Exterior Supply To A Garage (Under A Narrow Lane)

[AidanT]

Hi

Can anyone advise who / or what type of qualified electricians can do this kind of work? I have seen tunnels dug by mole machines that avoid the requirement to dig a lane up but don't know what is really involved - IS ist an expensive thing to get done?

Thanks

 

[steptoe]

Is it your own private property?

There are other things to bear in mind if it's a public ROW

 

[ProDave]

You need two people.

A contractor to dig / mole under the road, and an electrician to connect the cables.

Is this a public road?  If so whoever does the work will need to hold a minor street works permit, and will have to pay the council for a road opening licence (you need that licence even if moleing under the road).  This assumes in the first palce they will give permission for a private cable to pass under a public road.

It cost me £1000 to get my water and electricity under a single track public road to my house plot.

 

[AidanT]

Yes it is a public right of way

Hi ProDave  - The £1000, what was the length of the install? mine is about 15 meters - and I think they charge by the meter ? not sure though

Who di you get to do it?

 

[NozSpark]

Yes it is a public right of way

Hi ProDave - The £1000, what was the length of the install? mine is about 15 meters - and I think they charge by the meter ? not sure though

Who di you get to do it?

Who owns the lane? Is it privately owned or council?

 

[AidanT]

Its adopted so the council

Thanks for any advice

 

[ProDave]

Yes it is a public right of way

Hi ProDave  - The £1000, what was the length of the install? mine is about 15 meters - and I think they charge by the meter ? not sure though

Who di you get to do it?

It's a single track public road about 3 metres wide.

It was installed as part of getting the services to my house plot.  Electricity, water and telephone all come under the road in one road crossing

At the time i was getting quotes for the utility connections I sought quotes for the road crossing.  A local contractor wanted £1800 to make the road crossing and lay the ducts.  Scottish Hydro electric also wanted about the same.  But then Scottish water offered to do the road crossing for £1000 so of course we got them to do it. So while the road was up and they were connecting the water supply we dropped in a duct for the electric supply and a duct for the telephone.

The problem you will have is getting a wayleave for a private cable under the road.  The utilities organise this as part of their supply agreement, I haven't got a clue how you would do that to lay a private cable under the road.

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

I dont believe you will ever legitimately  get a private cable under a public road. This is based on  working for a utility company & years of experience,  although who knows what any council will do these days for a bit of dosh.

 

[misssweden]

Have you thought about getting a quote from your DNO for a new supply? It could be worth just looking at to compare with what you would have to pay for an opening notice etc.

 

[ProDave]

Excellent suggestion.

And if you are worried about paying two lots of standing charges, then choose a no standing charge tariff from someone like ebico who just charge per unit with no standing charge.

 

[AidanT]

Thx for all the advice. I have an estimate from western power for a new supply. Is there anyone else I can ask for a comparison? Also the quote is to dig a trench myself. My days of doing such things past a few years ago so can anyone recommend a mailing contractor in the east Midlands?

Thx once again

That should day Moling !!

Try again! Moling contractor!

Wish i could turn off this autocorrection!

 

[apprentice87]

Hi there,

Cannot see that the DNO would put a service cable in a moled "hole" anyway, reason being that it has to be at a specified depth and either has to be in a duct OR have yellow cable marking tape about a foot above it.....

john..

 

[Lurch]

Cannot see that the DNO would put a service cable in a moled "hole" anyway, reason being that it has to be at a specified depth and either has to be in a duct OR have yellow cable marking tape about a foot above it.....

Why do you think you cannot mole at a specified depth and run a duct in the moled hole?

 

[apprentice87]

Cos moles go all over the place and it would have to be some mole... Last service ducting i installed was 4" bore, never mind OD The single phase stuff has to be getting on for 3" OD Besides, i doubt VERY much that they will mole all the way across a road [as opposed to from the pavement to your house] as they are never sure where the other services are and no idea whatsoever, even remotely, where the drains are... The highways department of the LA might do it [or allow it] sometimes as part of major works, but i cannot see anyone risking it to run a service cable to a garage....

john...

 

[AidanT]

Sorry forgot to add. Being a new supply the trench / mole will all be on my land and not under the road any more. The only public bit will be a public pathway

 

[AidanT]

Is western power the only people I can go to to do this in the east Midlands?

 

[apprentice87]

You can farm out certain parts of the works, yes, but not the actual cable supplying or connecting, but to all practical intents and purposes, the only people will be WPD.... You could get someone else to dig the trench on your property, but the rest will be MUCH cheaper and easier if you let WPD get on with it. What they quote you and how long is the trench on your property???

john..

 

[AidanT]

1000 without the trench. It's about 20 meters

 

[apprentice87]

Snap their arm off... Mine was 25 meters and was about 1500 with the vat. Get a bloke with a mini digger to dig the trench first. WPD will give you a meter box and the ducting for free!! [once they have agreed the job and you have paid] Install all the ducting and the meter box. MAKE SURE you leave a length of rope in the duct so they can pull the cable through. You can backfill all the trench then. On the big day, someone will come along and dig a hole in the pavement and take all the muck away. Later the cable jointers will come and install the cable and connect it up. Later still, the lorry will come back and fill the hole in. Few days after that they will come and re-tarmac the pavement.

Thought this might help..

[SIZE=10pt]Here is what happens;[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]The country is divided up into sections, and the wires in the ground are owned by the relevant “DNO” [The “distribution network operator”] Which in your case is Western Power Distribution.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]So, to have a new supply to a new building, you first apply to the DNO. They will then give you a quote for doing the work, and once you have signed the contract and paid, they will give you a “Supply Number” [Often/also known as an MPAN number. This stands for Meter point administration number][/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Next:[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Now you need to appoint a “Supplier” of the electricity itself. There are loads of different supply companies. [i have chose “SWALEC”][/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Then:[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]You must contact your chosen supplier and give them the supply number or MPAN that the DNO [Western Power Distribution] gave you.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]The supply company will then register the MPAN with the DNO who will then arrange to come and install the cable to the new building, and the supply company [sWALEC in my case] will arrange to come and fit a meter.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Anyway,[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Contact the chosen SUPPLIERS new connections team, and give them the Supply number [and arrange for them to be the supplier] and ask them to register the MPAN with Western Power Distribution, who will then come and install the cable.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]john...[/SIZE]

 

[ProDave]

Agree with all the above.

If you are not up to digging find a local contractor to dig the trenches.  you can get WPD to give an "all works" quote but you will almost certainly find they want more to dig the trench than a local contractor, particularly as no road crossing is now involved.

Be prepared for about a 5 week delay between instructing your energy supplier and them coming to fit a meter.

If you choose to go with the ebico no standing charge tariff, be aware that ebico don't install meters. You will have to sign up with their parent company SSE who will come and fit the meter. Sign up on a no contract standard tariff then as soon as the meter is installed, switch supplier to ebico.

I only got my MPAN number the day before SSE came to make the connection so there was no opportunity to speed up the process by instructing the energy supplier in advance.