icy

Bu sh fir e Mit ig ati on (B FM ) Fl at Fi le

Co mp lian c e

In t ern a l, E xt ern a l

We ek ly

Id en ti fy an d r ep o rt t h e n u mb er o f V P sp an s w it h in H BR A id e n ti fyi n g th o s e th at a re ou t si d e th e CP -P AL V eg et ati on Man a g em en t P oli cy

3

Majo r E l e ctr ic Co mp an y ( ME C) Oth er Re sp on sib l e Pe r son (O RP ) Co mp lian c e Re p ort

Co mp lian c e

E xt ern a l

Mon th ly

Mon i tor co mp li an c e of v eg et ati on th at i s th e re sp on sib il ity o f OR P in clu d in g th e p er fo r man c e an d ou tc om e s of th e Con su lt ation p ro c e s s

4

ME C Tran s iti on & E x e mp ti on Co mp lian c e Re p ort

Co mp lian c e

In t ern a l

Mon th ly Qu art e rly

Mon th ly –R ep ort th e p r ogr e s s o f HB RA an d LB R A tran si tio n p ro gr a m to a p p ro v ed ex e mp t ion s ; Qu art er ly E xe mp tion p r o gr am p ro gr e s s, Ve g etat ion O v erh an g in HB RA ; M ajo r fau l t s ( d e f i n e r e sp on sib il ity fo r ve g eta tion cl ear in g) an d ma jor s af e ty i s su e s in cl u d in g l in e con ta ct s

5

We ek ly Rep ort

Statu s

In t er n a l

We ek ly

Re p ort Pr og ra m Statu s f or K ey ar ea s :

 ESV  BFM Manager  Head of Network Compliance  Vegetation Manager  BFM Manager  Head of Network Compliance  Vegetation Manager  ESV  Network Safety Manager  Head of Network Compliance  Vegetation Manager  ESV  Head of Network Compliance  Network Safety Manager  Vegetation Manager  GM Electricity

#

Re p ort N a m e

1

E SV W e ekly Su m me r fi re rep ort in g C P PAL - T OA - TO A 2

2

5

193

All reports are VMS generated and/or compiled by Technical Officers.

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

#

Re p ort N a m e

Re p ort Ty p e (C o mp l ian ce, Pro gra m or Sta tu s)

In t ern a l / E xt ern a l

Powercor Australia Ltd

Fr eq u en cy

Pu rp o s e

Recipients

Su m mary Da sh b oar d - tr af fi c l ig h t r atin g k ey ar e as an d re su lt s for S af ety , F in an ce , C o mp l ian ce , Cu tt in g an d In s p e ct ion Key R e su lt Rat in g l eg en d Gr e en - M ee tin g o r ex ce ed i n g ex p e ct ed p e rf or m an c e le v el ta rg et s or m e etin g th e e xp ect ati on s o f H e ad o f Net wo rk Co mp lia n c e

Networks  Head of Network Compliance  Vegetation Manager

Am b e r - Req u ir ed p er fo rm an c e le v e l s ar e n ot b ein g m et b y a max i mu m o f 10 % of tar ge t o r ar ea o f foc u s Re d - F ai lin g to ach i e v e exp e ct ed p er fo r man ce l e v el s b y mo re th an 1 0 % o f ta rg et or n o t m ee tin g th e exp e ctat ion s of H ead of Net w ork Co mp li an c e Sa fe ty - Tab l e -Sa f ety C omp lia n c e Th e n u mb er o f h a zard s an d in cid en t s id en t i fi ed b y As p lu n d h b y w e ek an d Y T D De tai l s for L TI Si gn if ic an t In c id en t, M in or In cid e n t an d Hazar d s r ep o rt ed i n A sp lu n d h - P o we rc or N ea r M is s Ma st er R eg i st er an d As p lu n d h w e ekly r ep o rt Co m m en t s Fin a n c ial E xp en d itu r e Graph -Vegetation Monthly Expenditure yyyy :- Defines actual cumulative expenditure by month v budget target Vertical axis – Budget expenditure $ Hori zon t al a xi s – m on th ; c o mm en t s; Re su lt T ab l e Mon th an d Y TD - ra te d p er K ey R e s u lt Rat in g l eg en d Cutting Progress Graph – Spans Actioned per week: Defines spans cut, targeting rate, stretch target and base original target

194

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

#

Re p ort N a m e

Re p ort Ty p e (C o mp l ian ce, Pro gra m or Sta tu s)

In t ern a l / E xt ern a l

Powercor Australia Ltd

Fr eq u en cy

Pu rp o s e

Vertical axis – Number of spans Cut/week Horizontal axis – week Graph – Cumulative Total Cut Spans v Target Defines spans cut count by week and cumulative value cut YTD and target rate Vertical axis – Count spans Cut – cumulative, Horizontal axis - week Comments Tab l e - R e su lt Mon th an d Y T D - r at ed p er K ey R e su lt Rat in g l eg en d Con t ra cto r cu tti n g re s o u rc e vo lu m e r ep o rt Qu al ity o f S er v ic e /d ata Cu tt in g Qu a li ty Summary table –PAL/CP Quality Audit tracking; Contractor name, result by months YTD and most recent week % audit pass/fail month and week Comments Compliance Codes and Policy – comment Table - Count of VP spans Count week start, count found, count actioned, count end of week: VP1, VP2 and VP3 HBRA VP CodesLBRA Total Comment – program status Graph – HBRA VP Codes spans: existing & new YTD In s p e ct ion Pro gr e s s Graph – Cumulative Inspection- spans inspected Volume v Target Count spans inspected v target Vertical axis – Number of spans inspected/week Horizontal axis – week Tab l e - R e su lt Mon th an d Y T D - r at ed p er K ey R e su lt Rat in g l eg en d Co m m en t – st atu s v tar g et v p r o gr e s s; r ea son f o r tab le

195

Recipients

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

#

Re p ort N a m e

Re p ort Ty p e (C o mp l ian ce, Pro gra m or Sta tu s)

In t ern a l / E xt ern a l

Powercor Australia Ltd

Fr eq u en cy

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

6

196

T FB Day

Statu s

In t ern a l

As Re q u ir ed

Pu rp o s e

Recipients

ratin g, in sp ec tion q u a lit y, sy s te m p e rf or man c e, wo rkl oad Con t ra cto r in sp e cti on r e sou rc e vo lu m e r ep o rt Lid a r – P rog r e ss R ep o rt ( wh e n in p ro gr e s s) – d at a cap tu r e, d at a r e ce ip t an d fo r matt in g/ load in g p r ogr e s s Ri sk s an d I s su e s As s e s s e d in c on ju n ct ion w ith V eg eta tion r is k r e gi st er an d r ep o rt ed wh en ap p r op ri at e Oth er Ac ti v iti e s/ ar ea s – OR P, sy st e m, e v en t s, fo ru m s, re gu l ati on , p roc e s s, e xa mp l e s of p r e an d p o st c u ttin g Goo d N e w s sto ry o f th e w e ek o r exa mp l e o f p r e an d p os t cu tti n g Pro gra m Sta tu s VP cod e s b y R eg ion ou t si d e Po li cy – Ob se r v er L i st

 Head of Network Compliance  Network Safety Manager  Bushfire Mitigation Manager  Veg Manager

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

7.1

Powercor Australia Ltd

Compile Vegetation Reports – Work Instruction

Purpose To provide accurate information on the Vegetation Management Program to the business, Energy Safe Victoria (ESV) and the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) within required timeframes.

