Cable fault repairs – additional delays (up to 3 months)

The ACT Government is currently experiencing extended delays in the repair of streetlight cable faults.

These repairs often require underground directional drilling, also known as underboring, to install new streetlight cables where traditional excavation methods are not practical or feasible. This work is undertaken by third-party civil contractors.

At present, there is significant demand for underboring services across the ACT and surrounding regions. This is driven by the large-scale rollout of NBN installations currently underway in the Territory and other major infrastructure projects.

The ACT Government is working closely with its streetlight maintenance contractor to source additional underboring service providers.  However, current repair timeframes for streetlight cable faults are approximately three months. Safety critical repairs will be prioritised during this time.

The ACT Government recognises that these delays are not ideal, particularly as we head into the darker months. Work is ongoing with the maintenance contractor to investigate alternative approaches to this work with the aim of reducing current repair timeframes.

For more information on streetlight repairs see streetlighting.