Double the height, 160 times the voltage. The latest ugly side effect of the AI revolution

When Cameron Botterill left home one morning, he didn't expect to return to 15-metre power poles soaring above his residential street in Melbourne's inner west.

"They're absolute monstrosities," Mr Botterill said.

"They're ginormous. They tower above anything else in the suburb and they look very industrial. We're in a residential area here and we definitely did not ask for them to be installed."

The new poles are more than twice the height of the 7-metre wooden poles they replaced, and can carry up to 66,000 volts of electricity — roughly 160 times the voltage that previously ran through his street.

In July, Mr Botterill was notified by his electricity distributor, Jemena, that the power would be shut off to allow workers to replace the poles on his street.

He didn't find out why until the day the new poles appeared.

"I asked them why they'd installed this. They told me it was to run power to a data centre. That data centre is at least over a kilometre [away],"

he said.

"I was shocked that this could be installed in a residential area."

The NextDC data centre in nearby West Footscray is already operating, and it's being expanded. One more data centre is proposed for the suburb with another in Spotswood.

Jemena says the new power poles are part of its local network upgrade "to help support Melbourne's growing energy needs".

"These taller power poles are required mainly for safety reasons," said Michael Brear, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Melbourne.

"When you have a large electrical load like a data centre, you supply it most economically at a higher voltage than typically you would in your home.

"In order to deliver that electricity economically and safely to those loads, you need to build these taller power poles."

On streets where the poles have been installed in Melbourne's inner west, there is a strikingly consistent complaint: residents didn't know the change was happening.

In response to questions from 7.30, Jemena said: "We have heard feedback from residents and other stakeholders that our communication and engagement could have been better, and we are taking that feedback seriously."

The company told 7.30 it has "paused works and [is] taking the time to listen to the community to understand their concerns".

Paul Tyndale was one of those caught by surprise when Jemena crews disconnected his power in the inner west suburb of Spotswood to install a new taller pole.

It was only then his family found out a new data centre was being proposed less than half a kilometre away.

"We found out about the data centre when the tradie who was disconnecting our house told my partner, 'This is for the new data centre,'" he said.

"That was how we found out about it. That's how everyone around here found out about it."

Car and bin blockade

On Sanderson Street in Yarraville, residents decided to fight back. After neighbours saw 15-metre poles go up a few blocks over, they knew their block was next.

On the day Jemena crews showed up in August, residents left cars and bins out to block equipment needed to install the poles. Some taped notes on car windows explaining the protest action.

"We were all just really caught off guard and just felt like it was really unfair that we weren't told about what was happening," local resident Katrina Dardha said.

"So we said, 'No, enough's enough.'"

Eventually, unable to get their equipment in position, the crews filled in the holes they had prepared for upgraded power poles and left.

They have not returned.

"Everyone decided this is not happening on our watch," said resident Milco Bogoevski.

"If you stay quiet, it's at your own peril. I guess sometimes it takes something to make you really angry, to make you stand up."

State Labor MP Katie Hall's seat includes West Footscray, home to a large NextDC data centre. She says she understands why residents are angry about the tall 15-metre poles that have appeared on their streets.

"I think there's a frustration there. I think there's a lack of understanding around why this needs to go down a residential street. Why can't it go down a bigger street?" she said.

"[What] I would like to see is for these powerlines to be rerouted. I've asked about whether they could be underground infrastructure."

But placing powerlines underground is more expensive and can be more complex, according to Jemena.

"[The company] determined that augmenting the existing overhead network was the most efficient and practical way to deliver the required electricity outcomes," a Jemena spokesperson said.

Jemena also provided some clarity as to who was paying for the installation of new power poles as part of its network upgrade.

According to Data Centres Australia: "Under the National Electricity Rules, large load users including data centres are required to pay 100 per cent up-front for their connection costs, including any augmentations required to connect their site to the network."

Jemena told 7.30 upgraded power poles would be within scope of those augmentations.

As the controversy over the power poles has grown, Ms Hall has increased calls for stricter guardrails to regulate data centre development.

On September 22, Victoria's government announced new regulations that would ban data centres in residential areas, enact a 150-metre buffer zone from homes and require data centres to use renewable power.

But some residents believe the new rules are too little, too late.

"These will not apply to any of the existing or planned data centres," said Ella Sjodin, who was at a protest against AI and data centre development in inner western Yarraville.

"They're only going to apply to future data centres that aren't yet planned.

"There's dozens and dozens that are already up and already planned. So, I think it's just absolutely not good enough."

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