Applies To This Work Instruction applies to the following: 

Job Role – Technical Officer, Vegetation Management; and



Procedure – Conduct Vegetation Reporting Procedure.

Records of Output The following records are outputs generated by this process and are to be retained as evidence: 

Reporting of non-compliances for vegetation in HBRA: 

BFM Flat File – Weekly during Bushfire Season; and



BFM Reporting Table – Weekly during Bushfire season.



Reporting of Major Electric Company (MEC) Other Responsible Person (ORP) Compliance.



Weekly Report (Dashboard of stats).



Monthly Report

Reporting to be maintained in the Vegetation Management Drive > Reporting > under the Current Year.

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Topic Information

BFM Reporting

The BFM Flatfile lists the number spans with VP Codes in High Bushfire Risk Areas that do not comply with the CP-PAL Vegetation Management Policy, per Maintenance Planning Group. Any span outside Policy is managed by issuing Cutting Notifications to inspectors to undertake a Risk Assessment on required cycles. A report is generated from the Workbench to ensure compliance with Policywith Policy. 

Refer to Obtaining a List of VP codes spans from VMS.



This list can then be filtered to determine the Priority, per column Notification User Status. All VP spans are Risk Assessed to determine the priority. The Risk Assessment date is recorded as the Required Start date and the required timeframe for Action Require (as per Policy) is managed by the Required End date field.

Results are recorded in the ESV Weekly Summer fire reporting for CP-PAL-TOATOA2

MEC ORP Compliance Reporting

The MEC ORP Compliance Report will be run via BI Reporting monthly. The interim process for this report is as follows: Total Spans with Vegetation in MCS at End of Previous Month Previous MEC ORP Compliance Report located in the Vegetation Management drive > Reports > EN Vegetation > MEC > MEC ORP Compliance Report Total Spans with Vegetation in MCS Identified During the Month All Spans identified during inspection will automatically generate a VX Notification. Generate a list of all VX Notifications for ORP in IW29, with the following requirements: Notification Type = VX Notification Date = Remove From Date Created On = Period required, eg 1/1/2016 to 31/1/2016 Coding = ORP as follows:

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Total Spans with Vegetation in MCSat End of Month Generate Report in CL30N

Execute

Weekly Report

Safety Hazards Number of Contractor Safety Hazards Reported per month for Vegetation Management. This information is provided by Asplundh to the VegTech inbox and recorded in the Weekly Report. Request for this information can be made to: Michael Hegeman, Operations Manager Asplundh Tree Experts Australia ph: +61 2 4353 5657| m: +61 409 739 663

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[email protected] | www.asplundh.com.au

Financials Vegetation Monthly Expenditure to be obtained from Finance by Vegetation Manager.

HBRA VP Codes Records the number of VP Codes in HBRA each Monday. Refer to Obtaining a List of VP spans from VMS The total VP spans in HBRA is recorded in the Weekly Report.

HBRA Compliance VP Codes Refer to Obtaining a List of VP spans from VMS (refer below) and the BFM Reporting Table

Inspection VMS Inspection Figures are obtained from Operational Report in the Workbench as follows.

Click Std. SAP Report and select the Vegetation Operation Report. To obtain a list of all Inspections completed within a date range, select:   

Completion by date = Select the date range required (i.e., month of January) Notification Type VI Execute

A total list of Inspections completed will be generated.

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PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

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Cutting Cutting Figures are obtained from Operational Report in the Workbench.

Click Std. SAP Report and select the Vegetation Operation Report. To obtain a list of all Cutting completed within a date range, select:   

Completion by date = Select the date range required (i.e., month of January) Coding = CUT Execute

Obtaining a List of VP spans from VMS Obtain list of all Code VP spans via Annual Planning in the VMS

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PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

202



Exclude Deletion Flag



Remove Inspection From date



Click on Valuation



Select VP Codes, include M for managed spans.

Powercor Australia Ltd

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

Chapter 8 Reference Material & Templates

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PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

8.

204

Reference Material & Templates 











Powercor Australia Ltd

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

8.1

Powercor Australia Ltd

Management of Outstanding Spans During the Fire Season Guideline

Topic Information

Definition of an Outstanding Span

Any span Vegetation Coded a VP within the HBRA (Hazardous Bushfire Risk Area) during the fire season is considered an Outstanding Span.

Managing Outstanding Spans





All VP spans must be managed in according with the Vegetation Management Policy; o

Risk Assessed

o

Cleared

o

Observers posted as required

Outstanding Spans will be cleared in order of priority in line with the Vegetation Management Policy



Process to manage Outstanding Spans When a span is unable to be cleared or re-coded, the span will be assessed and managed as per the Vegetation Management Policy. Note; Refer to current approved policy on CP PAL “Source” data management system, printed documents/or uncontrolled electronic versions may not reflect current policy. 1.

Record and Assess o

Outstanding Spans will be assessed for fire risk and results recorded o

This process will require Inspectors (contractors) to assess the fire threat of the span and consider: -

o

The voltage of the affected conductor, i.e. HV or LV The ability of the tree to contact the line  Species of tree – can it move in the wind?  Size of tree – can it contact the line allowing for maximum sag and sway?  State of tree – is it hazardous and likely to fail and contact conductors? Actual vegetation clearance verses required vegetation clearance Level of risk of fire ignition caused by infringing vegetation and If LV, assess likelihood of the tree causing a conductor clash Span details collated for each span includes: -

o o

205

Vegetation Code and Priority Date of last inspection For internal use, additional requirements may be collected for clearing such as climber required or walk in cut and stack etc. Span details are to be recorded in the Mobility Devices which will directly load into the Vegetation Management System (VMS) Once a declaration date has been reached, CP/PAL will extract a list of outstanding spans with VP codes in HBRA. This Outstanding Span List will be managed as per the

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

Vegetation Management Policy.

