Faulty connection near meter causing 30% extra usage.

jimbobalula

I've had problems with excessive electricity usage for about 3 years now.I did ask Scottish power about it ( Approx 35 kwz of usage per day in a smallish terraced property in springtime) they agreed that it did seem high but that it was correct,I asked about a check but the charge if it wasn't faulty put me off as I was in dire straits financially at that time.
This year (Feb 15th 2008) the bakelite box next to the meter began to smoulder and the house was full of the smell of electrical burning.i called SP and they sent out repair men.One of which told me that I will have been using extra electricity as the Neutral wire into the main box was faulty.
Since then I have been measuring the electricity used and I'm averaging 18 to 20 units per day now even though it's been cold.SP are still estimating my bill at 31-32 units per day!!!
My question is,can I claim excess used back from S power?...are they responsible for the incoming wires?

Yours in anticipation and appreciation

jimbob

Oh and hello to everyone on MSE

Terrylw1

Hi Jimbob.

When you say the neutral wire into the fusebox, do you mean the wires coming directly out of the meter itself or just into the fusebox?

If the meter engineer has caused it, then you have a case athough it's very hard to prove if the meter has been removed or the situation corrected. Although, that engineers report would suffice if it's mentioned.

If the private electrician who installed the fusebox caused this then it's really not the Suppliers issue. They may help out of goodwill but you would be looking at reclaiming costs from the dodgy electrician if the wiring was not up to standard.

Maybe some of the more electrically minded on here can help such as Cardew.

Your Supplier will estimate based on the readings they have in the past. Get a reading from your meter to replace the next few bills which will bring it back inline. Try not to use estimates at all though, they are never right.

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.

Whoever told you that a neutral wire can cause you to use extra electricity is talking out of his ****.

You cannot 'destroy' energy. Where is the extra electricity going?

Even 1kW of electricity(the equivalent of a 1 bar electric fire) has to be dissipated as heat and would cause a bakelite fuse box to melt in minutes; the 12kW you are talking about would cause your house to melt.

If they are saying that the meter was faulty, that is another matter; but I doubt if the wire could cause that either.

jimbobalula

Thanks for your replies guys.
I don't think that I explained myself too well there
The box they had to replace is streetside,next is the meter then the fusebox.The wire which was faulty was in the streetside box.According to the engineer because this wire was next to useless,whenever I tried to use something which required a lot of juice ie kettle shower etc,and all my lights dimmed for a moment like the Death Star powering up,he reckoned that the power would increase through my live or something therefore increasing my usage.
There is no doubt that my usage has gone down by a third since the repair.....Look I'm a fitter/turner,I just hit things with hammers and that so sorry about the poor explanation

leccylite

It sounds to me like you are talking about what I know as a "service turret" or something similar. In short - if the problem was external to your property and (as it sounds) was on the equipment of the network operator (which is not necessarily your supplier, although they will be able to tell you who your local network operator is) then the fault and any resulting compensation should be from them.
I would, however, start by talking to your supplier about it, and then I suspect they will refer you on to the correct section of your network operator.

SwanJon

If you have a recent bill, it will say on it who your distributor is.

If the issue was before your meter, it would be very odd for it to affect the meter and anything after it (happy to be corrected).

Do you use electriucity for heating (20kWh/day~7300 kWh/year)?
As it is (theoretically) getting warmer, that could explain why you are using less.

jimbobalula

I'm Gas central heating and with a gas hob.People in this size property,basically a two up two down midterrace with a loft extension seem to use around 12 to 16 units,maybe someone with a similar property could give me a heads up on this before i start shouting my gob off to SP....:rolleyes:

Garz

I cant get my head round this either. Can you provide a better description of your setup or a picture?