Letter "B" on My Private Power Pole?

buderim11 on 19/04/2021 - 07:56
Last edited 20/04/2021 - 06:27

I live in South east Qld , I noticed the other day someone has stuck a silver metal letter "B" around 2 meters up on my private power pole , The power pole is 2 meters from the boundary and belongs to me . I assumed it is something to do with energex as the letter looks the same type as the ones that are on the street power poles .Has anyone any idea why it is on there ?

image here https://ibb.co/b2dRFmC

EDIT : It turns out Energex decided to mark each private power pole with letters , my neighbors have A and C on their poles . I got the lucky B .

Home & Garden

Comments

  • notdealbot on 19/04/2021 - 08:05
    +39

    B for Bikies. Did you scam $20 from someone here in OZB over gumtree?

  • DashCam AKA Rolts on 19/04/2021 - 08:07
    +1

    B is for Bickies. We're you friendly towards the crew who did the install?

    • SnowDragon on 19/04/2021 - 08:21
      +18

      B is for Bickies.

      Maybe OP is known for giving out biscuits to anyone who asks?

    • DashCam AKA Rolts on 19/04/2021 - 08:33
      +1

      *were

      • ozbjunkie on 20/04/2021 - 08:49
        +1

        Whir

        It's like the yore/yaw distinction.

  • holdenmg on 19/04/2021 - 08:09
    +34

    B is a Pass, it is below A, but above C.
    (I'm glad we had this talk). :+)

    • cuteseal on 20/04/2021 - 17:25
      +6

      B is for disappointed Asian dad….

      • bmerigan on 20/04/2021 - 22:36

        Sad but true

      • entropysbane on 21/04/2021 - 08:56

        I thought mum was the one to worry about?

  • Fergy1987 on 19/04/2021 - 08:25
    +1

    probably the same guy that put a PV on my meter box

    • notdealbot on 19/04/2021 - 08:28
      +35

      Well PV stands for Pervert..

      • Fergy1987 on 19/04/2021 - 09:01
        +15

        how did they know?

        • jv on 19/04/2021 - 10:18
          +4

          webcam

    • timthetoolman on 19/04/2021 - 20:30
      +1

      Is that a joke or do you genuinely not know why that's there?

      • Fergy1987 on 20/04/2021 - 07:05

        I genuinely don't know why someone put a PV on my meter box.

        • timthetoolman on 20/04/2021 - 07:17
          +3

          It's a label for solar to tell fireys

        • Grunntt on 20/04/2021 - 07:58
          +4

          BTW it stands for (P)hoto(V)oltaic ie Solar. As timthetoolman said - it's to advise fire brigade and electricians etc that there is a PV system installed so that they know to isolate it before accessing any part of your electrical system.

  • Hithere on 19/04/2021 - 08:30
    +6

    Something similar to Ausgrid?

    If so you are customer type B

    https://www.ausgrid.com.au/In-your-community/Bushfire-preven…

    • Muzeeb on 19/04/2021 - 08:33
      +4

      Stop this logical madness immediately

    • abb on 19/04/2021 - 09:55
      +4

      Those letters don't have any special meaning, they're just labels for the examples. You'll note that some letters are re-used for the two scenarios…

      • cheesecactus on 20/04/2021 - 10:26
        +1

        I don't know why you're being down voted. You're absolutely right.
        The letters on the ausgrid website are just for making their examples clear.

        • abb on 20/04/2021 - 10:43
          +1

          People like simple solutions, even if they're wrong. Also hardly anyone reads links, they just take the word of the person posting… "Oh this guy has a link, he must be right!"

          ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

          • cheesecactus on 20/04/2021 - 11:51
            +1

            @abb: Yeah I read the entire page and while it was interesting, it certainly wasn't relevant.

            At least you're not at -3 anymore :)

            • abb on 20/04/2021 - 11:53
              +2

              @cheesecactus: Thanks cactus! Your comment has turned the tide of negs.

              I'd buy you a tequila with my restored internet points, but I can't figure out how to redeem them ;)

              • cheesecactus on 20/04/2021 - 11:55
                +1

                @abb: Haha someone further down who works for an electrical distribution company explained the real answer is due to Australia using three phase power.
                This would also explain why OPs neighbours have A and C on their poles.

  • pharkurnell on 19/04/2021 - 09:27
    +4

    Its known as a conversation starter.