Priority Definitions – Vegetation Code definitions can be found documented in the Vegetation Management Policy

TFB Day Recommendation 

As part of the risk assessment process, the CP/PAL Vegetation Manager will provide a recommendation for action should the span remain outstanding on a TFB Day



TFB Day Recommendation o

o

Recommendation to be made applying one of the following controls, based on the site conditions and Priority Rating. Recommendations as follows: Cut Tree (make compliant if practical) Cut Tree (make fire safe/ reduce risk) Shut Down (i.e. overhang requires shut down to cut) Post Observer Live Line Disconnection of line (leave off supply on TFB Day) Reassess on day via patrolling Do Nothing (Little to no risk of starting a fire) Should a span possess an unacceptable safety risk to an Observer due to limited vehicle access, no vehicle access etc. on a “Code Red” or “Extreme” fire danger day, Observers will not be posted due to heightened risk to Observer safety. CP/PAL will where possible, will conduct an assessment and nominate a TFB Day Recommendation for outworking prior to 10am on the TFB Day

Managing Outstanding Spans on a TFB Day DURING the Declared Fire Season Upon the declaration of a TFB Day by the Country Fire Authority (CFA) the following process will take place: 

CP/PAL’s Vegetation Manager, or delegate, to advise all Contractors of TFB via SMS or other appropriate method. Contractors may also be notified via other means including the CFA or media



CP/PAL’s Vegetation Manager, or delegate, request the Technical Officers generate a list of spans with VP Codes in HBRA that will include Feeders within the CP/PAL network or as required.



Upon approval from CP/PAL’s Vegetation Manager, all Inspectors/Cutting resource may arrange to continue inspection/clearing outstanding trees in the affected area with an appropriately considered risk assessment.



CP/PAL’s Vegetation Manager will develop an “Observer List” for the purpose of scheduling observation or patrol during the TFB Day. The Vegetation Contract Op Delivery Officer sends to the TFB Day Coordinator. o

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Note: On Code Red days, Observers will complete the Risk assessment using Job Safety and Environmental Assessment (JSEA) before entry into an area

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considered high risk o

If the Job Safety and Environmental Assessment (JSEA) indicates there is an unacceptable safety risk to the Observer, then entry is to be delayed until the risk subsides to an acceptable level

o

Where Observer cannot be deployed due to an unacceptable risk level, the Inspector will advise PAL to enable them to consider an alternative mitigation action



CP/PAL’s Vegetation Manager will utilize the VMS to establish what outstanding spans are, outlining spans to be inspected, locations of Observers etc.



CP/PAL’s Vegetation Manager will direct and advise all Inspectors (Contractors) regarding the approval of the plan as soon as possible



Observers are to report any trees that may contact conductors to CP/PAL’s Network System Controller as identified



If Observers are required, Observers are to report their location and findings every hour where mobile coverage is available. Where mobile coverage is unavailable, Observers are to re-locate to an area where coverage can be secured for the purpose of reporting in to CP/PAL’s Vegetation Manager. Alternatively VMS maybe utilized to monitor locations.



All Inspectors (Contractors) are to record a log of events and make available to CP/PAL’s Vegetation Manager

Use of Observers 

The role of the ‘Observer’ is to be stationed at a position or to undertake regular patrols of a section of line to observe a particular potential hazard involving a CP/PAL line. If a risk assessment identifies an unacceptable level of risk for entry into an area, the spans will be nominated and reported to CP/PAL’s Vegetation Manager for CP/PAL to consider an alternative mitigation action o





207

Risk assessment is to be assessed and documented using Job Safety and Environmental Assessment (JSEA)

CP/PAL’s Vegetation Manager (delegate) is responsible for: o

Recruitment of Observers

o

Coordinating of risk assessments for Code Red days

o

Monitoring of Observer welfare

o

Continuity of Observers

o

Stand-down of Observers after notification from TFB Day Coordinator

Prior to commencing work as an Observer, Inspectors must be aware of the following guidelines and requirements o

Health & Safety of the Observer must be of the highest priority and will not be compromised. Observers are to adhere to Section 7.15, Health & Safety Manual – Employees Working Alone Policy

o

Observer must have regular contact with the CP/PAL Vegetation Manager via Mobile Phone or other communication means and must report to the CP/PAL hourly

o

On Code Red days, Observers to complete the Working Alone Hazard Identification & Risk Assessment Worksheet before entry into an area considered high risk. If the Working Alone Hazard Identification & Risk Assessment Worksheet indicates there is an unacceptable safety risk to the Observer, then entry is to be delayed until the risk subsides to an acceptable level. Where an observer cannot be deployed due to an unacceptable risk level , CP/PAL’s Vegetation Manager is to consider an alternative mitigation action

o

On Code Red days where the risk is assessed at an acceptable level, or on days other than a Code Red day, so long as the Observers safety can be ensured,

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Observers are to patrol high priority spans or be stationed on site on the TFB day and conclude following advice from the relevant Coordinator o

Observers to commence patrols by 10:00am

o

CP/PAL reserve the right to cease patrols where it has been assessed that there is an unacceptable risk to the Observer

o

If the role of Observer is to be undertaken by a single person work party, then adherence to CP/PAL’s Working Alone policy is mandatory

o

Observers are to ensure they have the following items with them: -

o

Mobile Phone or other adequate communication device (ensure phones are charged) Suitable fire suppression equipment i.e. Knapsack or stored pressure fire extinguisher of at least 9 liters capacity Adequate food and water Adequate amount of fuel VMS mobility device Consideration is given to the personal safety and effect of temperature and humidity on Observers. Inspectors (contractors) will consult CP/PAL’s Vegetation Manager in instances where such issues impact or will likely impact the ability of Observers to safely perform their function

o

In the event that an Observer reports the likelihood of contact between vegetation and CP/PAL power lines or potential failure of maintenance items, Inspectors are to immediately report this issue to CP/PAL’s Vegetation Manager (Delegate)

o

CP/PAL’s Network System Controller will determine a course of action to minimise the risk of causing a fire. Such action should include consideration to isolating sections of the CP/PAL power line

o

Locations must be assessed with regard to the safe evacuation of the Observer

Actions for Inspectors (contractors) under Emergency Conditions Any employee caught in an emergency situation should follow procedures as per the training carried out for Maintain Safety at an Incident Scene. 

Inspection of Area Affected by Fire o

Where a fire has occurred in the vicinity of CP/PAL assets, vegetation may be damaged and require action after the fire is extinguished to avoid contact between vegetation and powerlines

o

Prior to entering the fire area to assess the status of trees, the following steps must be undertaken: -

o o

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CP/PAL’s Vegetation Manager to receive formal acknowledgment that fire has been extinguished and area is safe to enter. This information is to be obtained from the appropriate emergency service (e.g. CFA, DEPI (formally DSE), SES) in control of activities in the fire area. In the event of a staging area being set up by any emergency service, all entry into the fire area must be coordinated through the staging area Contractors to inspect trees near CP/PAL assets in the affected area, assessing MCS and Hazard Space Inspectors to report to CP/PAL’s Vegetation Manager of status and arrange action on trees as appropriate All works must be in accordance with CP/PAL’s Total Fire Ban Day Action Plan CP/PAL acknowledges that Inspectors (contractors) reserve the right to cease patrols where they have assessed that there is an unacceptable risk to the Observer

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Appendix 1: Country Fire Authority (CFA) Districts and Municipalities  Total Fire Bans are declared by district 

There are now 9 Total Fire Ban districts across the whole State Victoria as per below. A TFB can also be declared for the whole state of Victoria.

