Moving gas meter - but does supplier have to do it?

Kai77

My gas meter is outside next to my neighbours' (we live on different floors of the same property).

They want to move both our meters 1m or so across for aesthetic reasons (the meters are on his front wall).

In principle I don't have an issue except it is a bit of a faff re discussions/admin.

The neighbour was saying they didn't want to go through Cadent but they know someone qualified who can do it. Spoke to my energy supplier who said they have to give permission and they have to do the work themselves via an approved third party (assuming this might be Cadent??).

Is all this correct? At this point I'm probably going to say no but would be good to understand how it usually works first. Also does anyone know what qualifications someone should have to move it?

CliveOfIndia

Yes, this is correct - only your supplier is allowed to move meters.

Kai77 said:

Also does anyone know what qualifications someone should have to move it?

They'd have to be GSR registered.  But that's a moot point, as your supplier will use their own approved contractor anyway.

MattMattMattUK

Kai77 said:

My gas meter is outside next to my neighbours' (we live on different floors of the same property).

They want to move both our meters 1m or so across for aesthetic reasons (the meters are on his front wall).

In principle I don't have an issue except it is a bit of a faff re discussions/admin.

The neighbour was saying they didn't want to go through Cadent but they know someone qualified who can do it. Spoke to my energy supplier who said they have to give permission and they have to do the work themselves via an approved third party (assuming this might be Cadent??).

Is all this correct? At this point I'm probably going to say no but would be good to understand how it usually works first. Also does anyone know what qualifications someone should have to move it?

No one other than Cadent (or an approved and authorised subcontractor) is allowed to move either the gas meter or the pipes on the supplier side of the meter, doing so is potentially a criminal offense rather than just a civil one. 

Kai77

Thanks. It's strange that he was going to get someone in to do it as he didn't want to pay Cadent but maybe he doesn't know the protocol. 

MattMattMattUK

Kai77 said:

Thanks. It's strange that he was going to get someone in to do it as he didn't want to pay Cadent but maybe he doesn't know the protocol. 

Cadent probably quoted him a few thousand, someone from down the pub offered to do it for less. 

jefaz07

As above. Defo needs to be an approved contractor, tested correctly and reported for gas off/on times against the service ID’s
It also has nothing to do with your supplier, they don’t own the pipes, you’d go to Cadent direct for an alteration. 

Kai77

Thank you. My supplier - Ovo - were insistent I have to get their permission and it needs to be done through their third party although I think it's Cadent. 

jefaz07

Kai77 said:

Thank you. My supplier - Ovo - were insistent I have to get their permission and it needs to be done through their third party although I think it's Cadent. 

I’m not aware of anything that would require their permission. The pipe isn’t theirs, up to and including the ECV belongs to the network. The governor and meter is theirs and the outlet and everything after is yours. 

Ectophile

It's nothing to do with the supplier who you pay your bills to.

When I needed my meter moved, I contacted the local gas network company, and paid them to do the work.  After the work was done, it was still the same meter, but attached to a different bit of the house.

Lorian

Cadent moved mine, it was the only choice and my supplier were not involved. Cadent did the dig to move the pipe, the refilling and the I internal pipe work but you pay extra for these. 

You can get a quote online here https://cadentgas.com/our-services/household-customers/alterations

I should add it cost quite a lot, separate teams did all their various parts in coordination all on the same day. At least 5 people involved! They even barriered off the dig in my back garden :-)

Kai77

Thank you. Sounds like Ovo are basically trying to get some extra kickback out of this then as they were adamant that permission was needed before proceeding so that they 'can advise' me accordingly (they said in case there were complications for the property).

Interesting to hear just how complex it is. There's zero benefit to me doing this and the wider building work they're doing is already causing a lot of noise and disruption so I think I'll say no.