Who is responsible for Electricity board and wiring in a house split into flats?

wookie6 · 16 July 2018 at 9:22PM

Hi,

I'm wondering if someone can help as I'm getting mixed messages from Electricians and Electricity Companies as to responsibility for wiring in and out of the meters.

There are 3 flats (all freehold owned) in a house. There is an electric board with meters on it that serves electric for all 3 flats and the communal electricity supply. The meters and wiring are very old and should be updated to modern meters and wiring, equally there may be redundant wiring and meters on the electricity board. To complicate matters, each flat's electricity is currently supplied by a different energy supplier.

I believe I am correct in saying that any individual owner of a flat could request their electricity supplier replace their meter(s) with a smart meter (I assume this is all they would fit in terms of a replacement meter?), however this would not address the surrounding wiring / the board as a whole.

Who is responsible for what? What are the freeholders responsible for and what are the electricity company responsible for?

What would be the best way to get the whole board replaced as a whole (new meters for all flats / new wiring / redundant meters & wiring removed)?

Thanks in advance!

Doozergirl · 16 July 2018 at 9:53PM

Anything from outside up to and including the meter is the responsibility of the electricity companies. A change of meter is requested from the provider.

Anything after the meter is the homeowner's responsibility.

Risteard · 16 July 2018 at 10:24PM

It will depend whether there is a BNO or not.

Ectophile · 16 July 2018 at 10:39PM

It's all a bit complicated. The supply cut-out (the thing with the supplier's fuse in) is owned by the DNO (District Network Operator). The meter is owned by the electricity supplier, and could be different for each flat.

The wiring in the building is probably the responsibility of the BNO (Building Network Operator), which in practice is the freeholder. In many cases, it used to be the DNO who did the building wiring. But they invented the concept of the BNO as a way to disclaim any responsibility for it.

wookie6 · 16 July 2018 at 11:17PM

Thanks all for the replies this helps, so essentially any wiring up to and including the meter is the responsibility of the electric company and any wiring from the meter is the responsibility of the freeholders.

Ectophile - Who is the District Network Operator (DNO) if its not the Electricity supplier? Also where would the supply cut-out (the thing with the supplier's fuse in) usually be located? I've never heard of it before...

onomatopoeia99 · 16 July 2018 at 11:31PM

wookie6 wrote: »

Ectophile - Who is the District Network Operator (DNO) if its not the Electricity supplier?

The electricty DNO looks after the infrastructure, which is all the cables carrying the electric to your and other's houses (simply put). That doesn't change when you switch supplier. In my part of the world it is Western power distribution.

wookie6 · 16 July 2018 at 11:34PM

onomatopoeia99 - This helps a lot. So essentially I should find out who my DNO is and ask them to replace all cables leading to the meters and ask the electricity supplier(s) to replace the meters themselves, after which its then down to the freeholders to replace all wiring from the meters.

wookie6 · 16 July 2018 at 11:37PM

Following on from my previous post, this link proved useful in locating my District Network Operator (DNO):

https://www.ovoenergy.com/guides/energy-guides/dno.html

Ectophile · 17 July 2018 at 9:55PM

wookie6 wrote: »

Thanks all for the replies this helps, so essentially any wiring up to and including the meter is the responsibility of the electric company and any wiring from the meter is the responsibility of the freeholders.

Ectophile - Who is the District Network Operator (DNO) if its not the Electricity supplier? Also where would the supply cut-out (the thing with the supplier's fuse in) usually be located? I've never heard of it before...

wookie6 has posted a useful link to find your DNO.

The "cut-out" is generally a black or grey plastic lump fixed to the wall near the meter. The mains cable from the street comes in here, and there is the main supplier's fuse, or 3 fuses if it's a 3-phase supply. From there individual live and neutral tails (red & black, or brown & blue, depending on the age) go off to the meters.

In this picture, it's the box on the left https://www.flameport.com/electric/supply_types/supply_TNCS_oldcolours.png marked 100A.

malky39 · 18 July 2018 at 7:47PM

wookie6 wrote: »

onomatopoeia99 - This helps a lot. So essentially I should find out who my DNO is and ask them to replace all cables leading to the meters and ask the electricity supplier(s) to replace the meters themselves, after which its then down to the freeholders to replace all wiring from the meters.

Contact your energy supplier, If they agree to come out and change the meter, they will change the cables from the main cut out or fuse into the bottom of the meter, the first two cables If they require changing they may look old to you but they may be perfectly fine. The 3rd and 4th cable coming out of the meter are the customers responsibility and would be changed by the qualified electrician of your choice at your cost.

wookie6 · 19 July 2018 at 11:03PM

Thanks for these two follow ups Ectophile and malky39, these are very helpful.

Who is responsible for Electricity board and wiring in a house split into flats?

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