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16 Appendix 2: Fire Danger Rating What does it mean? These are the worse conditions for a bush or grass fire. Homes are not designed or constructed to withstand fires in these conditions The safest place to be is away from high risk bushfire areas Expect extremely hot, dry and windy conditions. If a fire starts and takes hold, it will be uncontrollable, unpredictable and fast moving. Spot fires will start, move quickly and come from many directions. Homes that are situated and constructed or modified to withstand a bushfire, that are well prepared and actively defended, may provide safety. You must be physically and mentally prepared to defend in these conditions Expect hot, dry and possibly windy conditions. If a fire starts and takes hold, it may be uncontrollable. Well prepared homes that are actively defended can provide safety. You must be physically and mentally prepared to defend in these conditions. If a fire starts, it can most likely be controlled in these conditions and homes can provide safety. Be aware of how fires can start and minimise the risk. Controlled burning off may occur in these conditions if it is safe - check to see if permits apply.

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Example - Map with a Total Fire Ban

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Appendix 3: Key External Contact Details (CFA)

No. 1. 2.

Contact CFA 24-hour Headquarters Duty Officer

(03) 92628415

CFA Headquarters 8 Lakeside Drive Burwood East Victoria 3151

(03) 9262 8444

3.

Information on Total Fire Ban Days and Fire Restrictions Victorian Bushfire Information Line

4.

For emergency police, fire or ambulance attendance

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Contact Details

1800 240 667

Triple Zero (000)

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Appendix 4: CFA State Wide Area Locations and Contact Details Barwon South West Region Location: District 4 Headquarters

District 5 Headquarters

Address:

38 Henty Street Casterton, Victoria 3311

Postal Address:

PO Box 207 Casterton, Victoria 3311

Cnr Coleraine Road & Mt Bainbridge Road Hamilton, Victoria 3300 PO Box 389 Hamilton, Victoria 3300

Phone:

(03) 5581 1114

(03) 5551 1500

Fax:

(03) 5581 2277

(03) 5551 1582

District 6 Headquarters

115B Bromfield Street Colac, Victoria 3250 PO Box 298 Colac, Victoria 3250 (03) 5232 1923 (03) 5231 1370

District 7 Headquarters and Barwon South West Region Headquarters 61 Separation Street North Geelong, Victoria 3215 PO Box 586 North Geelong, Victoria 3215 (03) 5240 2700 (03) 5277 1515

Hume Region Location:

District 12 Headquarters

Address:

54 Tallarook Street Seymour, Victoria 3660

Postal Address:

PO Box 369 Seymour, Victoria 3661

Phone: Fax:

(03) 5799 1517 (03) 5792 3266

Gippsland Region Location:

District 23 Headquarters

District 24 Headquarters

1 Smythe Street Wodonga, Victoria 3690

195-205 Numurkah Road Shepparton, Victoria 3630

1 Ely Street Wangaratta, Victoria 3677

PO Box 932 Shepparton, Victoria 3630 (03) 5833 2400 (03) 5833 2482

PO Box 565 Wangaratta, Victoria 3677 (03) 5721 4122 (03) 5721 3497

Same as above address (02) 6056 3022 (02) 6024 7821

Phone:

PO Box 419 Warragul, Victoria 3820 (03) 5623 1180

District 10 Headquarters and Gippsland Region Headquarters Level 3, Port of Sale Business Centre Foster Street Sale, Victoria 3850 PO Box 1212 Sale, Victoria 3850 (03) 5149 1000

130 Macleod Street Bairnsdale, Victoria 3875 Same as above address (03) 5152 3048

Fax:

(03) 5623 6061

(03) 5149 1082

(03) 5152 5007

Address: Postal Address:

District 9 Headquarters

District 22 Headquarters and Hume Region Headquarters

24 Normanby Street Warragul, Victoria 3820

District 11 Headquarters

Appendix 4: CFA State Wide Area Locations and Contact Details (cont’d)

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Loddon Mallee Region Location: District 2 Headquarters

Address: Postal Address: Phone: Grampians Region Location:

District 18 Headquarters and Loddon Mallee Region Headquarters

45 Chapel Street Bendigo, Victoria 3550

120 Curlewis Street Swan Hill, Victoria 3585

PO Box 3 Bendigo Central, Victoria 3552 (03) 5430 2200

PO Box 558 Swan Hill, Victoria 3585 (03) 5036 2800

District 15 Headquarters and Grampians Region Headquarters

District 16 Headquarters

Address:

19 Learmonth Road Wendouree, Victoria 3355

390 Barkly Street Ararat, Victoria 3377

Postal Address:

PO Box 222W Ballarat West, Victoria 3353

PO Box 16 Ararat, Victoria 3377

Phone: Fax:

(03) 5329 5500 (03) 5329 5582 Fax: (03) 5442 2246

(03) 5352 5516 (03) 5352 5517 (03) 5036 2882

Powercor Australia Ltd

District 20 Headquarters 56 Fitzroy Street Kerang, Victoria 3579 PO Box 152 Kerang, Victoria 3579 (03) 5450 3406

District 17 Headquarters 19 McLachlan Street Horsham, Victoria 3400 PO Box 419 Horsham, Victoria 3402 (03) 5382 6672 (03) 5382 2774 (03) 5452 2531

Southern Metropolitan Region Location:

District 8 Headquarters and Southern Metropolitan Region Headquarters

Address:

120-122 Princes Highway Dandenong, Victoria 3175

Postal Address:

Same as above address

Phone:

(03) 9767 1800

Fax:

(03) 9767 1880

Northern and Western Metropolitan Region District 14 Headquarters and Northern and Western Metropolitan Region Location: Headquarters Address: 251 High Street Melton, Victoria 3337 Postal Address:

PO Box 50 Melton, Victoria 3337

Phone:

(03) 8746 1400

Fax:

(03) 8746 1480

Appendix 4: CFA State Wide Area Locations and Contact Details (cont’d)

Eastern Metropolitan Region Location:

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District 13 Headquarters and Eastern Metropolitan Region Headquarters

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Address:

18-22 Lakeview Drive Lilydale, Victoria 3140

Postal Address:

Same as above address

Phone:

(03) 8739 1300

Fax:

(03) 8739 1382

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8.2

Powercor Australia Ltd

Quality Review Schedule

Topic Information 

Quality Reviews are structured along the lines of quality, OHS and Environmental systems: o Reviews will be conducted by personnel with suitable training and background. Where appropriate, additional EN management may also be involved in the Review; o All reports to be formally documented and retained by EN; and o Action items arising will be controlled through to rectification, implementation and closeout, via the program Issues Register.



