Electricity meter replacement-WHY

Pennti

Hi guys,

Npower want to replace my electricity meter with a new one, they tell me that it is quite normal to do this every few years, however I cannot find anybody that has had their meter changed unless it was faulty.

There is nothing wrong with my existing meter

Does anybody know why they want to replace my meter and should I be wary.

chanz4

It will of reached its end of life, so yes its normal.

[Deleted User]

There are a huge number of electric and gas meters being replaced all the time, I must have seen at least twenty recently replaced today alone, in fact my own are being switched to smart meters shortly. My" dial " meter has been in my property for at least 50 years, so what the lifetime of a meter is seems open to question. Dont forget to claim compensation if they happen not to turn up, and get a short time slot, not 8am to 8 pm

Terrylw1

Its perfectly normal.

Its called recertification and its their to protect you from inaccuracy, faults and danger.

The life of meters are determined by the National Measurements Office (NMO) and suppliers are expected to change them based on this life expectancy.

You can check your meters life on here in Schedule 4.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/1566/contents/made

misterbarlow

every make and model is given a specific shelf life..

although they generally remain accurate for ever, once that life has expired the supplier can no longer 'guarantee' its accuracy and you will have trouble disputing any bills/readings you are unahppy with once its out of certification...

Get loads of consumers saying they dont want it changed, and as soon as I quote that they usually let me...

Terrylw1

misterbarlow wrote: »

every make and model is given a specific shelf life..

although they generally remain accurate for ever, once that life has expired the supplier can no longer 'guarantee' its accuracy and you will have trouble disputing any bills/readings you are unahppy with once its out of certification...

Get loads of consumers saying they dont want it changed, and as soon as I quote that they usually let me...

There is also many thousands that haven't been changed and the customer isn't a factor, its just not been managed properly. Ofgem do very little to keep an eye on this.

shalimar

I had an isolater fitted for free by Scottish Power. When doing this they moved the meter away from the distribution board to the other cellar.
The electrician who arrived to rewire my house said they'd moved it so they where no longer responsible for THEIR undersized cables to the board. Sneeky or what! Never told me they were undersized.
I thought their business was safe electrical supply.
Hope this helps, Shalimar

misterbarlow

shalimar wrote: »

I had an isolater fitted for free by Scottish Power. When doing this they moved the meter away from the distribution board to the other cellar.
The electrician who arrived to rewire my house said they'd moved it so they where no longer responsible for THEIR undersized cables to the board. Sneeky or what! Never told me they were undersized.
I thought their business was safe electrical supply.
Hope this helps, Shalimar

not sure what you mean from that description...
the meter operator is only responsible for the tails supplying the meter from the cutout fuse, their responsibility ends at the outgoing meter terminals, the tails from the meter to the cons unit are yours!!..

mazza111

Mine was replaced last year, absolutely nothing to worry about. They probably do them all in batches.

Terrylw1

shalimar wrote: »

I had an isolater fitted for free by Scottish Power. When doing this they moved the meter away from the distribution board to the other cellar.
The electrician who arrived to rewire my house said they'd moved it so they where no longer responsible for THEIR undersized cables to the board. Sneeky or what! Never told me they were undersized.
I thought their business was safe electrical supply.
Hope this helps, Shalimar

The tails are yours as provides by the sparky you employer. If the meter is moved a significant distance they are responsible for the work they do, so the sparky is wrong there.

But who did the move, the distributor or meter operator?

misterbarlow - is it possibly where they fit a KVM switch to allow more distance? Still seems a distributing job to me but I recall some jobs years ago where the meter was moved into a garage but it wax too far from the cut out and a switch was fitted...but it was years ago so I can't be sure.

NiftyDigits

Terrylw1 wrote: »

The tails are yours as provides by the sparky you employer. If the meter is moved a significant distance they are responsible for the work they do, so the sparky is wrong there.

But who did the move, the distributor or meter operator?

misterbarlow - is it possibly where they fit a KVM switch to allow more distance? Still seems a distributing job to me but I recall some jobs years ago where the meter was moved into a garage but it wax too far from the cut out and a switch was fitted...but it was years ago so I can't be sure.

Have sent you a PM.