Smart meters, pulling fuses, what’s the latest?

[multimick]

fitted a new cu last week ,smart meter ,just pulled fuse (no seal ) and cracked on ,no problem till 2 days later got a speeding ticket, now that is smart

 

[mhar]

Correct, and they can tell if there is an DNO outage, if not supply has been de energized unauthorized.

I asked this question the other day just before the fuses on a 3 phase supply with a brand new half hour reporting meter all fell out. My youngest is responsible for many power outages being a dno sap (he authorises work on the network) and he said he does nothing different since the introduction of smart meters. He communicates with their control centre in Wales and nothing more. DNO procedures have not changed

 

[Octopus]

I agree, lets be sensible about this,

Yup ........... the muppets who came up with multiple types of smart meters also failed to include isolation switches as part of the solution ............. so no sense from the suppliers IMHO

 

[telectrix]

a

Yup ........... the muppets who came up with multiple types of smart meters also failed to include isolation switches as part of the solution ............. so no sense from the suppliers IMHO

gree. all smart meters should be of the type that has a flick switch on the output so that safe working practice is simple without having to cut seals. it's not rocket science, is it?

 

[Ib≤In≤Iz]

I changed a C.U yesterday, Pulled the fuse and carried on, no casualty beeps or smart meter calling out in distress.

 

[Strima]

At a guess a lot of the smart meters that have already been installed will be ripped out and replaced with a newer version soon so all suppliers can use them.

It will again be another missed opportunity to fit an isolator for us to use...

 

[7029 dave]

a

gree. all smart meters should be of the type that has a flick switch on the output so that safe working practice is simple without having to cut seals. it's not rocket science, is it?

Yep, I have had this discussion many times with the big wigs on our company, deaf ears init.

 

[Spiderrico]

Really ..... I find that tricky to believe ...

I work for Scottish Power as a subby and I pull fuses on smart meters daily and I haven't heard of any locking out or any tamper devices from them. The work is planned and also faults, and they are pretty thorough in dishing out literature on the network.

 

[Percyprod]

As an ex dno employee, I would doubt that there would ge much of a problem. If the meter registered an unauthorised disconnection, as some one else has said, how would it discriminate between the main fuse geing pulled and a supply disconnection. Even if the meter somehow could be set to do this, most mains outages or power cuts would affect a whole area, not just one property.

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

Yup ........... the muppets who came up with multiple types of smart meters also failed to include isolation switches as part of the solution ............. so no sense from the suppliers IMHO

I have had 3 smart meters as i switch every year for the best deal. the first barely got a signal and i had to manually give them readings still, the second meter was eon, i switched to npower so it stopped working and resorted to a dumb status, start of last year i switched back to eon due to the discounts and promo's. the meter that was once an eon meter could no longer be read by them having somehow lost its smart features!?? they could manually call it to get a reading but it would no longer auto send data. so they came out and fitted a new smart meter. I recently switched to edf who then proceeded to fit another smart meter! none had an isolation switch you could operate!

 

[Octopus]

And each smart meter installation gets £350 from HM government ...

 

[Octopus]

Duplicate ...

 

[Rpa07]

And each smart meter installation gets £350 from HM government ...

Meaning how creative of them to dupe the government on another scam, seems like everyone is up to it!

 

[stevels4]

Cut Out fuse removal is classified as a Network Switching Operation and therefore should only be carried out by personnel trained and authorised to do so.
Do you have the correct PPE for removing and refitting cut out fuses.
How do you establish if a cut out is operating hot? Do you check the fuse carrier and cut out for signs of physical damage,correct fuse rating and terminal tightness?
How do you approach metal clad cut outs which may contain asbestos?
Does your liability insurance cover this operation, should there be a cut out fire this will be investigated by the DNO.
How do you re-seal the cut out to prevent that curious child that was watching you earlier removing the fuse and placing their fingers in the cut out?
By venturing on the “other side” you are leaving the realms of 7671 and getting involved in Mocopa and DNO rulebooks, it is strange that when a DIYer generally asks for advice on these forums the first recommendation tends to be “get an electrician in” so in this case I would advise getting the DNO or MOP in and get a DP isolator fitted prior to your visit.

 

[Dave OCD]

Yes of course that's the textbook way of doing things but in my experience trying to organise this with the DNO is a nightmare,even when you get some sense at the other end of the line the timescales given are ridiculous, so why not offer competent electricians a little training with a test if deemed necessary then give authorisation ?

 

[Octopus]

The DNO's seem to want to make things as difficult as possible ...... so alternative courses of action take precedence

If they had dedicated numbers to call, to arrange such events, things may change OR should they ALL adopt the same approach as SSE things may change.

 

[NDG Elecs]

Cut Out fuse removal is classified as a Network Switching Operation and therefore should only be carried out by personnel trained and authorised to do so.
Do you have the correct PPE for removing and refitting cut out fuses.
How do you establish if a cut out is operating hot? Do you check the fuse carrier and cut out for signs of physical damage,correct fuse rating and terminal tightness?
How do you approach metal clad cut outs which may contain asbestos?
Does your liability insurance cover this operation, should there be a cut out fire this will be investigated by the DNO.
How do you re-seal the cut out to prevent that curious child that was watching you earlier removing the fuse and placing their fingers in the cut out?
By venturing on the “other side” you are leaving the realms of 7671 and getting involved in Mocopa and DNO rulebooks, it is strange that when a DIYer generally asks for advice on these forums the first recommendation tends to be “get an electrician in” so in this case I would advise getting the DNO or MOP in and get a DP isolator fitted prior to your visit.

In the ideal world yes that is the way Steve. Not always entirely feasible in reality though.

As a slight aside you question whether the typical sparks liability cover would include risks associated with the cut out. I would hazard a guess not, partly due to insurers being slippery so and so's, and partly due to not being 'trained up' in this area... But then again am I to presume my indemnity insurance covers me for the first six items on an EICRs inspections.... As I understand it these items are not within the scope of 7671...yet there they are in the model forms...
I am in no way having a go, just curious as to yours and others take on this.

 

[ashrow]

I love all the debates but if i come across a smart meter i just remove the load from the supply, cut the tails and then tape over the ends, when ready i strip the tails and terminate into 100Amp D/P block or new consumer unit and away we go...
All the debates of removing/tampering of seals, working live etc etc
After working with electrics for around 30 years there is ways we should do things and ways we just get on with it.

 

[Octopus]

the first six items on an EICRs inspections.... As I understand it these items are not within the scope of 7671...yet there they are in the model forms...

Inclusion of these items is plain daft ............ a spark can't improve these aspects so the tick boxes should be for reference only and have NO BEARING on the outcome of the report... IMHO

 

[Percyprod]

Totally agree with Stevels4, stick to what you know. If you are not lv authorised then you should not be messing with the the dno's system, whether you think you are capable or not. Having said that I still don't think that dnos are being awkward, as I have said before it was a regular job for me to isolate an installation for the sparks, sometimes calling back later in the day to re-connect, and there was no charge as far as I know. That was with ENWL. Of course, you can always just take off the meter terminal cover and drop the tails out, nothing to do with dno then!