How do I get my electricity meters moved?

shoppingnoodles

Hi there.

Apologies if this is a really thick question-I am pretty clueless in this department!

The electricity meters and consumer units for my house are in my bathroom. They are in an enormous floor to ceiling cupboard which protrudes into the room by about 4 feet square, taking up a huge space. I would love to get rid of this huge cupboard, so would need to get the electrical stuff moved elsewhere, or at least onto the outside wall so that the cupboard could be made much smaller.

Who should I speak to about this? A friend told me that I may need to talk to my electricity supplier as it their meter. Is that correct? What do you think it might cost approximately? I would be really grateful for any advice.

Thanks in advance!

Bluefusion

we had an old house, and wanted the meter moved the otherside of a wall but were quoted over £3,000 because we were told the cable coming in was lead and would break when moved and would need to be replaced right through to the street!

shoppingnoodles

Bluefusion wrote:

we had an old house, and wanted the meter moved the otherside of a wall but were quoted over £3,000 because we were told the cable coming in was lead and would break when moved and would need to be replaced right through to the street!

EEEEK!!!!!:eek:

travel_freak

Hello Shoppingnoodles,

I have a similar problem with really inconvenient gas and electric meters.

Apparently gas is much more expensive to move than electric so you're lucky there. My investigations so far have established that you need to contact your electricity supplier to move the meter itself. My electric meter is with Southern Electric and they are sending someone out to look and quote. I think the cost also depends on how far away the new location is. I tried to get a rough idea over the phone as if it's mega expensive then I won't be doing it but they wouldn't commit over the phone.

I think also that the supplier only quotes you for moving the meter itself and if you need your consumer unit moving too (where the fuses etc are) then you would pay extra for that. For the consumer unit I think you can get an NICEIC qualified chappie to move that but that everything else needs to be done by the supplier - but best to double check this with your supplier.

Apparently it's free of charge to move if the meter is deemed to be dangerous in its current location - but not quite sure what constitutes a danger - mine unfortunately isn't.

Good luck!
Regards

shoppingnoodles

travel_freak wrote:

Apparently it's free of charge to move if the meter is deemed to be dangerous in its current location - but not quite sure what constitutes a danger - mine unfortunately isn't.

Regards

Thanks travel_freak for your help. Hope it turns out to be nice and cheap to move your meters.

I wonder if mine are in a "dangerous" place being in a bathroom? The friend who appears to have correctly advised me to contact the supplier thought that their current location might be against building regulations due to their proximity to water/condensation. Anyone know if this is the case?

flang

Expect to pay at least £400 just to have your meter disconnected/reconnected by your electricity supplier, the cable feeding your meter is usually not isolatable hence the high costs!!!
You will need to check who owns your meter, eg: Scotish and Southern electric, London Electricity etc

travel_freak

Hello Shoppingnoodles,

If you ask for your supplier to come out and quote for moving the meter they should be able to tell you if it's already in a dangerous position so that you may not have to pay to get it relocated. My supplier (Southern Electric) doesn't charge for coming out to quote. Perhaps when you book the call you could say what your friend told you about it possibly being dangerous and you're worried about it and are thinking of moving it because of this and could they come out and advise?

Mine is in the kitchen and a builder told me the same thing that it might be dangerous because it's under a cupboard and water might get in but when the Southern Electric guy came to wipe the meter (it's a card prepayment type) I asked him and he told me it definitely wasn't dangerous and I'd have to pay if I wanted it to be moved. I tried!

Good luck.

roger56

shoppingnoodles wrote:

Thanks travel_freak for your help. Hope it turns out to be nice and cheap to move your meters.

I wonder if mine are in a "dangerous" place being in a bathroom? The friend who appears to have correctly advised me to contact the supplier thought that their current location might be against building regulations due to their proximity to water/condensation. Anyone know if this is the case?

Very very dangerous in a bathroom, I'd advise you get this checked immediately. The bathroom is considered a "special location" as water and electricity together are very un-healthy for us humans.
Any work changing meters and consumer unit is "notifiable" under the building regulations. Read here to start being aware:
http://www.niceic.org.uk/consumers/leaflets.html

Read the "Electrical Hazards in the Home" leaflet, especially the bit about bathroom safety.

Moving meter and consumer unit will not be cheap. Expect a bill of at least £1000 and unfortunately you legally cannot DIY unless you are qualified to do so.
You should also be aware that if other faults are found in the existing wiring that affect safety, they must be fixed.

misgrace

Roger is correct, as I too would love my meter and fuse box moved, its not in the bathroom, but the builders, planners etc must have been on drugs when they decided to put it behind a naff cupboard right in the corner of the sitting room, so as soon as you come in the door, your eye is drawn to it.
We are in the process of building a nice oak type unit around it, so at least the lecky man can open a door and read it.

Sorry to go off tangent here, but my son in law works for the electricity board, and I asked him to move it on the side for me ;-),but he cant, its got to go through the proper channels, and he said it would cost over £1000.:eek:

shoppingnoodles

Thanks everyone for your advice. Looks like I'd better prepare for a scary bill.
Just the job for after Christmas! :shocked: