power to the people

[stevewilliams]

I'm currently drawing up plans for an extension and everyone keeps telling me that my priority should be to avoid moving the main powerline to the house as this will cost around £4000!

Is this really so? The double cable arrives from a pole within my garden and connects to the wall (incidentally only around seven feet high - so I have to be careful when moving my metal ladders around) just above my back door. Why so expensive just to move it a few feet away from my proposed building work?

Your advice gratefully received.

Steve

 

[sparkyspike]

It's not normally that expensive. Contact your electrical distribution company for a quote. You may be able to have it run underground fairly cheaply.

 

[breezer]

ask your supply company how much it will cost to move it, and why they charge that much

 

[systemtek]

I know someone who recently had his moved, they charged apx £500 to move it from inside the house to the ext, supply fed from pole, extra costs come in if new cable and digging is needed if you dig it out ready it will save you on cost.

 

[bernardgreen]

It's not normally that expensive. Contact your electrical distribution company for a quote. You may be able to have it run underground fairly cheaply.

If you dig the trench and have everything ready for EDC to just lay the cable down their post along the trench to the prepared meter box they may be only too glad to remove another bit of overhead. especially as at 7 foot it is below the recommeded safe minimum.

 

[JohnD]

IIRC they have a policy of replacing these overhaed supplies (older ones often have exposed conductors) with sheathed split.

So they might be co-operative with the idea of upgrading it in a better position. I don't know if they also have a policyt of running them in safer places.

 

[securespark]

Even better, suggest to them it's below minimum height, and ask them nicely when they move it, can they resite the cut-out X feet thattaway?

 

[Steve]

A bloke on our street built his extension around the overhead concentric feed to next door - all was going so well until he realised he'd have a thick black wire running through his bedroom! DNO came and re-sited the cable. He probably did it on purpose so the DNO only had one visit.

 

[bernardgreen]

A bloke on our street built his extension around the overhead concentric feed to next door - all was going so well until he realised he'd have a thick black wire running through his bedroom! DNO came and re-sited the cable. He probably did it on purpose so the DNO only had one visit.

Crafty

Where do you live, it sounds like you are in the same street as I am.....

( meaning a chap in our road did a very similar thing )

 

[Steve]

In fact, IIRC, it wasnt even YEDL who did the work, it was a subcontractor. The same happened when next door had a lean-to conservatory built, the power cable to next door had to be moved up the wall about 2 feet before the conservatory could be built.