Additional Quality Reviews may be included into the Vegetation Quality Reviews Schedule, where required.

Quality Review Scope and Description



Determination of the Quality Review Scope: o Quality Review Scope will be approved by the Vegetation Manager; and o Quality Review Scope will incorporate an office (reference material) and a field component. Field components should include at least 2 different locations and be spread across a rural (HBRA) and urban (LBRA) location, where applicable. Urban locations could also be separated across CP-PAL.



Coordination of Quality Officers: o The Engagement & Quality Team Leader will coordinate the completion of the Quality Review Schedule using suitably qualified Engagement & Quality Officers (Quality Officers); and o The Engagement & Quality Team Leader and Quality Officers (internal or contracted) are responsible for the conduct of the Vegetation Quality Reviews.

Quality Review Stakeholder Reporting Structure



Performance of Vegetation Quality Review: o All Vegetation Quality Reviews to be undertaken, whether Safety Observations or Quality Reviews are managed and reported as follows:  Issues Register – Safety, Employee Accreditations, Data Management.  Vegetation Management System – Quality related review, i.e. quality of inspection, cutting reporting works.  Recommendation of Vegetation Action: o The Vegetation Contract Ops Delivery Officer will review the information collected by the Quality Officers and in consultation with the Quality Officers, recommend appropriate Vegetation Actions to the Vegetation Manager; and o All Vegetation Actions will be translated into the weekly Operations Meeting agendas. Completion of these Vegetation Actions will be tracked and monitored through weekly Operations Meetings and completion documented in the Issues Register.

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Quality Review Inspector Requirements and Process to Undertake Tasks



The Quality Review scope will be provided to all completing reviews by the Engagement & Quality Team Leader.



The process to inspect spans will be identified by the Contract. The system, will determine where a Quality Review will be undertaken i.e. region, feeder and individual spans: o Ad hoc inspections will occur as per the Vegetation Manager’s or their delegate’s determination. Quality Reviews are a visual check for compliance as per the Code of Practice contained in the Schedule of the Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations and works undertaken by the works crew.



Quality Review

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

The Engagement and Quality Officer is to undertake the following as part of a Quality Review: o The Engagement and Quality (E&Q) Officer is to have a Mobility Device to enable an inspection as per the direction of the Vegetation Manager or their delegate. o Vegetation Manager or their delegate will provide the location of where the inspection is to be undertaken. o Compiling of the data is the responsibility of the E&Q Officer. o Complete a Job Safety Environmental Assessment (JSEA) form. The JSEA is to allow the inspector to identify any hazards that may be present while carrying out their work. - Completion of the Job Safety Environmental Assessment (JSEA) form should be undertaken at the beginning of the shift before they start driving and is to be updated as required at each site visited. o The E&Q Officer will review the span that has been identified as per the Mobility Device and will stop the vehicle in a safe place (refer Appendix 3: General Traffic Management Plan). - The Officer will exit the vehicle with appropriate Mobility Device to undertake a visual assessment of the span. - Once the Quality Review is completed and information is gathered the E&Q Officer is to enter the vehicle to move on to the next span. o If a span is identified whilst the inspector is driving to their intended destination the inspector is to stop and park the vehicle in a safe position and undertake an inspection as per the above dot point: - Driving and assessing is not a safe work practice and should not be undertaken; and - There is no need to lean forward in the car, look up and rotate, especially while driving.



Non-conformances shall be determined in strict accordance with the Contract scope of works. Any significant issues identified, which fall outside of the Quality

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Results (Nonconformances, Observations and Improvement Opportunities)



218

Review scope, may be recorded as Observations.. o A non-conformance is defined as failure to comply or achieve the base expressed requirements of any: - Regulation; - Contract clause; - Policy; - Work Instruction; - Procedure; - Contract OH&S plan; and - Control Measure. An Improvement Opportunity is defined as a recommendation which in the Quality Officer’s opinion, will promote further investigation and development to either reduce the risk profile, produce higher levels of compliance or continuous process improvement.



The outworking of the Vegetation Quality Review Schedule may identify recommendations and improvement opportunities for the next review of the Vegetation Quality Review Schedule.



Improvements could be the result of business developments or regulatory change.



Provides for a comprehensive list of Quality Review findings and recommendations for all Vegetation Quality Review covered within this Vegetation Quality Review Schedule.



All Quality Reviews completed in this Vegetation Quality Review Schedule must be approved by the Vegetation Manager, or delegate, prior to the issuing of any action items and at the close out of the Quality Review.



All supporting documentation, including that for action item closeouts prior to the final closeout of any Quality Review will be maintained in the Vegetation Management System or Issues Register.

Issues Register and Vegetation Management System

Approval of Vegetation Quality Review

Powercor Australia Ltd

VEGETATION QUALITY REVIEW SCHEDULE YEAR: 20xx/20xx (E.g. Quality Review for the years 2012-2015 is to be defined annually as EN2015 – x, EN2015 – x, EN2016 – Quality Review number obtained from the Quality Review summary log) RISK AREAS Safe Work Methods  Manual Handling  Working at Heights  Working Alone  Training and Authorisations (ID Cards)  PPE  Work site controls – Supervision, HAC sheets  Safety Observers  Working near powerlines – auto reclose, shutdowns, electrocution  Traffic Management  Environmental o Weed Management o Herbicide/Chemicals o Noise Safe Vegetation Clearing Work Methods  Climbing (work in trees)  Ground-based work  Live Line clearing Equipment Vehicles and Plant  Plant and Equipment – appropriate for task, working condition  EWP’s  Chipper/Hogger and stump grinding  Chainsaws

219

JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEC

1x Northern

1x Northern

1x Northern

1x Northern

1x Northern

1x Northern

1x Northern

1x Northern

1x Northern

1x Northern

1x Northern

1x Northern

1x Southern

1x Southern

1x Southern

1x Southern

1x Southern

1x Southern

1x Southern

1x Southern

1x Southern

1x Southern

1x Southern

1x Southern

RISK AREAS

JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEC

3x Weekly Per Contracto r

3x Weekly Per Contracto r

 Extension & other cutting tools Unique machinery – slashing, hedging

Technical Officer

Inductions/Exit Procedures Vegetation Quality Audit  Transition  Summer Compliance  Compliance  Field Assessment Contractor Quality Audits to be completed weekly throughout the year per random samples generated from the Workbench

