I'm sure in the ever helpful UK D-I-Y group they'll be someone who knows the answer to this;)..
In article , Andrea scribeth thus
We need to move our electricity meter and have been told that in order
>to do so we need to contact our electricity supplier.
>
>We called them (e.on) and were given the runaround. Eventually we were
>referred to UK Power Networks, who are apparently the company
>responsible for the power distribution in our part of Cambridge. They
>have said it will cost between £700 and £1200 to move it 2m, and that
>they will not be able to move it for ten to twelve weeks !!!
>
>We have read that only the "legal owner of this service and equipment" >can move it. >
>Does anyone know whether ...
>
>* UK Power Networks are the legal owner or just representatives of the >legal owner?
>* There are other companies that have authority to do this?
>* If we changed electricity supplier, would this help?
>
>Thanks!
>~Andrea.
tony sayer ( snipped-for-privacy@bancom.co.uk) wibbled on Thursday 17 February 2011 13:25:
The move must be done by the Meter Operator - which in some cases is the same as the network company, in others is diiferent. The billing company is incidental to the move itelf but *I think* usually the move must be booked through them.
I think the problem is the OP has not indicated what type of cable or cutout :-)
Old rubber meter tails. Ceramic fuse carriers. Pilc cable. Withdrawing ancient pilc down a duct is something even DNO try to avoid.
PSSC is typically 1,200A to ensure fault disconnect with a 100A fuse, which is 250kW and an upstream fuse can be somewhat higher than 100A. That is rather a lot bigger than a typical welder flash. Not all supply cables are nice split-con or SWA, some are really nasty stuff with partly collapsed ducting some way along under solid floor making withdrawal a rather interesting experience.
For gas you can use a commercial independent meter move company, but for a domestic U6 gas meter the cost is usually higher than what National Grid (at the gain of potentially faster response). For domestic electric I do not think there is an independent commercial solution re competition. I suspect you can ask for a cost breakdown, making good and digging a trench for example are charged at very high rates (=A3450 or so).
You contact whoever you pay the bill to. They can arrange to move your meter. I have rang these Companies a number of times for customers, and it is difficult to get to speak to someone who actually knows what you require, and if it can be done. My own supply is from Scottish and Southern, and after, finally, getting through to the right department, it was quite easy to book a time to have the supply disconnected. When the chap arrived, he asked if I'd also like a new meter fitting, as we still have the original. There was no charge at all for this. I have also contacted Eon about having a new earth feed fitted, and they want £360 for this. I think you may have spoken to the wrong people when they quoted £700+ to move a meter.
If however, you want the incoming feed moving, then you can expect a £700+ bill.
A simple slip with a screwdriver leading to said screwdriver being instantly vaporised in a rather large explosion? Access is normally not that good for meters (under strairs etc) so an accident is much more likely.
I disagree, unless you mean something other than what what you've said sounds like, namely that it is now too late for the OP to do any clarifying. What I suspect you really mean is that it is high time he did do so. That I would wholeheartedly agree with.
We should know what he wants moving to where, and why. In particular, it would seem that ideally the incoming cable itself should not be disturbed, as this could be a source of danger if there's any chance it will start to disintegrate. So how feasible is it simply to replace the existing meter with a connector block and then run a pair of new tail-style wires from this connector to the meter's proposed new site?
Is it the bulkiness of the meter which is the reason for the move? If so, then it may not be necessary to move it at all, since the new style meters (which are being rolled out routinely as replacements for ones above a certain age) are really quite small, not much bulkier than a connector block!
Quite and one of the few bits of info that the OP gave was the distance "2m" IIRC.
TBH I don't know how much info the readers electronic gismo carries. It may well have "meter moved" info so the meter reader knows to look elsewhere. They certainly have a "must be read" field, which annoys the meter reader if you happen to be out when they call as they
Totally unaccepatble: such a block is upstream of all but the supply side fuse and is an exceedingly dangerous shock hazard. It also provides a point at which unmetered electricity may be drawn, and the electricity company would take a completely dim view of that as would I.
If any work has to be done on the cable TO the meter, you have to pull the fuses at the local substation first, and that work has to be done to standards. Yes, you can extend an undergrounded supply, but there are regulations to this, and its never a good idea.
In short the way it pans out osis this
- if you ae working inside your house, you trip the main breaker and work on your internal wiring.
- If you are working on the cabling between the meter and your consumer unit (which must not exceed IIRC 2 meters in length) you must pull the electricity companies house fuse and get it re-sealed later on at a small cost.
- if you are working on the incoming supply, overhead or underground, you must get the wiring isolated at the substation, by the electricity company.
In my case, we did no more than carefully dig up the existing underground cable and move the whole meter assembly still live. Very carefully. We certainly would not have attempted to disturb the connection to the meter itself.
If you have to remake the connection to the underground cable, or extend it, I would suggest that the lowest cost approach is to prepare the way first: That is dig to expose the old cable at some point, make a new meter cupboard outside where its supposed to go, and complete work on the new consumer unit or whatever it is, whilst its all still dead.
Then contact the electricity company and tell them that they do not need to dig, merely disconnect, move the meter to the new tails, complete the underground wiring to stanards and be there while you backfill the trench.
Its more likely that e,g. a house rewire has taken/is to take place with a new consumer unit whose siting is diffeent, and more convenient: the regulations means that the meter has to be close to it, and almost all new builds and new installatons require an outside meter in a weatherproof box, so the meter reader does not hae to come indoors in a property that may be locked and not occupied at the time of the meter reading.
I suppose my view of these things is different: given the amount of organisation and actual man hours involved, to pass that job over to someone else to do to standards, for a mere £700, seems a total bargain.
The company has to
- arrange or the supply side fuse to be drawn
- engage a firm to dig any exsting cable out
- arrange fr a firm to resite te meter and connect to the new incoming and new internal tails
- test the installation
- get the digging company back to backfill with the mandatory safety tape over the top
- check the installation
- replace the seals on the internal fuse
- go back to the substation and replace the main fuse there.
This will most likely involve at lest one project management guy to drive there a couple of times to make sure its all done, who will also have to book the subcontractor
- probably a team of two to do the digging and back filling
- a competent electrician trained in te standards of underground wiring
And all those people need to be there at the same time, or there will be an unacceptable delay in the job.
That's probably 4 man days or so, plus office overheads..transport costs, materials. It might even involve a mini-digger on site..
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