Meter Box Contents.

[SUNRAY]

Just had an interesting phone call.

A customer in the middle of self build has had a temporary supply for about 4 years, that might seem a lot but covid changed things a lot for them. We installed a GRP enclosure on a couple of wooden fenceposts, this is somewhat bigger than a regular meter box, from memory I'll say 1m high x 600wide, and the original expectation was a standard meter box would be mounted on the other side of the posts.

The enclosure contains an isolator, Henley block, 60A fused switch feeding mobile home, CU for site work including 5KVA 110 transformer & second CU (No main switch) with double pole MCB's. We were on site installing when service was provided and they fitted cut-out and meter in the enclosure and even provided tails into our isolator, to add insult to injury they took the meterbox with them.

The visit today was to fit smart meter, customer has been given notice remove unauthorised items from the enclosure...

Customer is intending to look at CCTV as he has saved great swathes of salient points as a history of the build.

 

[mattylad]

Who's is the GRP enclosure?
IF the DNO did not fit it then tell them to do one.

 

[SUNRAY]

Who's is the GRP enclosure?
IF the DNO did not fit it then tell them to do one.

They certainly didn't supply it and everything else was in there before they asked us for a hole for their cable IIRC we even changed the 'locks' to standard meter box triangular key. (stock items for panel builders)

Having done a little on-line searching it seems the space in standard meter boxes is becoming a problem for smart meters (which are usually bigger than dumb versions) and MOP/DNO are clamping down on the agreement that meter boxes are for their exclusive use.

 

[mattylad]

What agreement? did you agree? lol

 

[SUNRAY]

What agreement? did you agree? lol

No we didn't and we had provided an 'official meter box' which disappeared when the supply was put in, it was providers decision to install in the wrong place .

This is the sort of thing I'm quite often hearing about when the MOP attempt to fit smart meters:

Guidance on equipment in meter boxes

Electrical equipment associated with the consumer’s electrical installation is increasingly being found within the meter cabinet of domestic and similar premises. The space within such cabinets is limited and typically allocated for specific usages by the distributor and energy supplier and...

www.voltimum.co.uk

 

[mattylad]

That suggests that it was the person putting the supply in (DNO?) that removed the supply box.
Which make it their responsibility/problem not yours.
Remind them of what you said, put the onus on them to refit the original (new) box you originally supplied if they cannot fit a new meter in the current box. Even though the recommendations state that the onus is on the user to provide a suitable enclosure (which you/they did) then surely this is down to them - tell them to not fit their smart meter in that enclosure and to return the original one (I'm sure they will have them).

Your supposed to be the expert here, not me - I'm only a lowly user/diy'r

 

[ebee]

A pal of mine came across a similar situation a few years back.
He got a letter insisting he removed the CU etc from "their board" etc etc threatening to tear his arms and legs off if he did not comply.
He rang them = " You remove your meter from My board immediately, I put that board there and put my CU on it then you cheeky gits fitted your meter on my board because it was in a better condition than your board and cutout!" .

Strangely enough their manner changed and they asked his kind permission to leave their meter on his board.

 

[SUNRAY]

I haven't seen it but the CCTV footage from August 2018 exists, it shows the self builder digging trenches with a mini digger, a colleague and me screwing the enclosure to the posts, offering the meter box to the rear then placing it on the ground. It shows us installing the feed to the mobile home. Due to the open door being in the way it doesn't show what items from cardboard boxes we were installing.
3 vans arrived, they ran out a length of cable to reach the house, coiled it against the posts and putting a layer of dirt over the cable in the trench, spent under half hour working in the enclosure, clearing their mess they removed the meter box we had supplied.

It is listed as a temporary supply to a building plot.

I think DNO/MOP may have bigger fish to fry.