Looped supply, selfish neighbour!

dinkypo

2 weeks ago when getting the electric meter readings, I noticed the main cable box was leaking oil so I called Electricity Northwest. They were brilliant, came out straight away and explained it's a 70 year old main feed set-up and needs replacing urgently as it's being overloaded. The oil is bitumen that has broken down and that's what the leak is. 
Problem is, the main feed to next door is also in my house. EN have been out 4 times now to replace this cable and housing etc, but next door is either not in, or when she was in, she told EN she had to go back to work so they couldn't do it. 
I have pushed a note through her door explaining EN needs urgent access and they have also pushed 3 leaflets through saying the same. For some unknown reason, she just isn't bothered about getting this sorted and won't give EN access to carry out the work. 
In the meantime I'm terrified of using an appliance that uses a lot of power and having nightmares about electrical fires! 
One of the engineers that came out said EN can just cut the cable outside, do the work and reconnect it. However, after ringing EN again as I'm desperate to get this fixed before Xmas, they said they can't just cut off her supply without her knowledge, so I'm back to square one. 

I mentioned to EN that I want the supply split so my property no longer feeds next door and they directed me to the website. After looking into this, it's likely to cost well over £1000 which I don't have and also, I really don't see why I should pay for something I was unaware of when I bought the house, and also the reason I want it split is because next door is being so obstructive against this urgent work being done. 

So, for anyone with more knowledge about this than me, do I have any rights to request that the shared supply is split? Will I have to pay for it when the whole reason is because of my selfish neighbour? 

For a bit of background, there has never been any falling out or anything at all. We're both fairly quiet people but have said hello in passing etc so I'm shocked why she's behaving like this. 
Her house is Council or Housing association owned and mine is privately owned. 

Eldi_Dos

The electrical supply is being overloaded and neighbour will not let anyone into her property, wonder what is going on in there.

bris

It's common and found on many properties like terraced houses etc. The maims is fed to one house and looped along the the row, just like a ring main in your house, all the sockets are looped into one breaker at the board.

The reason it's so expensive is because they would need to bring you a new supply that could be pretty far away.

No you can't request the supply is split because it's the done thing, common and within the building regs.

Your best bet is to have a last try with the neighbour and if she still doesn't do it talk to the housing association. If it is dangerous they need to act and can force entry to do so.

There is no danger though, simply because the DNO (EN) would not allow a dangerous situation to continue so not sure why they are saying that and doing nothing about it because they do have that power in dangerous situations.

Norman_Castle

Presumably its just the feed to the meter that needs replacing. Does she understand exactly what needs doing? She may be picturing a full rewire with the associated mess or an unwelcome smart meter. Have you tried knocking the door to talk to her? If she continues to refuse find out who the landlord is and either contact them yourself or ask the supplier to contact them. Its clearly an ongoing problem which will only get worse.

"One of the engineers that came out said EN can just cut the cable outside, do the work and reconnect it. However, after ringing EN again as I'm desperate to get this fixed before Xmas, they said they can't just cut off her supply without her knowledge,"

If she is given prior notice about a disconnection they wont be doing this without her knowledge.

Rosa_Damascena

Eldi_Dos said:

The electrical supply is being overloaded and neighbour will not let anyone into her property, wonder what is going on in there.

Maybe she is working from home 24/7 and doesn't want to be disturbed? I might be completely wrong, but I'm in that exact situation and ignore knocks on the door (there is a clear sign on my door to discourage unsolicited callers). Just because I am am not working at another site does not mean I can change my schedule to accommodate every chancer out there. 

So she may not be 100% selfish but concerned about leaving her service unattended / loss of income whilst the work is being done? You'll never know until you speak to her. There must be something in her deeds about right of access for key utilities? OTOH she may be overseeing a cannabis farm, you never know!

[Deleted User]

She may just want to be left in peace as your problem isn't hers. If it was dangerous, the electric board would either get a court order to gain entry to your neighbours house or give notice that her supply will be cut off for a short while for works to be carried out. I can't understand why they are waiting around and don't just do the latter.  

greyteam1959

Tell whoever it is that wants to do the work on her house to contact the Housing Association or Council Housing Dept.

fenwick458

dinkypo said:

2 weeks ago when getting the electric meter readings, I noticed the main cable box was leaking oil so I called Electricity Northwest.

an old service head leaking bitumen is not urgent. it's 70 years old and a few drips have come out, too be honest you could wait another 10 years and only a few more drips would come out... even if it all suddenly turned back to a liquid and fell out, nothing bad is going to happen.

dinkypo said:

In the meantime I'm terrified of using an appliance that uses a lot of power and having nightmares about electrical fires! 

I wouldn't be worrying about an electrical fire

how long has it been? I'd start to get a bit worried in a years time if your neighbour still hasn't got back to you about it