3x Weekly Per Contract-or

3x Weekly Per Contractor

Technical Officer

3x Weekly Per Contractor

3x Weekly Per Contractor

3x Weekly Per Contract or

Insurance  Coverage  Currency Accreditations  Health and Safety  Quality  Environmental

220

3x Weekly Per Contracto r

3x Weekly Per Contracto r

3x Weekly Per Contracto r

3x Weekly Per Contracto r

PAL Environm ental Team

PAL Systems Quality Review  General Compliance  Vegetation Codes and Accuracy  Stakeholder Management Plan  Defect Reporting

3x Weekly Per Contractor

1x Northern 1x Southern

1x Northern 1x Southern

Technic al Officer

Technic al

Technical Officer Inspector / Cutter

RISK AREAS

JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

Officer Health and Safety – CONTRA CT SYSTEM S QUALIT Y REVIEW

1x Northern 1x Southern 200 spans

Data Management  Data Systems  Data Accuracy

Vegetation Service Request Compliance

221

1x Southern

1x Southern

OCT

NOV Stakehold er environm ental sensitive area informati on collection & records

Contract ed to NSCA

1x Norther n 1x Souther n 200 spans

SEP

Technical Officer – Internal Quality Review 2013 Data Systems Quality Review

1x Northern 1x Southern 200 spans

1x Northern

1x Northern

DEC

OFFICE BASED MONITORING AND CONTROLS RISK AREAS CUSTOMER RESPONSIBILITIES  Notification and Consultation  Service Cable defect notification  PEL notification

Managed by established business protocols – Customer Service Tracking, for vegetation work, is carried on a monthly basis.

EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT AND HEALTH AND SAFETY       

Subcontractor management Drugs and Alcohol Inductions Environmental Incident Investigation – LTI, MTI, First Aid, Hazards Fatigue - Driving, Heat/Cold, Work/Rest time, Working Alone Public Safety

Controlled via monthly Operational Meeting between Electricity Networks and the Inspector/ Cutter (contractor). Standard Agenda Item – issues to be discussed minuted and actions items addressed.

PROGRAMS, CUSTOMER INTERACTION AND REPORTING    

Customer Notification Customer Satisfaction/Complaints Inspectors/ Cutters (contractors) Monthly and Annual Reports Programs, Planning, Effectiveness including; o Herbicide o Service Cables o Live Line Clearing  Incidents – reporting, faults, fires etc.

Controlled via monthly Operational Meeting between Electricity Networks and the Inspector/ Cutter (contractor). Standard Agenda Item – issues to be discussed minuted and actions items addressed.

ELECTRICITY NETWORKS MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES Regulatory Obligations

Compliance to Regulatory Obligations reported as required by business protocols – field compliance undertaken

Financial Management

Controlled via monthly section finance meeting – reported as required at senior management level

Reliability Impacts

Managed by monthly reporting and established contract performance measures – based on business reliability performance expectations

OTHER QUALITY REVIEW PROGRAMS Powercor Vegetation Quality Reviews

20% compliance Quality Reviews of Powercor Fire Area – conducted by Manager Bushfire Mitigation

Powercor Line Condition Quality Reviews

Fire season compliance Quality Reviews across 5% of the Powercor Fire Area - conducted by Manager Bushfire Mitigation

Enhanced Vegetation Quality Reviews

Targeted fire season Quality Reviews in high risk areas as annual advised by CFA

Energy Safe Victoria - Field and Office

Due annually through October to November – managed by ESV

Senior Management

Scheduled annually in November – managed by Electricity Networks BFM Group

222

RISK AREAS Ad hoc and Chance Quality Reviews

223

Vegetation Management Groups additional Quality Reviews as appropriate

I

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17 APPENDIX 3: GENERAL TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT PLAN

Note

225



Park Vehicle clear of moving traffic



Vehicle mounted rotating amber flashing lights to be in use



Use vehicle as a barrier



Suitable Hi-Vis vest or uniform to be worn



A look out person may be required



Obey Road Rules



Do not park vehicle facing oncoming traffic

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

8.3

Vegetation clearance Charts Guideline 

To provide guidance to Inspectors and the Vegetation Quality Review team in determining the MCS requirements for each Conductor-type group.

Purpose



Multiple Vegetation clearance Charts exist to provide MCS requirements for each conductor type. However, to provide simplicity for Inspectors (contractors) and the Quality Review team on the field, CP-PAL has selected the following Vegetation clearance Charts for each Conductor-type group.



It must be noted that where the MCS cannot be easily determined, i.e. Significant trees, Concerned Customers etc., the MCS should be accurately calculated.



For each reference table, a proposed MCS is made for different lengths.



This is the Largest MCS required across the family of conductors in the Conductor-type group. The actual method for determining the additional distance for sag and sway is documented in the Vegetation Management Policy.

Background

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Topic Information

Vegetation clearance Charts selec ted for eac h Conductor type LBRA

The Regulations do not require individual sag / sway calculations to be made for spans under 100 m in LBRA.

Insulated conductor for spans <100m

Uninsulated LV conductor for spans <100m

Uninsulated HV conductor for spans <100m

Uninsulated 66 000 volt electric line < 100m

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Vertical Clearances = Base Vertical Clearance + Temperature Consideration The following charts provide a guide only for ground based inspectors for the vegetation clearance required for spans greater 100meters in length in LBRA or all span lengths in HBRA. The charts are a guide only and vegetation clearance is defined per the Vegetation Management Policy.

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Reference Clearance Table 1 66kV AAC 19/4.75 66kV AAC 37/3.75 66kV ACSR 6/1/3.75 66kV ACSR 6/4.75 7/1.6 66kV Cadmium Copper 7/.113 Span Length 50% span 33% span 16% span Near pole 2.25 2.25 2.25 5.0 2.25 2.25 2.25 10.0 2.25 2.25 2.25 15.0 2.25 2.25 2.25 20.0 2.25 2.25 2.25 30.0 2.25 2.25 2.25 40.0 2.25 2.25 2.25 50.0 2.27 2.26 2.26 60.0 2.29 2.29 2.29 70.0 2.54 2.31 2.31 80.0 2.53 2.34 2.34 90.0 2.87 2.78 2.36 100.0 3.25 2.93 2.39 125.0 3.47 3.13 2.45 150.0 4.29 3.85 2.54 175.0 4.94 4.42 2.89 200.0 5.86 5.24 3.38 225.0 6.09 5.45 3.51 250.0 7.00 6.25 3.99 275.0 7.97 7.11 4.51

