Quote for new domestic electric supply!

[Harry W B]

I just had a quote from the regional electricity supply company for a new domestic mains supply going to a ground floor flat.

£1,200! And that is not including the digging and refilling of trenches, which they want me to do! Nor sous it include ducting or meter cabinet which they want me to supply.

It looks like the trench would need to be about 30 ft long, and would go along a public tarmac pavement and out into the street. Anyone got any idea how much that would cost? Presumably permission would have to be obtained from the council too. Does that cost?

Thx

Harry W B

[Owain]

£100 per foot? £200 per foot?

Yes, per day the highway is occupied (there is no difference between pavement and street) until it's satisfactorily reinstated, and there are penalty payments if the reinstatement isn't good enough.

And the work has to be done by a Roads and Streetworks Registered Contractor. You will also have to pay for guarding and traffic lights etc.

The good news is that meter cabinets aren't much, get them from Jewson.

Owain

[Harry W B]

Yikes! This definitely calles for a 'plan B' then... Thanks for the info.

Harry

[The Natural Philosopher]

probably. But you just hire a mini digger and DIY it. about £100 for a days work.

[meow2222]

plus resulting legal expenses

NT

[meow2222]

plus resulting legal expenses

NT

[Rob Horton]

Shame it's a ground floor flat otherwise I would have suggested a large solar array.

Do you have any hamsters? Maybe give the following ago. Could be scaled up for a dog/cat.

[manatbandq]

Depends where it is and whether anyone notices. We got our kerb dropped by a non-registered contractor, rather than pay the =A3400 fee to the LA for "approval" and a list of approved contractors.

MBQ

[Harry W B]

Well, only the part where the meter was planned is on the ground floor. The main part of the flat is on the first floor, with a sloping roof to the south. Is solar power really a possibility? Would it produce enough power to meet a one-bed flat's needs, even in Winter? As a rough calculation, I think there is about 30 sq metres of

45-degree-sloping roof, facing south.

Harry W

[Stephen Dawson]

In a nutshell, no.

[The Natural Philosopher]

If your insulation is good, your body heat alone would be enough..people have gone the the north pole with only that to keep them warm ;)

[Harry W B]

I don't know why, but that's what I suspected.

Harry W

[Harry W B]

The *gas* connection company has also just sent me a quote for a new gas supply: Only £385.00 *including* all digging and refilling of trenches!

The required trench would be about the same length as the one required for the new electric supply. So I am at a loss to imagine how the Electric company can justify quoting £1,200 *not including digging and refilling of trenches, or price of ducting*.

Is there three times as much work involved in connecting up a new elecric supply, compared to a gas supply? Or are they just able to charge whatever they like, because they are the only company licensed to do the work?

Harry

[Owain]

Is the correct answer, for work which can be done by them only. Their website should explain which part of new connection work can be done competitively but that tends to apply only if you're building a new housing estate.

Owain

[jgh]

Ah, you've got five million quid you can afford to throw away then? I am insure to carry out non-invasive work on the public highway and am insured to two million quid for it. Last week I damaged a car parked near the property I was working on. Without insurance I would have been looking at buying half a new car.

-- JGH - Et Ovum Excoxi