New connection issues with meter installation

[Ericsson]

We had a new supply installed this week. DNO installed new cut out and fuse externally. Meter operator sent his engineer to move the meter in the new position and he refused to after making a big fuss about how my electrician decided to do internally the new installation. He said that the electrician needs to run an insulation test for outside cable and a box to be terminated into on the inside with double insulated tails, to marked up live and neutral, a board for a meter and an isolator.
My question two questions are do I need to ditch my electrician or is the meter engineer unreasonable? I was planning to change electricity supplier anyway, does it make sense to ask existing one to remove theirs and have the new supplier installed one?
I have posted images of the external box and how it looks currently inside. Electrician was planning to install the meter inside the property right next to the new consumer unit.

 

[davesparks]

You're lucky the meter fitter hasn't reported this as theft of electricity.

Having the brown and blue tails connected directly to the cutout without going through a meter is not permitted, the meter must be installed immediately after the cutout and before any of your equipment.

Another problem you have there is that there is no space left in the meter box for them to actually fit a meter!
The earth bar has been fitted where the meter should be and the lefthand CU/switchfuse is likely encroaching on the space reserved for the meter.

Do you have a clearer picture of indoors arrangement? It is very hard to see what is going on in that picture but what is visible raises a few alarm bells.

 

[freddo]

What are the 2 switchfuses feeding? I see one goes to the new consumer unit what does the other one do? No meter fitter is going to connect the meter at the end of a customer supplied installation. They certainly aren't going to connect a meter to a random length of SWA. The switch fuses should have been installed in an adjacent meter box and then the SWA connected into the consumer unit directly, the supply to the switch fuses wired in insulated and sheathed tails. I'm struggling to believe an electrician would install such a setup.

 

[Ericsson]

You're lucky the meter fitter hasn't reported this as theft of electricity.

Having the brown and blue tails connected directly to the cutout without going through a meter is not permitted, the meter must be installed immediately after the cutout and before any of your equipment.

Another problem you have there is that there is no space left in the meter box for them to actually fit a meter!
The earth bar has been fitted where the meter should be and the lefthand CU/switchfuse is likely encroaching on the space reserved for the meter.

Do you have a clearer picture of indoors arrangement? It is very hard to see what is going on in that picture but what is visible raises a few alarm bells.

My (very little) understanding of what he has tried to do is that he has install the switch fuse into the meter box, then run the SWA cable inside the property, then meter operator was supposed to connect that to the meter and meter to the consumer unit. Meter operator asks for new meter box inside the property plus a board for the meter to go onto.

 

[Ericsson]

What are the 2 switchfuses feeding? I see one goes to the new consumer unit what does the other one do? No meter fitter is going to connect the meter at the end of a customer supplied installation. They certainly aren't going to connect a meter to a random length of SWA. The switch fuses should have been installed in an adjacent meter box and then the SWA connected into the consumer unit directly, the supply to the switch fuses wired in insulated and sheathed tails. I'm struggling to believe an electrician would install such a setup.

It is a new three phase supply, one SWA cable feeds upstairs flat (neighbour has meter installed inside his property as well for historical reasons). Should I try and get existing electrician to clean up the mess he created or find a new one?

 

[westward10]

It looks like the SWA cable drops from the ceiling with one conductor wrapped in green/yellow tape and connected to the earth block. I assume this is the location for the meter, if so you cannot connect the other unenclosed SWA conductors into the meter. The meter should have gone into the service head enclosure and the SWA cable glanded into the consumer unit, the intended set-up seems rather odd.

 

[Ericsson]

It looks like the SWA cable drops from the ceiling with one conductor wrapped in green/yellow tape and connected to the earth block. I assume this is the location for the meter, is so you cannot connect the other unenclosed SWA conductors into the meter. The meter should have gone into the service head enclosure and the SWA cable glanded into the consumer unit, the intended set-up seems rather odd.

Is the best solution then to ask electrician to remove switch fuse from meter box to make room for meter. Then leave the SWA and connect it to the consumer unit internally? Given that the distance is more than 3 meters between meter box externally and consumer unit internally will he need to add anything else between the meter outside and the consumer unit inside?

 

[westward10]

The cable needs the switch-fuse. You need to speak to your service provider to see if the meter can be installed at source with the available space.

 

[littlespark]

Just a question….

How was the upstairs neighbour supplied before?
You say their meter is upstairs…. Did they have a fuse up there too?
How is the SWA terminated at their end?

If your electrician has been running cables for the DNO and meter operator to use, there should have been a bit more communication between those 3 as to what was going where.

I notice no SPD in your CU? Is that something he discussed with you?

 

[DPG]

This has got 'dodgy' written all over it.

Edit: having just seen a later post about the other flat/meter then maybe not dodgy.

 

[Ericsson]

Just a question….

How was the upstairs neighbour supplied before?
You say their meter is upstairs…. Did they have a fuse up there too?
How is the SWA terminated at their end?

If your electrician has been running cables for the DNO and meter operator to use, there should have been a bit more communication between those 3 as to what was going where.

I notice no SPD in your CU? Is that something he discussed with you?

Upstairs neighbour was supplied by an old riser (I think this is how it is called), basically because of the age of the property (old Victorian house now split to two flats) we inherited a bit of a mess when we bought it. DNO alsed us to upgrade to 3phase supply for the whole building and this is how we ended up here. Upstairs neighbour has a separate fuse inside the external meter box and also has another meter box inside his property with a meter and consumer unit installed. This was there already so the electrician used the existing infrastructure for upstairs. Yes I agree about them talking to each other but after paying a few 1000s pounds to get new supply I can say that the attitude of all the professionals involved is mind blowing. DNO was on site this week and signed off the installation inside the meter box with the fuses and no space for a meter.. Engineer for supplier cancelled last minute and didn't show up until the next day at which point started saying that none of it was right..

 

[davesparks]

My (very little) understanding of what he has tried to do is that he has install the switch fuse into the meter box, then run the SWA cable inside the property, then meter operator was supposed to connect that to the meter and meter to the consumer unit. Meter operator asks for new meter box inside the property plus a board for the meter to go onto.

OK, it sounds like you/he may be trying to install a BNO style setup for 2 flats?

You need to talk to your electrician and find out what they are actually doing here and what has been agreed with the DNO and metering companies involved.

Also what is the back-story to this setup?
Is this replacing 2 existing seperate supllies to 2 installations? Or is it 1 building being split into 2 flats?

I can see how you might have arrived at this confused setup if the other flat already had a pre-existing meter and this supply is replacing the previous one.

 

[Ericsson]

OK, it sounds like you/he may be trying to install a BNO style setup for 2 flats?

You need to talk to your electrician and find out what they are actually doing here and what has been agreed with the DNO and metering companies involved.

Also what is the back-story to this setup?
Is this replacing 2 existing seperate supllies to 2 installations? Or is it 1 building being split into 2 flats?

I can see how you might have arrived at this confused setup if the other flat already had a pre-existing meter and this supply is replacing the previous one.

1 Victorian property split into 2 flats, hence the mess and the confusion. Previous installation was from last century. The DNO cut out, the meter and a riser to supply upstairs where all inside the property in what currently is going to be the bathroom!