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Reference Clearance Table 2 <22kV AAC 7/3.00 <22kV AAC 19/3.25 <22kV Copper 7/.080 <22kV Copper 7/0.064 <22kV Cadmium Copper 7/.113 <22kV Cadmium Copper 7/.073 <22kV Cadmium Copper 7/.064 <22kV Cadmium Copper 19/0.089 Span Length 50% span 33% span 16% span Near pole 1.50 1.50 1.50 5.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 10.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 15.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 20.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 30.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 40.0 1.70 1.56 1.50 50.0 1.96 1.79 1.51 60.0 1.80 1.65 1.53 70.0 2.21 2.00 1.54 80.0 2.06 1.88 1.56 90.0 2.36 2.14 1.58 100.0 2.68 2.43 1.68 125.0 2.98 2.69 1.83 150.0 3.78 3.40 2.26 175.0 4.71 4.22 2.77 200.0 5.75 5.15 3.32

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Reference Clearance Table 3 <22kV ACSR 6/1/3.75 <22kV ACSR 6/4.75 7/1.6 <22kV ACSR 6/1/3.00 Span Length 50% span 33% span 16% span Near pole 1.50 1.50 1.50 5.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 10.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 15.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 20.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 30.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 40.0 1.57 1.50 1.50 50.0 1.82 1.67 1.51 60.0 1.84 1.68 1.53 70.0 2.21 2.01 1.54 80.0 2.07 1.89 1.56 90.0 2.39 2.17 1.58 100.0 2.73 2.47 1.69 125.0 2.73 2.47 1.69 150.0 3.47 3.12 2.10 175.0 3.43 3.10 2.08 200.0 4.13 3.71 2.45 225.0 4.92 4.40 2.87 250.0 5.77 5.16 3.33 275.0 6.69 5.97 3.82

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PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

Reference Clearance Table 4 Reference Clearance Table 4 Reference Clearance Table 4 <22kV SC/GZ 3/2.75 <22kV SC/GZ 3/2.75 <22kV SC/GZ 3/2.75 <22kV SC/AC 3/2.75 <22kV SC/AC 3/2.75 <22kV SC/AC 3/2.75 Span Length 50% span 33% span 16% span Span Length 50% span 33% span 16% span Span Length 50% span 33% span 16% span 0.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 300.0 2.75 2.50 1.93 800.0 15.30 13.59 8.46 5.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 325.0 3.13 2.83 1.97 825.0 16.19 14.37 8.94 10.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 350.0 3.54 3.19 2.13 850.0 17.11 15.19 9.43 15.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 375.0 3.97 3.57 2.37 875.0 18.05 16.02 9.94 20.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 400.0 4.44 3.98 2.62 900.0 19.02 16.89 10.46 30.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 425.0 4.92 4.41 2.88 925.0 20.01 17.76 10.99 40.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 450.0 5.44 4.87 3.16 950.0 21.04 18.67 11.54 50.0 1.51 1.51 1.51 475.0 5.97 5.34 3.44 975.0 22.08 19.59 12.10 60.0 1.53 1.53 1.53 500.0 6.45 5.85 3.74 1000.0 23.15 20.53 12.68 70.0 1.54 1.54 1.54 525.0 7.13 6.36 4.06 1025.0 24.25 21.50 13.27 80.0 1.71 1.57 1.56 550.0 7.74 6.91 4.39 1050.0 25.37 22.49 13.87 90.0 1.97 1.80 1.58 575.0 8.39 7.48 4.74 1075.0 26.51 23.51 14.48 100.0 2.26 2.05 1.59 600.0 9.05 8.15 5.10 1100.0 27.68 24.54 15.11 125.0 2.60 2.36 1.63 625.0 9.75 8.68 5.47 1125.0 28.88 25.60 15.75 150.0 3.39 3.06 2.05 650.0 10.47 9.32 5.86 1150.0 30.10 26.68 16.41 175.0 4.30 3.87 2.55 675.0 11.21 9.97 6.26 1175.0 31.35 27.78 17.59 200.0 3.14 2.83 1.92 700.0 11.98 10.65 6.67 1200.0 32.62 28.91 17.77 225.0 3.74 3.37 2.25 725.0 12.77 11.35 7.09 1225.0 33.91 30.02 18.46 250.0 4.41 3.96 2.60 750.0 13.59 12.07 7.54 1250.0 35.24 31.22 19.18 275.0 5.13 4.60 2.99 775.0 14.44 12.82 7.99 1275.0 36.59 32.42 19.90

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PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Reference Clearance Table 5 <22kV Copper 19/0.116 <22kV Copper 19/0.089 Span Length 50% span 33% span 16% span Near pole 1.50 1.50 1.50 5.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 10.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 15.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 20.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 30.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 40.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 50.0 1.60 1.51 1.51 60.0 1.53 1.53 1.53 70.0 1.78 1.63 1.54 80.0 1.60 1.56 1.56 90.0 1.84 1.68 1.58 100.0 2.10 1.92 1.59 125.0 2.07 1.88 1.63 150.0 2.64 2.39 1.68 175.0 3.29 2.97 2.00 200.0 4.04 3.63 2.40

Reference Clearance Table 6 <22kV ACSR 3/4/2.5 Span Length 50% span 33% span 16% span Near pole 1.50 1.50 1.50 5.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 10.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 15.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 20.0 1.50 1.50 1.50 30.0 1.67 1.53 1.50 40.0 1.99 1.82 1.50 50.0 2.78 2.51 1.73 60.0 3.75 3.38 2.25 70.0 1.57 1.54 1.54 80.0 1.82 1.67 1.56 90.0 2.09 1.91 1.58 100.0 2.40 2.18 1.59 125.0 3.28 2.96 2.00 150.0 4.35 3.90 2.57 175.0 5.61 5.02 3.24 200.0 7.04 6.28 4.02 225.0 2.60 2.36 1.80 250.0 3.05 2.75 1.87 275.0 3.54 3.19 2.13 300.0 4.06 3.65 2.42

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Powercor Australia Ltd

PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

TOA VEGETATION CLEARANCES All conductor is 37/3.75 AAAC running at 132kV Regulatory Clearances (Electric Line Clearance Regs 2015) - Vertical Below 3.7m / Horizontal 4.6m Stringing - 3% of CBL (Slack) Near Span Pole Length <7 5 <85 Vertical 6.9 7.6 Horizontal 1.5 6.8 7.3 Stringing - 10% of CBL (Medium) Near Pole Span Length <4 <10 5 <85 0 <110 <125 140 185 Vertical 4.1 5.3 6.1 6.5 7.1 8.1 10.6 Horizontal 1.5 4.9 4.9 5.9 6.2 6.4 7.1 8.8 Stringing - 20% of CBL (Tight) Near Pole Span Length <8 <12 5 <110 0 <130 <150 <160 250 Vertical 5.9 5.6 5.8 5.9 6.8 7.3 10.1 Horizontal 1.5 5.1 5.5 5.6 5.7 6.2 6.4 8.5 NOTES* No vegetation allowed vertically above the line for transmission lines * Distances do not include regrowth and are the MCS * Vertical below clearances are based on Conductor at 50° C

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PROCEDURE Vegetation Management Procedure CitiPower Pty

Powercor Australia Ltd

TOA VEGETATION MINIMUM CLEARANCES DIAGRAMS

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8.4

Purpose

CPM – Quoting Live Line Vegetation Services for ORPs – Guideline This Guideline provides support information for the process of providing Live-Line Vegetation Services to Other Responsible Persons. This Guideline details the steps required by the Vegetation Group to manage the quoting process in the Customer Projects Management (CPM) System.