  • owli on 19/04/2021 - 09:27

    they've cased the joint and you've been marked

  • Peter Enis on 19/04/2021 - 09:28
    +4

    I live in South east Qld

    Username checks out.

  • No Username on 19/04/2021 - 09:42
    +9

    🅱️

  • Jonzay on 19/04/2021 - 09:53
    +36

    There will be an answer,
    Letter B

  • jv on 19/04/2021 - 10:15
    +4

    I live in South east Qld , I noticed the other day someone has stuck a silver metal letter "B" around 2 meters up on my private power pole

    That is the initial of the linesman who inspected it.
    In South east Qld, it would be either Burt or Bart depending on which day of the week it was… They job share.

    • iforgotmysocks on 19/04/2021 - 11:28
      +5

      Did Brian finally retire?

      • jv on 19/04/2021 - 11:58
        +2

        LOL No. Brian had a gender reassignment procedure and as is now known as Elain…

  • tai1z on 19/04/2021 - 10:21
    +3

    If its a single phase supply pole, B likely means your supply comes off Blue phase.

    • ausmisc on 20/04/2021 - 12:32

      Not B phase? IE A,B,C?

      I work in electricity distribution and this very thing has caused a few issues over the years lol.

  • macrocephalic on 19/04/2021 - 10:46
    +3

    Are you familiar with the book "The Scarlet Letter"? Basically you've been branded a Bastard. Were your parents married when they conceived you?

  • smartazz104 on 19/04/2021 - 11:03

    It’s the Alphabet Bandit; you’re obviously the B crime.

  • bdl on 19/04/2021 - 11:20
    +10

    Bargain

  • JIMB0 on 19/04/2021 - 12:36
    +2

    I'd be more worried about the lack of guttering on that roof.

  • Duckie2hh on 19/04/2021 - 12:55
    -1

    B notes the class type of the power pole…. Stop rubber necking and move on.

  • arcticmonkey on 19/04/2021 - 13:17

    That's an interesting looking instrument to the top right of the B.

  • ihbh on 19/04/2021 - 13:33
    +7

    Take it off and see what happens.

    • wiipantz on 19/04/2021 - 14:42

      best answer

    • Grunntt on 20/04/2021 - 08:00
      +8

      You mean for them 'to B or not to B'?

  • thegamerulez on 19/04/2021 - 14:47

    POSITIVE

  • SF3 on 19/04/2021 - 21:22
    +1

    Why don’t you ring your power company or the company managing the grid and ask them?

    It looks professionally installed, not by some random walking pass.

    Let us know what they say ok?

    Or

    B is the initial of your username buderim11

  • [Deactivated] on 20/04/2021 - 00:28
    +12

    That's B for bulldoze. Probably your house will be knocked down at anytime.

  • Slippery Fish on 20/04/2021 - 07:07

    Pity, you almost got the D… :) next time!

  • boatbloke on 20/04/2021 - 09:03

    A "B" pole is a privately owned lead-in.
    An "A" pole performs the same task (keeping the service line from hanging too low or from crossing your neighbour's property) but is actually owned by the distribution company.

  • MontyMacaw on 20/04/2021 - 09:26
    +7

    Today’s post was brought to you by the letter B.

  • jrvb42 on 20/04/2021 - 09:58
    +2

    Simple, you're getting second quality power. You want an A on your pole.
    Any pole with B has electricity that cycles more slowly (only 50 Hz) and is a lower voltage (110V).
    This is used in many parts of the world.
    Ring up the CEO of the electric company and complain. **

    ** Sorry, been watching Hyacinth Bucket on Keeping Up Appearances too much I guess. In reality, I have no idea about this.

    • MontyMacaw on 20/04/2021 - 19:01

      Just get Onslow to pull it down and toss it in a boosh

  • Specialist Diaz on 20/04/2021 - 10:11
    +3

    Maybe it’s denoting that you’re on the B phase of the power supply? Neighbouring houses are normally on different phases.

  • uzz30 on 20/04/2021 - 10:43
    +20

    Sorry to be boring, the above explanations are much more interesting. But here's the actual reason……

    In Australia as in many parts of the world, we use a three phase electricity network.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-phase_electric_power

    Most regular customers are connected to just one of these phases which the electricity company knows as A - B or C phase. Some customers who have high power demands are connected to all three, known as three phase power, these could be homes with large air conditioning systems, or businesses.

    It's important for network efficiency and reliability to try to keep the load on these phases balanced, but usually when the customer is connected it's just the electrical linesman making an educated guess at balancing out the connections to each phase.

