Energy supplier refusing to connect up new PME supply?

[Percyprod]

I used to work for DNO, pme cannot be used on temporary supply, the meter fitter was correct. Rod and rcd required.

 

[kingeri]

TBF the meter installer was correct as it's a construction site......I hate EDF with a passion so advise all my customers no to use them and tell them to use EON or British gas. These two install isolators to which you can self connect to. EDF are so far up their own backside that they think they're above and beyond fitting an isolator and would rather walk off site, charging you for an extra visit, whilst telling the customer how wrong you were by not installing the rod etc.....

My grandma was having a new meter fitted a couple of years ago by EDF and they wouldn't do it cos she didn't have any certificates for her installation. I didn't really get it at the time. In the end I did an EICR and they then fitted the meter..

 

[bigspark17]

I worked.for the local board in Cumbria, a temporary supply is not allowed to use one earth, you have to fit a rod and RCD. Same applies to caravans, agricultural buildings etc.

Do you mean DNO earth not "one" earth...

 

[Sparkingmad]

I had a similar not PME but TNS on static caravan park. DNO was happy for me to use their earth in my substation. Earthing all metal enclosures etc to their earth with all outgoing swa's to individual caravans connected to 100mA time delayed rcd's out to the caravans connected to their own 30mA rcds and earth rodded individually. Meter guy turned up connected all his stuff up refused to connect our 150mm tails removed our earth and took the SEB fuses away with him. Phoned me up to say that he wanted the whole installation on a 30mA rcd and on a TT system. After I got up off the floor I asked him for a contact number higher up I could speak to. Reluctantly he gave it to me and to my surprise the Bloke I spoke to said no we will not connect you unless you do as we demand. I quoted the regs saying that TNS is acceptable earthing arrangement and that I can use it to provide earthing all the way to caravans if I wanted, but was only using to provide protection to all equipment enclosed in the substation with 100mA rcd protection on all cables leaving substation to supply the caravans which were connected to their own earth mat. Each caravan is protected by 30mA rcds internally.
No we want the complete installation on TT system with 30mA RCD! After I called him an idiot and ---- I was left trying to get a 300A 3phase adjustable rcd and fibre glass enclosure.
Finally got one a week later set it all up to 30mA got meter man back out got supply connected took the meter man to one of the caravans. Locked up the substation and got him to witness as I carried out rcd test. First test rcd tripped at board as expected oh dear we don't have any electric could you go back to the substation and turn on the main rcd please. So off he went muttering then came back Doors locked! Oh that's right here take the key. Every test operated the main rcd. When he came back I said now imagine this scenario it's 11pm this key is locked away in the reception key safe, this caravan is protected by 30mA rcd the cables supplying this caravan are protected by 100mA time delayed RCD to afford discrimination as per requirements of BS7671 and you bankers have now got 8 all electric static homes plus a sewage pumping station all protected by 300A 30mA RCD. If a caravan trips the rcd everything goes off now are you or your boss going to come out and reset it every time?
Needless to say a call to niceic was made and official complaint lodged against the energy supplier and the rcd was tweaked up to 2A tripping current .

 

[Wilko]

Sorry to hear that !
While I may not have fully understood all aspects, it's a schoolboy error to put 30mA RCDs in series l'd have thought? Bad enough to see this poor design domestically with house and their shed boards, but these guys take the biscuit.

 

[MJPD29]

Happened to me too connecting a street lighting mini pillar with a pme supply. Bar the fact that there is a pme supply the mini pillar is earthed and every street light is a large bloody earth rod they still requested that TWO earth rods are installed. I could have knocked him out with a hammer there and then but I decided I'd let him go free for another day, maybe we will become friends in future who knows..

 

[NMc]

Unlike us sparks working t0 the wiring regs the DNO operates to the ESQCR which requires them for new supplies to provide an earthing unless they deemed it would be unsafe to do so. Therefore they use TNCS (PME) systems for new supplies due to cost and if they believe it unsafe to make the earthing facility available, they will only provide a TT system.

 

[Toneyz]

Unlike us sparks working t0 the wiring regs the DNO operates to the ESQCR which requires them for new supplies to provide an earthing unless they deemed it would be unsafe to do so. Therefore they use TNCS (PME) systems for new supplies due to cost and if they believe it unsafe to make the earthing facility available, they will only provide a TT system.

They don't provide a earth terminal.

 

[Dozer 73]

We come across this all the time on construction sites temp sites
, it is a TT get some rods in , we usually find 1 rod is never really sufficient to get readings down , can’t think of exact reading at min 1660 ohm for 30ma .? But under 200 is recommended we try to get under 20 ohm
Make sure ground has been scanned for passing services is one of most important things

 

[NMc]

They don't provide a earth terminal.

Didn't say they provided an earth terminal

ESQCR 24(4) says - "Unless he can reasonably conclude that it is inappropriate for reasons of safety, a distributor shall, when providing a new connection at low voltage, make available his supply neutral conductor or, if appropriate, the protective conductor of his network for connection to the protective conductor of the consumer’s installation".

 

[Dozer 73]

704 Construction and Demolition Site Installations
704.411.3.1 A TN-C-S system shall not be used for the supply to a construction site, except for the supply to a fixed building of the construction site.
NOTE: The ESQCR prohibit the use of a TN-C-S system for the supply to a caravan or similar construction

 

[NMc]

That's true! in fact any installation not of a permanent fixed construction is unlikely to get TN-C-S