Meter change. Why is access to house needed?

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Im having my meter changed from an Economy 7 meter to a standard meter since we haven't had Economy 7 storage heating for over 20 years since our village went to oil (we have no gas!).

The electrical company are insisting the engineer may need access to the house and I asked why as the meter is on the outside of the house.

They wont say why. I think it must just be standard customer services bull$**t.

Can anybody offer any explanation?
 
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My guess would be so that they can turn off the CU main switch and not be fiddling with the service fuse under load.
 
its not, you are required to be home for the meter exchange to go ahead because we need to make sure any sensitive electrical equipment is turned of, such as TVs, Digital boxes, computers etc etc.

We also do a quick plugin socket test(very basic) to ensure your house is wired up correctly.

We are BG are also required to give you energy efficiency advice whilst with you.

Hope this clears it up.


EDIT: Oh yeah, and what BAS said.. surprised that im actually still alive.
 
It's also so they can check when they have finished that the polarity is correct.
 
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It's also so they can check when they have finished that the polarity is correct.

And also as BGSMJack said, they can collar your cheque book to get you to pay for things that will be, to be honest, totally useless to you.

But you will be able to sleep at night knowing you are covered!
 
It's mainly for polarity (i.e. your safety) DNOs & suppliers can get in huge trouble for incorrect polarity as can employees (mainly following a death after an electrician got it wrong some years ago)

On mains and service faults we now leave customers off, in some cases, if we can't gain access to check polarity
 
Does it not make any difference that as part of a building extension last year we had our whole house tested, inspected and certified?
 
they all say that guv

Incorrect polarity can happen (by mistake) at the cutout, the meter, the CU, under the pavement...

whenever wires are connected or reconnected.
 
Incorrect polarity can happen (by mistake) at the cutout, the meter, the CU, under the pavement... whenever wires are connected or reconnected.
Very true, but in the context of this thread (just an external meter change), provided only that they labelled (if not already labelled) the outgoing meter tails before they removed the old meter, they could surely confirm by testing that the polarity of what was entering the house was the same as it had been prior to the meter change, without any need to enter the house. There obviously still could be a persisting (pre-existing) polarity reversal within the house (e.g. at CU, or at individual sockets etc.), but is that 'of concern' to those just carrying out a meter change?

Kind Regards, John
 
And when power is removed, how would they know that inside the house there is not someone with their fingers in the CU trying to figure out why it has gone dead - then suddenly the power is restored.

Oops.

Just be there.
 
And when power is removed, how would they know that inside the house there is not someone with their fingers in the CU trying to figure out why it has gone dead - then suddenly the power is restored. Oops. Just be there.
I suppose anything is possible but, again in context, the OP's problem seems to arise because there is not going to be anyone in the house, but he has told that they need access - but I suppose someone might have sneeked in, unexpectedly. The same argument would suggest that, following a power cut, a DNO should not restore power until there were a DNO (wo)man with a finger on the doorbell of every affected property - again, in case someone was fiddling around inside a CU to find the cause of the loss of power!

Having said all that, I would think the other reason for needing access being discussed (to enable house CU(s) to be switched off) is more compelling - it is surely much safer/better for the meter changer to pull the fuse off-load.

Anyway, if it were me, I would definitely want to be there so I could stand annoyingly over them and question and comment on everything they did - I am a tradesman's nightmare :)

Kind Regards, John
 
There obviously still could be a persisting (pre-existing) polarity reversal within the house (e.g. at CU, or at individual sockets etc.), but is that 'of concern' to those just carrying out a meter change?

YES

Whatever the condition is prior to the work it must be correct when finished. Staff have been dismissed for incorrect polarity, it is potentially that serious.
See my earlier post there has been at least one death to a child as a result.

The CU idea is a red herring, polarity must be proven before re-energisation, no ifs, no buts, no excuses
 

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