Went through underground electric cable.

[Hammering]

I was digging up our front drive to lay a new water main when I hit an electric cable. I had to call out the electricity board who turned up mob handed with 4 vans, 6 men and a digger. 5 of them watched while the other got in the hole and repaired the break. They took my details and I'm now expecting a HUGE bill.

However, I've just been told by someone that the cable didn't meet certain requirements. Apparently it should be deeper than 900mm, have yellow warning tape and pea shingle round it. It didn't have any of these.

Can anyone confirm this? And could I dispute the charge on the grounds that there was no warning?

 

[kbdiy]

I think a lot will depend on how longs it's been in the ground. I don't know when the rules about marking tape an depth have been in play but if it's an old service then don't expect much sympathy from the leccy company.

 

[rjm2k]

Went through with what?

Did you check for services first?

 

[Hammering]

I hit it with a kango. We weren't expecting electric to be there, only water. We still don't know why it would be there, there was still power in the house.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

They took my details and I'm now expecting a HUGE bill.

There will be a bill.

However, I've just been told by someone that the cable didn't meet certain requirements. Apparently it should be deeper than 900mm, have yellow warning tape and pea shingle round it. It didn't have any of these.

I don't believe that there are any such mandatory requirements - the best you'll find are "recommendations" and "guidelines". DNOs are pretty much a law unto themselves.

But ask on the Electrics UK forum - there are a couple of helpful regulars there who work for a DNO.

Can anyone confirm this? And could I dispute the charge on the grounds that there was no warning?

It was your responsibility to check. Next thing to check would be your home insurance policy to see what 3rd party liability cover you have.

 

[loply]

They took my details and I'm now expecting a HUGE bill.

Well there's your first problem.

What you should have done is rang up and said "OI MY LECCY IS OFF COME FIX IT!" then when they arrived you could have simply smiled and said you've located the problem, dug a hole and exposed the rat-damaged cable ready for them to fix it, and inquired as to whether they'd be paying you for the pre-repair ground works

How long were they there for? I would think they can't be unreasonable if it was only a certain amount of time for 1 or 2 blokes, they can't charge you for the others standing around doing nothing. Well, they can try, but you can tell them to sod off.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

They will have been working live - BYA you need people not in the hole who appear to be doing nothing. Actually - I'm sure we would all hope that they do end up doing nothing, as that means nobody in the hole was killed or injured.

And yes - telling the DNO to sod off is of course an option, but a pointless one.

 

[mfarrow]

Even if the 'standard' were enforcable, you need to demonstrate that the cable was not installed at the correct depth, given possible changes in ground level over time, or even at installation. In any case this is likely to be higher up than your water pipe, which not only needs mechanical protection, but also frost protection.

Many DNOs will work live as suggested. This saves both time and money. In future you should cat scan every 300mm and not assume the route of services, which don't all just go straight out into the street.

 

[Hammering]

Thanks for your replies.

I'm going to try my insurance. Unfortunately I can't get through to their claims department. I've spent about 3 hours in their phone queue so far but their new business answers straight away!

 

[loply]

Just FYI I was renewing my home insurance just yesterday and noticed it mentioned something about cover for my liability for services coming into and out of the house. You might be lucky.

 

[Norcon]

We pulled down over head cables and blew up the transformer on a site a few year ago and never got any bill.
It was like a fireworks show with cables dancing and snaking all over the shop.