Moving Connection point and meter

[Shpark]

Hi Guy,

I’ve contacted my DNO Scottish power and they’ve quoted me a price of £760 to move my connection point and meter. I seem to be doing most of the work with them pretty much terminating it.
I’ve been looking for someone else to do the work as I’ve believe it’s ‘contestable’ but I’m having no luck.
Does anyone have an advice. Cheers

 

[mattg4321]

U.K. Power Networks my local DNO are extremely frustrating to deal with and make hard work of the simplest of jobs. I suspect most of them are the same. I’ve not heard of a realistic alternative in this area at least though.

Either pay up or forget about moving it is the bottom line really.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Just shy of a grand is pretty standard

 

[brianmoooore]

Wanted my own meter point moved about 11 years ago. Long story short, price from SWEB was initially £0, then £3000, and eventually back to £0, which was the price I paid.
7 years ago, I wanted two extra meter points on my property, each requiring a buried cable run of about 100m, and for that I was quoted £800. Payment was made by return.
Conclusion: There is absolutely no logic whatsoever in their quotes.

 

[Shpark]

I’ve tried to find others to do the work, but no joy yet

 

[UNG]

Hi Guy,

I’ve contacted my DNO Scottish power and they’ve quoted me a price of £760 to move my connection point and meter. I seem to be doing most of the work with them pretty much terminating it.
I’ve been looking for someone else to do the work as I’ve believe it’s ‘contestable’ but I’m having no luck.
Does anyone have an advice. Cheers

How much are you are you expecting to save on a quote of £760 you will probably waste more time, effort and money trying to get a cheaper quote and not see any saving on the quote you already have

 

[Shpark]

Well I was hoping to find someone to do it on the side

 

[brianmoooore]

In my £800 example above, SWEB found someone to "do it on the side". We had fitted all the ducting and backfilled the trenches, then a couple of dubious looking kids turned up at 7pm, towing a cable reel behind an ordinary car. They proceeded to draw in the two lengths of split concentric, and to fit the meter boards and service heads.
One meter board was only fixed at its very bottom edge, so flapped about, and the other, although securely fixed, was over 10mm out of square along its top edge.

 

[MJPD29]

Well I was hoping to find someone to do it on the side

No one in their right mind would move a Meter 'on the side'. Pay up, dont be cheap. You and/or your family's life is worth a lot more than 760 quid. Never mind the court case that would follow altering it without permission.

 

[UNG]

Well I was hoping to find someone to do it on the side

Are you really being serious with that comment

 

[telectrix]

Well I was hoping to find someone to do it on the side

it's best fitted the right way up. makes it easier for the meter reader.

 

[Teddy Lop]

Thats not bad - UKPN here, typically they'll want several grand, all the work done for them ie duct form service head to street, and in addition to the prep I'll have to include a days babysitting time as every operative they employ will turn up and try to cancel the job for some menial reason (£500 plus building left without power)

Highlights include:

*no 6mm poly rope in duct as spec (duct had 4mm single in it)
*cross bond undersized (one of them found a regs book and noted that on PME the DNO can request a larger size!)
*installation not ready (meter fixer turned up for "PM" appointment at 11:15am, and despite 2 of 4 being ready with the other two only a few minutes work he turned on the bolsch and tried to say we were not ready so cancelled job meaning 3 angry flat owners with no power! (this was my favourite as I told him he'd have to speak to the client/leaseholder, gave him my phone, and the woman systematically destroyed him over the course of the next half-hour while all he could do was splutter, I completed my end of the work, he returned a broken man and quietly went about his job)

 

[7029 dave]

I take it that cut out will be moved as well, if it was just meter most energy suppliers will do that for free, any where on the back board. To move cutout and meter to any distance that is not a bad price.

 

[Teddy Lop]

No one in their right mind would move a Meter 'on the side'. Pay up, dont be cheap. You and/or your family's life is worth a lot more than 760 quid. Never mind the court case that would follow altering it without permission.

You'd be amazed then, probably due to local DNO being.... "complicated" to deal with, there's a thriving market in dodgy blokes who've done a bit of work for the leccy board/ or side jobs, who'll do anything you require. (Don't get involved myself for obvious reasons, but I cant criticise people using this route.)

 

[Dave OCD]

I've seen it done, DNO jointer 'off duty' on a Saturday,a good friend of the customers - not organised by me though !
And he donated some tails & meter seals. ?

 

[mattg4321]

I think most of us have seen it. Not surprising given what utter ***** UKPN are to deal with.

I made sure I had a TT setup in place last year for when they came to move a cutout in a domestic house. Reason being there was a large extension going on and nobody living there. The guy said basically wtf did you do that for, we have PME here!

Next job a few months later UKPN turn up to move a cutout, happening as part of a kitchen refurb. No outside works/plant etc or even walls being knocked about. Literally 1 ceiling down and a rejig of electrics/plumbing, bit of plastering and kitchen refit. Guy refused to do it as 'construction sites need to be TT'. I very nearly knocked the **** out. Had to sort it and rebook. The guy who turned up the second time asked wtf I had set it up as TT. Irritated me, but at least it saved me having to call them out a 3rd time to connect the PME up once the 'construction works' were finished.

 

[telectrix]

ximilar farce. client needing a 3 phase supply to new build. £7000 as road had to be dug. DNO turn up and refuse to install cable etc. as it would mean walking under (professioinaly erected) scaffolding to get to meter box.

 

[brianmoooore]

it would mean walking under (professioinaly erected) scaffolding

Son in law had that one a couple of years ago, when Openreach turned up to install fibre to property. This was in spite of the fact that they could have done their 'at height' work from the scaffold, instead of from a ladder.

 

[telectrix]

this one wasn't any height work. just thar scaffold was erected and they'd have to stand under it to connect cable. ended up client had to build a 6' x4' brick "shed" to house the cut-out and meter, then we had to fun a 25mm 5 core SWA 6m to the house.

 

[brianmoooore]

The bit they wouldn't do was to stand under the scaffold and mount the external joint box on the wall.