The Department of Housing and Works is implementing at Town Reserves Regularisation Program in nominated communities.

Town Reserves provide a place for Aboriginal people to reside close to, but removed from, mainstream towns. Historically, Town Reserve communities have not had access to similar standards of municipal and essential services as their mainstream counterparts. The Town Reserve Regularisation Program aims to upgrade and transfer responsibility for services to mainstream providers.

Town Reserves are usually located close to mainstream town and historically the electricity supply comes from the town power grid operated by either Horizon Power or Synergy.  Electricity is supplied to a single point of connection via a master meter and the community receives an aggregate bill from the utility.  The communities have generally adoped a chuck-in method to collect money from residents to pay the electricity account.  There are inequities associated with this arrangment, and the State Government has recognised that residents in Town Reserve communities should be supplied electricity in a similar way that the utilities supply customers in the mainstream town.

Under the Town Reserves Regularisation Program, the distribution network within the communities will be upgraded and houses will be fitted with pre-payment card meters. Horizon Power will individually meter consumers and will assume responsibility for operation, repair and maintenance of the distribution network.

Read Horizon Power's most recent newsletter about Town Reserves Regulations Program:
http://www.horizonpower.com.au/downloads/about_us.major_projects.trpp/No._6_-June_2007.PDF

You will need Adobe Reader to view the Newsletter.  Download it for free at http://www.adobe.com/au/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.