My supplier has told me my meter installation is illegal, how do I rectify ?

[benawhile]

While in communication with my electricity provider, Octopus, about fitting a smartmeter, and providing photographs, I have been told that my electric meter has been illegally boxed in. The kitchen was professionally fitted 4 years ago.

Please could you advise the minimum I need to do to make it legal again as I wish to have a smart meter installed, as I am concerned that the current meter may be expired and unsafe.

The shelf that obstructs access is currently easily removable, it rests on a few removable pegs.

How far do I need to cut back the backboard?

Do I need to improve access to the first connection from the mains input as well?

We had the house upgraded and the builders insisted on dot and dab all over the kitchen, after the rewiring and new distribution board, with a very ugly result as you can see, so the kitchen fitter was left with little option.

 

[ProDave]

There is no easy way to say this.

Both your builder and your kitchen fitter are idiots. There is no way either of them should have boxed in the supply head and meter like that.

The resolution is remove a big chunk of the kitchen, rip out the sections of the wall that are in the way, pay the supply company to move the supply head and meter to a location that is going to remain accessible, and then rebuild it.

If you had the meter and supply head moved FIRST you would not be in this painful position. Shame you did not ask here first before any of this boxing in happened.

 

[Badger]

By the looks of the location of the meter the whole cupboard would need removing out of that section in order to not restrict access for changing the meter it already looks like a new ish meter so not sure why you want it changing but it's not in a particular good place for metering personell and DNO personell to work on

 

[poni]

looks to me that most of the backboard and all the right hand wall of the cupboard, then the base will be unstable, this may have to removed as well, they will need access to the MET and natural terminal at the head,
PS, don't forget both doors ,
you should have done what Dave said, and got the meter and head moved to outside ( the other side of the wall) to late now?

 

[Fleeting]

The way they have cut those holes I'm not sure I would want them doing any work in my house.

 

[Andy™]

professionally fitted

questionable

 

[benawhile]

By the looks of the location of the meter the whole cupboard would need removing out of that section in order to not restrict access for changing the meter it already looks like a new ish meter so not sure why you want it changing but it's not in a particular good place for metering personell and DNO personell to work on

I've had an email from Octopus/Coop saying the meter is past its certification date. Could they be mistaken as you say it looks "Newish"?
What are DNO personnel?
The meter has been in that location since 1955. Before the fitted unit there was a deep worktop space over it so access was always restricted.

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

The kitchen was professionally fitted 4 years ago.


We had the house upgraded and the builders insisted on dot and dab all over the kitchen, after the rewiring and new distribution board, with a very ugly result as you can see, so the kitchen fitter was left with little option.

None of that is professionally fitted!!

A professional trades person will be well aware that as well as installing items, fittings, accessories etc....
that you need to take account of access for future maintenance, replacement not just daily usage..!

From my experience this type of work is normally done by the rip-off cowboy merchants, who do cheap, poor quality work but charge the customer well over what is a reasonable price for their poor design..

Is that one hole in the back-board the stop-tap...?
Goodness knows what you will do if that gets seized up or starts leaking and you need to replace it? !

All electrical joints should be accessible for inspection, testing, remedial work or replacement. etc..
So you NEVER box them all in like yours has been!

On your first photo towards the bottom right had corner of the far wall you can see the the incoming supply cable going into the main cut-out fuse, then the tails from the cut out to the electric meter all mounted on the suppliers back-board..

I would suggest that the whole of that back board down to floor level should be made accessible by cutting sections of the cabinet out.. Then a good carpenter may be able to make some dummy cabinet back wall, inner side walls, and shelf inserts that can all be completely removed when access is needed..

Either the whole of that base unit should have been designed as movable,
or the meter should have been moved before it was buried by "Bodgit & Scarper Ltd"..

That design is about as useful as a car with the bonnet welded shut..
but a couple of holes to see the oil and water top-up points!!

 

[benawhile]

There is no easy way to say this.

Both your builder and your kitchen fitter are idiots. There is no way either of them should have boxed in the supply head and meter like that.

The resolution is remove a big chunk of the kitchen, rip out the sections of the wall that are in the way, pay the supply company to move the supply head and meter to a location that is going to remain accessible, and then rebuild it.

If you had the meter and supply head moved FIRST you would not be in this painful position. Shame you did not ask here first before any of this boxing in happened.

Don't worry about how to say it Dave just let it rip!! The house was passed by building regs, albeit before the fitted cupboards. THis is the standard you get here in Basingstoke. We had lots of trouble with builders and nearly went bankrupt, ended in court and now we are climbing out of the hole.
So what I want is solutions. I can't remove any walls. If the only way is to pay to put the meter outside I will do that but would rather not. If nec I can cut out most of the back board, but what do the regs actually say about accessibility?
You say if I had moved the meter FIRST? I don't understand this, I am not moving the meter. Or do you mean if I had moved it outside before the fitted kitchen? Agree with that.

 

[binky]

I've had an email from Octopus/Coop saying the meter is past its certification date. Could they be mistaken as you say it looks "Newish"?
What are DNO personnel?
The meter has been in that location since 1955. Before the fitted unit there was a deep worktop space over it so access was always restricted.

DNO - District Network Operator, ie the people responsible for running the mains network.

Its not an unusual problem, but kitchen fitters dont tend to give a damn! What should have happened was contacting DNO to relocate the consumer head (thats the main cut out fuse), probably to an external wall box, or possibly an attached garage. The mains fuse board (or consumer unit as we call them these days) should also have been relocated, and yes that would have cost extra. The other option would have been to design the kitchen to allow suitable access, but I've never found that to be 'satisfactory' in reality.