Placement of Gas Meter Within My Property

[Xeno]

Hi all and apologies if this has been answered somewhere before; although I have had a good look around and none of the previous answers seem to apply to me.

Last year I had my garage converted into a utility room and a study. The electric meter/board and gas meter were both left where they have been since the house was built in 1963. The building work has been signed off by building regs. and there is access to the meter via a cupboard door (the cupboard does not seal the gas unit off completely i.e. there is ventilation down the back of the units and out into the main room). We had a new plastic pipe fitted inside the old metal one earlier this year by transco (I think) and nothing was said at the time, apart from a moan about awkward access.

Then a couple of weeks ago, during the annual boiler service, a drop in pressure was noticed by the gas engineer and the national grid was called out. The national grid engineer found a very small leak (barely noticeable was his exact words - incidentally the NG guy said he had found no significant drop in pressure but that's another story...) in part of the pipe that runs from the meter to something else; anyway this has been replaced and all is fine now.

Anyway, short story long, the NG guy stated he would need to report the meter being enclosed within this cupboard. I received a letter and rang the number although the person was not entirely helpful and could only arrange for another department to ring me back. I received 2 calls, both missed due to working, that left no message and on ringing them back the line just rang and rang with no option for a message to be left. I decided not to chase them up but today I received an information packet quoting all sorts of prices from £700 up to £3000+.

I have no wish to move the meter (especially at the prices quoted above and that's not including the subsequent internal alterations) and was wondering exactly where I stand with regards to the 1995 Gas Act. Can I refuse to allow them to move it considering the works were deemed fit by building regs, it is not enclosed and access is available through a door? Is there a specific paragraph in the act that disallows internal placement of these meters?

Thanks in advance for any help in this matter!

 

[denso13]

They own the meter and it wouldn't surprise me if there was some sort of "catch all" regulation meaning they could ask for pretty much whatever they liked. Have you asked why it needs moved and specifically what regulation it contravenes?

 

[Xeno]

Hi denso13

As of yet they have not said that I need to move it but it does seem to be heading in that direction (I have yet to make contact with them to arrange a site survey and I'm not that willing to chase them up either...). I will certainly be asking why exactly they want it moving and whether it is a legal compulsory move (or just best practice) if they do request that.

I'm aware we have to allow them access to it but even when it was in the garage before the conversion they would have to wait for us to be in because it was always locked. These new external things they are pushing seem to be convenient for them but at this cost to me they can forget about convenience!

Thanks for the reply and I'll update this thread as and when I get any new information.

 

[denso13]

Their maybe just trying their luck. Actually my mum and dad had a new kitchen fitted and the new unit was cut around the gas meter. It had to be read upside down with a mirror as it was inaccessible but no one ever complained.

 

[Biggles..]

Is your meter still in a meter box?
Or was it on a bracket

 

[gas112]

If transco as you call them inserted a plastic service into your already converted room then it is down to them to move it they should not have done it because if any of a plastic service is showing inside a property this is a no no.
if it is fully incased by the previous steal service then it should not be a problem its all to do with fire risk.

If it was done before you converted the room then they if it needs changing it is down to you .
Different areas of the country are implementing this policy in different ways ie free or chargable but they are all implementing it as they should have for past 30 odd years

 

[Xeno]

Hi Gas112

The gas supply and meter were already situated in this place when I converted the garage. I did not alter it in any way other than to surround it with a cupboard unit.

After this was done the gas people upgraded all the pipes in this area and in my case inserted the plastic pipe into the already placed metal one.

This is my meter and the shiny silver thing with the yellow rectangular sticker on it (it's got the silver pipe going up and onto the stop valve) was the part that was replaced and got all this fuss started.

The company that inserted the plastic pipe managed to do so with little fuss, the stop valve is easily assessable and the meter can be read with a torch.



Hi LeeC

I'm not sure what the difference is but the photo above should answer your question. Would that make a difference?

 

[MeterMonkey]

As is not in a meter box, I cant see much wrong with the installation.

is it a cupboard all around the meter, or is it.. a cavity?

 

[Xeno]

Hi BGSMJack

The meter is still attached to the wall (you can see the breeze blocks that made up the interior of the garage) and I simply put a cupboard unit around it, with suitable holes cut to allow access. It is not in a wall so there is nowhere for any escaping gas to pool unnoticed. On the opposite side is an identical cupboard with the electric meter inside.

 

[gas112]

Absolutley nothing up with it standard plastic insertion in steel as has been done in hundreds of thousands of houses if not millions