After more than a year of being powered by a diesel generator, the Yass Road South West Fuel service station has finally been connected to the grid, at a cost of $210,000 to ratepayers.
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The neighbourhood is quieter without the 24-hour humming of the generator, although the nearest residents were 200 metres away and said they'd gotten used to the noise.
Ratepayers were left to pay for a blow-out in the cost of the connection, which was originally supposed to cost $60,000 but ended up costing $270,000 when the plans were altered to include an underground connection and a substation.
The council's former general manager, Alan Dwyer, signed a letter committing the council to paying costs of upgrades.
There are a couple of silver linings to the cloud: the council saved $550,000 on the expected costs of roadwork near the station, and the substation will make it easier to supply power to any new businesses that might open in the adjacent light industrial area.
