Query About New Fuse Box.

[nemo123]

I have recently had a new fuse box installed by a council contractor . My latest electricity bill as calculated by meter readings that I take and telephone to my electricity and gas provider ( as I do every month to avoid estimated billing) is significantly higher than any ( 2 years) previous consumption, despite the fact that my consumption has not changed. ie, No other persons living in the property, no new electrical items being used.
I would be extremely grateful for any advice and guidance as to wether any actions carried out by the councils electrician could have inadvertently or otherwise, now be effecting the metering amounts of the electricity being used and the subsequent increase in meter numbers, compared with the previous 24 months of usage.
I would just like to add that I am not referring to electricity price increases, but specifically the amount of electricity that the meter states is being used.
Thank you very much to any electricians that can help me with this very worrying situation.

 

[littlespark]

Can we get a photograph of all the equipment? Fusebox, meters etc

I’m thinking they may have reconnected heaters that should be on an off peak tariff onto a 24 hr more expensive side.

How much extra units are we talking?

 

[nemo123]

Can we get a photograph of all the equipment? Fusebox, meters etc

I’m thinking they may have reconnected heaters that should be on an off peak tariff onto a 24 hr more expensive side.

How much extra units are we talking?

Hi, thank you so much for your reply. There is no electrical heating , just mains lights, plug sockets, electric cooker, fridge freezer, washing machine ( no tumble dryer or dish washer) .
Could you tell me if it physically possible for an electrician to alter the amount of electricity that the meter " thinks" is being used.
Again , many thanks.

 

[oscar21]

Was it just one previous consumer unit or several smaller units, did you have economy 7 before or a dual rate meter, if so maybe one of the consumer units was tailed in wrong bypassing the meter.

If everything was a like for like swap and nothing iffy was going on before then nothing the electrician could have done would relate to the higher charges now, even if he connected everything backwards. You used to be able to swap the tails round and spin the old analogue meters backwards but not forward any quicker but that doesn't work with the newer digital ones anyway.

 

[nemo123]

Was it just one previous consumer unit or several smaller units, did you have economy 7 before or a dual rate meter, if so maybe one of the consumer units was tailed in wrong bypassing the meter.

If everything was a like for like swap and nothing iffy was going on before then nothing the electrician could have done would relate to the higher charges now, even if he connected everything backwards. You used to be able to swap the tails round and spin the old analogue meters backwards but not forward any quicker but that doesn't work with the newer digital ones anyway.

Hi, thank you. It was analogue old meter , replaced with updated replacement analogue new meter. Can analogue meters be made to " move forward " at a faster rate ? At the risk of sounding a bit paranoid, I have reason to believe something " iffy" has taken place here and I need to equip myself with as much tech info as I can , before I approach my energy provider. Like most folk, electricity is just something we use, having little to no real understanding of how things work, untill , I'm really grateful for the help and information and your time, helping me get to the bottom of this. So just to summarize, you don't believe that the electrician could have tampered with anything to account for the increase ?

 

[westward10]

Meters react to the amount of energy being consumed. It is highly unlikely replacement of your consumer unit has resulted in higher energy usage so with the only other change being the meter that must be the cause. It is possible your previous meter was not reading correctly but the new one is.

 

[nemo123]

Thank you.

 

[oscar21]

I think we need a picture to continue, what has been changed? consumer unit or meter or consumer unit and meter. Analogue means soething like this which they havent been installing for at least 30 years.