Connection costs
What it costs to connect a rural block to power in Victoria in 2026.
Powercor's own guide prices the first 250 metres of rural high voltage line with a transformer at $59,728 for single phase and $69,254 for three phase, including GST at April 2024 prices. The same run underground is $181,806. Tree clearing and longer runs come on top, so on many blocks a stand alone system is worth comparing.
Powercor's figures
Four typical rural connections, priced by Powercor.
Powercor publishes a Customer's Selection Guide of indicative powerline construction costs for typical minor projects. These are its figures for a rural property, with prices at April 2024 and GST included. They are a starting point for the conversation, not a quote for your block.
| Typical minor project | Indicative cost |
|---|---|
| Single phase rural transformer on an existing pole | $30,016 |
| Rural high voltage overhead extension up to 250 m, single phase, with transformer | $59,728 |
| The same, three phase | $69,254 |
| The same, 250 m underground (dense vegetation) | $181,806 |
Powercor, Customer's Selection Guide: Indicative Powerline Construction Costs, prices at April 2024, inc GST. Supply on these connections is typically capped at 10 kW (40 amps).
What is left out
The costs that sit outside the figure.
Powercor's indicative prices leave out three things, and any of them can move the total a long way.
- Tree clearing. The customer arranges it and pays for it, and on a bush block it can be a big job.
- Aboriginal heritage work, where it is needed, which Powercor says starts at more than $10,000.
- Cost sharing with earlier customers, where someone before you paid for the line you are joining.
- Your side of the boundary: a private pole or an underground run, a pit, a pillar and the switchboard.
What adds cost
Distance, trees, the transformer and three phase.
Powercor's rural brochure says that more than 100 metres from existing lines it is likely Powercor will need to extend a line, at your cost less any Powercor contribution. Runs longer than the typical 250 metres are quoted case by case, and Powercor does not publish a rate per kilometre.
- Distance. Every span past the nearest suitable line adds poles and conductor.
- Trees. A line through timber means clearing, and in dense vegetation it can mean going underground, which is the $181,806 row above.
- A transformer. A block that needs its own step down from the high voltage line pays for one.
- Three phase. A three phase extension costs more than single phase, $69,254 against $59,728 in Powercor's guide.
- Underground. Trenching in place of poles is the dearest way to bring power in.
- Capacity. A typical connection is capped at 10 kW (40 amps), so a workshop, a bore pump or an EV charger may need more than the standard connection gives.
Who to ask
Get Powercor's number for your block.
Only Powercor can price a connection to its network, so the first step is to ask Powercor for a connection quote for your address. The indicative guide tells you the order of the cost; the quote tells you the cost. When you ask, it helps to know what you are asking for.
- Single phase or three phase, and what supply capacity the connection gives
- Overhead or underground, and how far the line has to come
- Whether a transformer is included
- What tree clearing is excluded and who has to arrange it
- Whether any cost sharing with earlier customers applies
- What is left for your own electrician on your side of the boundary
When to compare
When a stand alone system is worth putting beside it.
A stand alone system is worth pricing when the quote is in the tens of thousands, when the line has to come through trees or underground, or when there is no grid connection point within a couple of hundred metres. Those are the blocks people ring us about. Powercor's own SAPS program will not build one for a new connection, so on a new block the choice is Powercor's quote or a system of your own.
Here are the three typical systems our sizing tool gives for a Central Victorian winter, north facing panels, two nights of battery and a generator for the darkest weeks. Each is priced after a site visit, because shading, where the array goes and the cable runs move the price.
| System | Daily use | Solar | Battery | Inverter | Generator | Installed cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekender or small cabin | 6 kWh | 4.5 kW | 15 kWh | 3 kW | 6 kVA | Priced after a site visit |
| Family home, all electric | 16 kWh | 11 kW | 40 kWh | 8 kW | 10 kVA | Priced after a site visit |
| Farm with sheds and pumps | 32 kWh | 22 kW | 80 kWh | 15 kW | 20 kVA | Priced after a site visit |
Sized with the method printed on the sizing tool page. These are starting sizes for a design, not quotes.
Size it for your own loads.
The sizing tool gives the array, battery, inverter and generator in five minutes. Bring that and Powercor's quote, and we will put the two side by side.
The comparison
Set the two side by side, honestly.
A connection quote buys you a wire to the boundary, with a supply charge every day after it. A stand alone system buys you the generation, the storage and the backup, with generator fuel for the darkest weeks. On some blocks the grid is plainly the right call, and we will say so. Our page on off grid or a grid connection goes through where each one wins.
Rebates reach the stand alone side too. The federal battery discount applies to an off grid battery on a home that is lived in, and Solar Victoria's solar panel rebate is open to off grid homes that meet its criteria.
Off grid or connect?
How to read the quote, what it leaves out, and when we tell people to connect.
Questions
Asked about this, often.
- Is $59,728 what Powercor will charge me?
- Not necessarily. It is Powercor's indicative price for a typical 250 metre single phase rural extension with a transformer, at April 2024 prices. Your block gets its own quote, and tree clearing, heritage work and cost sharing are not in that figure.
- Does the figure include the work on my side of the boundary?
- No. Powercor prices its network to your boundary. A private pole or underground run, the pit, the pillar and the switchboard are yours to arrange with your own electrician.
- Why is underground so much dearer?
- Trenching and underground cable cost far more than poles and overhead line. Powercor's guide prices a 250 metre underground run through dense vegetation at $181,806, against $59,728 overhead.
- My block is more than 250 metres from the line. What then?
- Powercor quotes longer runs case by case and does not publish a rate per kilometre. Ask Powercor for a quote for your address. A long run is often where a stand alone system is worth comparing.
- Can Powercor give me a free stand alone system instead?
- Not for a new connection. Powercor's SAPS program replaces existing connections on ageing rural lines, Powercor chooses the sites, and for 2026 to 2031 it is a pilot of up to about six. Our standalone power systems page explains it.
- Are there rebates if I go off grid instead?
- Yes. The federal battery discount applies to an off grid battery on a dwelling that is lived in, and Solar Victoria's solar panel rebate is open to off grid homes. Solar Victoria's battery rebate needs a grid connection, so it does not apply.
Sources
- Powercor, Customer's Selection Guide: indicative powerline construction costs (prices at April 2024)
- Powercor, rural residential properties brochure
- CitiPower and Powercor, SAPS Customer and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy (customers cannot self nominate)
- Essential Energy, stand alone power systems (not for new developments)
- Clean Energy Regulator, Cheaper Home Batteries: off grid batteries on a lived in dwelling
- Solar Victoria, solar panel rebate: off grid homes are eligible
- The sizing method, printed on our sizing tool page
- Our standalone power systems page
Written by the Trentham Energy team. Figures without a source are our own sizing model or our own installs.
Tell us about the property.
Where it is, what is on it, and what you need to run. We will tell you honestly whether standalone power stacks up and what it would take.