Progress with DNO regards provision of earthing terminal, thoughts?

[The Ghost]

Western Power Distribution - Information for electrical installers - https://www.westernpower.co.uk/connections-landing/connections-useful-information/information-for-electrical-installers
I have been contacted today regards policy and methods regarding provision and maintenance of earthing in various premises. This has been ongoing as a complaint procedure regards the lack of clarity and responsibility to maintain as required by the ESQCR for DNO.
I am pleased to say that true to their word the above is their policy now published some months later after a protracted discussion with them. The above now puts it firmly in black and white which I regard as some kind of progress. I said that when they publish I will come back with comments hence the question "thoughts?"

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

I had an issue with them recently and to be fair they came out and confirmed it was still TNS rather than PME as might be indicated by the cutout. They terminated the loose earth from the incomer and put a earth block on the wall for me to connect up to.

 

[Wilko]

Hi V, good job !
Note they are buying out of de-energising for works, saying call the Electricity Supplier on the bill. This may lead to some interesting conversations with the smaller energy broker type companies, I guess? I found a list, 43 on it from Atlantic to Zog .

 

[Andy78]

Northern powergrid now provide a DNO earth for free (to domestic ans small commercial premises). Very handy as I come across plenty without, or with a non standard bodged up earth provision.

https://www.northernpowergrid.com/asset/0/document/3750.pdf

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

Western Power will still de-energise it for you and charge for the service, they try to get you to call the supplier first. they hate smart meters as its caused a huge back log of cut outs they have to inspect and change to fit the new meters as part of the governments drive.

 

[happysteve]

Wish I lived in a Norther Powergrid area!

I can't see much change on that WPD page, other than a longer list of places they might/will not provide an earth.

WPD charge (and are still charging) for provision of an earth, unless there is evidence that there has been an existing one. They've never asked for an EIC/EICR before doing so, though (unlike for someone who posted on here a while back, may even have been Vortigern?), they've just cracked on and done it. Presumaby the folks that came out to do the job cast their eye over the bonding to make sure it was 10mm, I don't know.

All over Nottingham (and I suspect everywhere that WPD covers) there are semi-detached and terraced houses in urban/suburban settings, with underground supplies, with earth rods in their back gardens: presumably because the customer/electrician balked at the £150/180 fee and just bunged a 3/8" twig in (RIP Engineer54) to satisfy BS7671. In the event of an earth fault the earth rod is just window-dressing: the vast majority of the fault current goes down the gas bonding, along the gas pipe to next door's gas bonding, to their MET and to their PME terminal.

 

[Deleted account]

Well done vort.
If there was rewards for posts of the year this one would be a strong contender in the ability to get a straight answer on electrical question category.

 

[The Ghost]

may even have been Vortigern

Correct.

 

[The Ghost]

to be fair they came out and confirme

Yes to be fair...very true the majority of the time it is the office staff who are sometimes a bit like "the computer says noooooo! the guys on the tools are most helpful and practical. I did emphasise in my complaint that on the whole they have been most helpful and supportive.

 

[The Ghost]

Western Power will still de-energise it for you and charge

That is going to be my next hobby horse with them. Charging me to make safe and comply with EAWR they should have supplied an isolator in the first place! Anyway that is for another day.

 

[SparkyChick]

I had a case of a damaged earth yesterday.

Lead sheathed cable, BS951 clamp around the armour, badly deteriorated (rotted through and badly corroded).

Characteristic bulge in the lead sheath where there appeared to once have been an earthing connection. No sign of a rod anywhere, so my guess is it was TN-S.

They wouldn't confirm what earthing system they believed to be present and as far as they were concerned (local engineering team) re-instating a damaged TN-S earth or providing TN-C-S are both chargeable activities.

I suspect what happened (based on the state of the cable) is damp played a big part in the failure of the earth and in the past someone has clamped the armour to reinstate it, possibly on the back of WPD not being willing to fix it.