Moving electricity supply - building work

[garyo]

I've asked our local operator to change my overhead supply cable to underground.

It's a tough process due to staff shortages. I don't need the meter to be moved, so I asked for a quote for them to

• trench across 6 metres of concrete covered drive so that the new cable would pop-up in the garage,
• clip cable up the inside garage wall, then through the wall to the existing meter on the other side.

The quote I've received seems too cheap based on what I've heard (£600), and fairly non-descript. I have a couple of pages of small-print, which seems to imply that I do most of the work (dig trench, fit 32mm ENATS compliant ducting with draw string, etc) and they just connect a cable. Does that tally with the experience of others on here?

This is fine as long as I know what's expected of me. Lots of talk of hockey sticks which I think it only relevant if I'm moving a meter, and they seem to stipulate that an electrician needs to be on-site, but I'm not sure if that's only a requirement if I'm moving my meter?

Could anyone confirm:

• The customer (and their builder) always does the trenching/ducting and making good.
• Having an electician on site isn't required for a simple supply move.
• They'll be willing to clip up a garage wall and aren't going to arrive then refuse to do the job because I need to trench all the way into the room that has the meter?

The supplier is S&SE

Thanks

 

[bernardgreen]

Price seems OK providing there is no work that involves public highway and with you doing the trenching and installing the ducting to their specification.

My new supply in 2011 cost about £900 The initial quote for my supply was about £3000 to cover possible highway incursions.

They should send a surveyor a few days before the planned date to check the details are correct. It was this surveyor who suggested a slight alteration which reduced the price from £3000 to £900. It meant a slightly longer trench but removed the need for traffic management

Customer does not always do the trenching but it does reduce price if he does. Also the trench can be opened, duct installed and trench back filled any time before the service is moved. Take photographs of the trench with clear indication( tape measure ) of how deep the trench is as proof it has been done to the specification

More relevant to your situation. Back in 1980 for a new DIY selfbuild house the electricity company offered an over head supply to a new pole in our property. We asked for it to be underground. we trenched to the pole in the street which was about 2 foot from the property boundary and installed a duct.

 

[garyo]

Thanks Bernard that's really helpful.

The pole that currently supplies us is on our property boundary at the end of the drive, or perhaps 6 inches into the grass verge that separates our property from the pavement, so I'm hoping to avoid highways issues.

In your experience did you terminate your duct right under the meter, or was it acceptable for them to clip up and along a wall for few metres here and there?

The smallprint says I need to use 32mm ENATS duct, 450mm deep. Other than putting it on a sand bed and putting marker tape above, is there anything else?

 

[bernardgreen]

At the meter end duct ended below ground level directly under the meter box. The cable was then bent by the DNO engineers ( minimum bending radius ) to run up the outside of the wall into the recessed meter box. A plastic cover was fitted over the cable.

To comply with the minimum bending radius for the cable and have the cable vertical as it comes out of the ground at the wall may require the trench to be a bit deeper for the last few feet. Same may apply for the end at the post.