Task Detail

Create CR

Technical Officer will create Customer Request (CR) in the Customer Projects Management System (CPM) and issue acknowledgment notification to council as follows: Sap Function Code ZCP01 – Customer Request Create

Complete the Customer Request: Create screen as follows:

Description: Naming Convention for Description field will start with the type of work, i.e. LL (for Live Line) or CC (for Council Contractor Working Under Our Control) and relates to areas and number of items requested by Council () eg. LL TAYLORS LAKES, ST ALBANS, KEILOR (8) 8001 - VEGP for Powercor (Do not use VEGC) NB: The Council representative’s name is to be placed in the Customer Project Reference field. Click the Green Tick to enter

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Search Customer

All councils already exist within CPM and it is a requirement of Credit not to duplicate customers. Prior to creating a new Customer it is important to ALWAYS search for an existing customer/council. Refer to the Council and ORP Contacts list in the Vegetation Management drive under Program Management >> ORP for customer numbers to be used by the Vegetation Group. This list can be updated with the numbers in use. Click on the button Add Customer

– this will allow you to either enter a 7 digit Customer Number (Sold To Party beginning with “3”) or allow you to initiate a search via the button.

After completing all the relevant fields click the A new details you entered.

Creating Land Details

Tab has now been created. Click on this Tab to view the

Given that quotes issued by the Vegetation Group are all for services to council and may relate to a number of locations per quote, the land details will be the council’s address only.

To add new Land Details you must first access the click on Create Object

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Tab in the CR, then

Required Fields  

Description – Council Name Address – Street No, Street Name, Citiy Postcode, State and Country

Click on the Save Button

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Attaching Partners

“Partners” in a CR is a term that relates to all parties that are associated with the Customer Request (CR). Partners for the Vegetation Group are to be selected as follows: CPM Responsible Staff – Council Liaison Officer Sold-to Party – Council requesting services Assisting CPM Staff – Technical Officer To attach a Partner to a CR access the the

Tab in the CR and then click on

button.

The following screen then appears. Click in the Function and select Function from the drop down list. Click in the Partner area to add Partner.

Once Partner is selected Click

and then

A prompt box will then appear and you click yes

An information box will then be displayed – just click

All Partners attached to the CR will be listed in the Partners Tab of the CR.

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A Property Group can only be assigned if Land Details exist Assigning Property Group

Return to Basic Data Tab. Click on the Customer Request Menu and scoll down and select the Property Group option.

Click Yes when prompted ‘Are you sure you want to assign a property group now?’

Enter Property Group as per Description in Create CR When the screen refreshers an additional tab will appear. This confirms that a property Group has been assigned to

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Creating/Atta ching Documents

In the Documents Tab, select Create Document and open the Registry Tree using the button until you locate the required template

The template will open up in a document window permitting you to edit the document as required. When you have finished editing make sure you save by clicking on selecting Yes to save the document! The letter can be printed by clicking the Print icon

and

in the document.

The document is now saved in the Documents Tab of the CR, as per below

Alternatively, existing documents can be imported using the Create with Reference button

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Update Status to Acknowledged Status Update

Select Acknowledged

Click on Green tick. The Status will be updated.

Go to Approvals Tab and update the Responsible Person to the Council Liaison Officer and then Click on the Release button.

Then return to the Status and select Approval Requested.

NOTE : For Vegetation Management purposes the Status is updated for    

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Approval Requested Approved Response Issued Customer Accepted

   

Constructed Invoiced Technically Closed Closed

Return to the Basic Data Tab and click on the Time Confirmation Time Confirmation

Select relevant Work Centre – from drop down list Enter Personnel Number Enter hours, e.g. 0.5, 1, 1.5, etc.

Click on the Green Tick

Adding Activities

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and save entries.

For Activities such as internal communication and customer communication, the Activity Tab can be updated by clicking on the Additional Notes button and selecting the Type of Note required

Issuing Quote

The Council Liaison Officer will pick up the CR either from their SAP Workflow or the To Investigate Tab of the Workbench Once in the CR, the CLO will be able to access the ACS Costing Sheet – Vegetation template - Creating/Attaching Documents The CLO will then add the GST Exclusive amount in the Contribution Details field in the Basic Data Tab and move the CR to an Approved Status (refer to Approvals section).

And entering the amount (GST Exclusive) in the Total Customer Payment and EN Vegetation Charge fields then clicking on the

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The CLO will then issue the Quote and Agreement to the requesting council Creating/Attaching Documents The CLO will update the Status of the CR to Response Issued and undertake Time Confirmation

Quote Acceptance

Invoicing

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Upon receipt of the Council’s acceptance, the CR status will be updated to Customer Accepted

From the Basics Data Tab, click on Create Sales Document. Note: Take note of the area clearing has been requested to information for the Invoice.

Ensure the Material Description refers to Vegetation Works. Where the Council has supplied a Purchase Order number, this can be entered or a reference to the Council representative.

Click on green Tick Select all by clicking

, then click on Complete Data

Type in the Location, or Description (as per advice from the Council Liaison Officer) then click the forward Arrow

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Add the name to appear on the Invoice then click on the forward Arrow

Add the Order Number. 407461 for Powercor. 407462 for CitiPower then click on the forward Arrow

Overview screen. Click

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to preview invoice.

Update Status to Invoiced, then Technically Closed, then Closed.

To access the Vegetation CPM Workbench use the following SAP Transaction Code Vegetation Workbench for CPM Filter your search by CPM for Vegetation Powercor or Vegetation CitiPower

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Open Vegetation CR’s can be tracked in the Workbench, according to the Status of the CR. CRs opened from the Workbench can be edited by clicking on the the CR.

Approvals

from within

The CR costs can then be approved by the CPM Responsible Person (for Vegetation this is the Council Liaison Officer) in the Approvals Tab. Highlight the line and click on the Accept button.

Add comment

The CR Status is then updated to Approved

Time Confirmation is also updated (refer Time Confirmation instruction above)

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Creating a New Customer

Once you have confirmed that you need to create a new Customer click on the button and completed all the relevant fields.

After completing all the relevant click the The following information box appears.

And a new details you entered.

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Tab is created as well. Click on this Tab to view the