Electric Metre Change

[greggp]

I wish to change my electricity metre in my property to a single tariff metre rather than the current Economy 10 metre. I have no storage heaters or any use for this type of metre and my bills are very high.

my energy company has said that in order for them to change the metre, I need to in the first instance get an electrician to check the wiring is suitable for a single tariff metre.

I have attached some pictures of the consumer units and the electrical metre etc.

btw, I have 2 consumer units installed, 1 is for the main house and 1 is for the loft dormer which was built in 1992.

Any help would be appreciated

Thanks
GreggP

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

Visually looks a little untidy and and some issues that could do with resolving.

 

[securespark]

get an electrician to check the wiring is suitable for a single tariff metre.

There mare issues with your installation not being up to standard, and I can see IP breaches on the boards, but what do they mean by "wiring is suitable"?

Did they say what for?

If not can you ask them?

You're currently being supplied with electricity, as you will be when they change the meter. Nothing will have changed, in that respect, only the meter type.

 

[greggp]

Below is the email from my energy company.

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Your E.ON Query

I understand that you want to change tariffs.

What we need to do.....

before we can do this we need to change the meter from an Economy 10 meter to a new single rate meter. However before we can change the meter, you will need to get an independent electrician to check if the wiring is suitable for the meter.

The only reason for this is if we do this without the check, you may leave parts of the house without power.

What you need to do....

Once you have had the wiring checked, just give us a call and we will then book
a meter exchange for you and you can then change your tariff once this has been completed.

I am sorry for the inconvenience that this causes, but we need to make sure that the work we do is correct and will not affect your supply

If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

[greggp]

get an electrician to check the wiring is suitable for a single tariff metre.

There mare issues with your installation not being up to standard, and I can see IP breaches on the boards, but what do they mean by "wiring is suitable"?

Did they say what for?

If not can you ask them?

You're currently being supplied with electricity, as you will be when they change the meter. Nothing will have changed, in that respect, only the meter type.

You say mare issues!

Are you able to advise what needs addressing please? And any rough costs involved?

The property is a 1935 house with solid walls and plastered.

 

[plugwash]

There mare issues with your installation not being up to standard, and I can see IP breaches on the boards, but what do they mean by "wiring is suitable"?

Maybe they are reffering to not having any boards which are switched by the off-peak meter/timeclock arrangement.

 

[rjm2k]

The only reason for this is if we do this without the check, you may leave parts of the house without power.

They seem to be suggesting you get someone to check that nothing is still using the economy supply (eg heaters) so that when they disconnect the economy bit they don't leave you without heating etc. Assuming nothing else was ever connected to the economy side of things, you should be ok since you say nothing uses that tarrif any more. Does beg the question though, if nothing is connected, why is your bill so high or is that just how it works?

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

Are you able to advise what needs addressing please? And any rough costs involved?

The property is a 1935 house with solid walls and plastered.

It would be difficult to say just by looking at the photos, could end up being a simple tidy up job or a can of worms.

I take it that the wiring or any part of it is not from 1935.

 

[JohnW2]

They seem to be suggesting you get someone to check that nothing is still using the economy supply (eg heaters) so that when they disconnect the economy bit they don't leave you without heating etc. Assuming nothing else was ever connected to the economy side of things, you should be ok since you say nothing uses that tarrif any more.

Indeed so. Although, as people have said, there are apects of the installation which could benefit from tidying (or maybe more), I doubt whether that is of any concern to EON.

Does beg the question though, if nothing is connected, why is your bill so high or is that just how it works?

That's just how it usually works. Although the off-peak (night) electricity is very cheap, the 'peak time' (daytime) electricity is appreciably more expensive than with a single tarrif. One can do the sums, and it usually works out that one has to use about one-third of one's electricity at off-peak rate before the bill gets cheaper than it would be with a single tarrif.

Kind Regards, John

 

[greggp]

Are you able to advise what needs addressing please? And any rough costs involved?

The property is a 1935 house with solid walls and plastered.

It would be difficult to say just by looking at the photos, could end up being a simple tidy up job or a can of worms.

I take it that the wiring or any part of it is from 1935.

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

its not the existing wiring, the wiring was all re-done in the 90's its red and black and earth.

 

[greggp]

The only reason for this is if we do this without the check, you may leave parts of the house without power.

They seem to be suggesting you get someone to check that nothing is still using the economy supply (eg heaters) so that when they disconnect the economy bit they don't leave you without heating etc. Assuming nothing else was ever connected to the economy side of things, you should be ok since you say nothing uses that tarrif any more. Does beg the question though, if nothing is connected, why is your bill so high or is that just how it works?

I do use some of the off-peak tariff, but how do I know what is using it? I put my washing machine & Dishwasher on sometimes in the evening so I am assuming its that?

 

[JohnW2]

Are you able to advise what needs addressing please? And any rough costs involved?

As I've just written, from the point of view of EON and your meter/tariff change, I doubt that anything (or anything significant) will need doing. As others have said (and as their letter more-or-less says) I think there only concern is for you to ensure that there are no parts of your installation which are wired such that they only work on 'off-peak' electricity (and hence might find themselves without electricity after the meter change) - but it doesn't sound or look as if that is the case. Even if the electrician did find some things which were wired in that way (which I doubt) it would probably only be a simple (and cheap) job to sort that out.

Kind Regards, John

 

[greggp]

below is a screen dump from a bill of the day & Night readings

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[JohnW2]

I do use some of the off-peak tariff, but how do I know what is using it? I put my washing machine & Dishwasher on sometimes in the evening so I am assuming its that?

It looks as if your installation is wired such that any electricity you use during off-peak times will be charged at the off-peak, but that everything will also still work throughout the day (and be charged at 'peak' rate). It's only if you had some things (like storage heaters, maybe immersions etc.) which were wired so that they would only work at off-peak times that there would be changes required before the meter change.

Kind Regards, John

 

[riveralt]

I do use some of the off-peak tariff, but how do I know what is using it? I put my washing machine & Dishwasher on sometimes in the evening so I am assuming its that?

Off peak normal starts after 1200 midnight and finishes around 0600hrs - each electricity supplier is different so you need to check with yours.
Also when they do come to fit a new meter ask them to fit an isolator - this will help should you later decide to combine your two Consumer Units into one.