    When maintaining the network or fixing outages it's sometimes helpful for the electricity workers to be able to quickly identify which customers are on which phase. The electricity company will have network connectivity diagrams which should give them that information too, but as they strive for safer and more efficient processes putting labels on customers poles makes sense.

    Source: I work for an electrical distribution network company

    • cheesecactus on 20/04/2021 - 11:53

      Great to hear an actual answer. That would also explain why his neighbours are A and C.

    • Logical on 20/04/2021 - 13:35

      As much as you may be correct, the placement of the letter B and its quality looks very sloppy…. and most likely will fall off in a year or two. Around Brisbane the crews use metal bands that go around the pole and hold the letter in place tightly and will last 20 years plus.

      • uzz30 on 20/04/2021 - 14:20

        A lot of work is contracted out to the

        Lowest
        Priced
        Bidder

        • Logical on 21/04/2021 - 00:19

          lowest priced bidder is fine, as after all there is a specification for the project which details minimum requirements.

    • This Guy on 20/04/2021 - 19:51
      +1

      Not an energex/ergon standard as far as I know.

      Marking poles seems like a dumb way to manage load.

      It's my understanding that Energex and Ergon have a state wide simulation model down to the pole (and device for above 40kW loads and generation). Cables, cable voltage and phase should be attached to pole numbers. It seems like a complete waste of time to mark phases directly on a pole.

  • CalmLemons on 20/04/2021 - 10:48
    +1

    How do you have your own private power pole that you own?

    • uzz30 on 20/04/2021 - 10:51
      +1

      Typically if it's a pole that stands within your property boundary then it's a private pole. Belongs to you and not the electricity company.

      • Quantumcat on 20/04/2021 - 11:13

        That seems weird. So you could just chop it down if you wanted to?

        • FireRunner on 20/04/2021 - 11:19
          +1

          It would only affect power to your property so maybe you can

        • uzz30 on 20/04/2021 - 13:57
          +1

          There's a whole lot of regulations about who can do what on things connected to the electricity grid, but providing you obey those and have it properly de-energized, yes.

          Say you lived on a rural property and you had a whole lot of private poles that you had to maintain to an acceptable standard (keeping the white ants out is a big one) then you might consider that it now might be cheaper to cut the cord, install a solar and battery system and go off grid than pay to keep your poles and wires going.

    • Logical on 20/04/2021 - 13:30
      +1

      The use of a private property power pole is to avoid having an overhead connection to your house which can be rather unsightly. So you place the pole near the boundary and then have the electrical cable run underground from the pole to your house for a clean result. Also, on acreage properties the house may be a long way away from the road/ source of electricity, so you would either have one private pole and then run underground or use multiple poles to run the cable above ground closer to your home after which you can connect to it.

  • FireRunner on 20/04/2021 - 11:22

    It might correspond to the power phase though I've never seen it marked like that before

  • Mosher on 20/04/2021 - 11:59
    +1

    Maybe there is a B on there because it is making a buzzing sound

  • SoapyWooder on 20/04/2021 - 12:30

    Mine got an x. Several weeks later, they installed a steel thingy to support the rotting wooden base.

    • uzz30 on 20/04/2021 - 14:08
      +1

      X = Condemned
      This means at the last inspection it did not meet the standards and might be subject to failure before the next inspection so it has been scheduled for replacement. Typically you'll see orange tape with black X's all around it.

  • LFO on 20/04/2021 - 16:34

    I bet some obscure legislation states the pole belongs to Energex after all.

    Like a fat Telstra cable hanging over and across "your own private trees".

  • Dreamcast on 20/04/2021 - 17:09

    You lucky son of a B….

  • cuteseal on 20/04/2021 - 17:28

    na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na Batman!!!!

    • MontyMacaw on 20/04/2021 - 19:05

      Is the Batmobile electric now?

  • Dean29 on 20/04/2021 - 21:06

    🅱️

  • knasty on 20/04/2021 - 21:12

    Because we all learnt as children to prick it and pat it and mark it with a "B"…

  • cashless on 20/04/2021 - 23:18

    Bruh

  • rorypitt on 20/04/2021 - 23:24

    Once the mark of an assassin has been placed, it cannot be revoked.

  • RolandWaites on 21/04/2021 - 00:13

    Boobs

  • drfuzzy on 21/04/2021 - 00:24

    Life's good when biggest worry is a B

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