Who is responsible for replacing outgoing meter tails if there is a seal on the cover?

Hello everyone,

My first post here as I am new so I hope this is in the right place.

I visited a customer with a 3 phase feed. The customer has overloaded the L1 feed ('someone' and the customer doesn't know who or how replaced fuse wire with normal wire), which I have rectified and the loads balanced now, but the L1 tail needs to be replaced from the meter to the Switched Fuse Isolator, now correctly fused. 

Who is responsible for doing this as the meter end of the tail is obviously connected to the meter and sealed. I assume it is the suppliers responsibility, not the DNO (UK Power Networks in my area) as they only cover to their header fuse. However the supplier does not provide out of hours cover so who can do it? Can any qualified electrician replace it if the header fuse is first pulled by the DNO to allow dead working? 

This is more of a theoretical question as detailed in other posts I have read, generally to get the job done we do what is required so we don't leave the customer without power but what is the right way and who is responsible?

All views appreciated.

Theroetically I never find such equipment to have any seals on it, so I replace the faulty tail, then phone the DNO to notify the lack of such seals and if they can be bothered they come and re seal everything.

Google "Emilly the seal fairy"

AMELIE the seal fairy

Robert Tucker said:

Who is responsible for doing this as the meter end of the tail is obviously connected to the meter and sealed. I assume it is the suppliers responsibility

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I was under the impression that this is the case  .   I believe its now down to whoever the customer buys their power from .      They in turn often use one of the metering companies . As you know these tails are nothing to do with us  ...even though  ELECSA   ask for a report on it's condition  in their EICR  forms. 

Myself , I'd probably offer a prayer up to Amelie  the Seal Fairy ,  as in my experience ,  no metering guys will ever turn up . 

from the meter to the DB belongs to the customer, but we aren't allowed to remove seals of course  :innocent

I know of another electrician, clearly not me, who has got fed up with attempting to middle manage clients, power companies and himself to all be available at the same time on two different occasions. Unless you have got really easy going clients they will look at you like you're a jobsworth. 

His advice is to isolate any load the main head and deny any knowledge and to say the magic words: 

"there was never a seal on this fuse, someone else must have cut it off"

Or just cut the seal wire and then hide the cut ends at the back where the seal wire is fed through. 

Stop worrying. When its not under load, it will not spark. 

Back in the days  when cutting seals was a hanging offence.

I replaced the service head on my OH TT supply. The only complaint I got from the then NWEB was I shouldn’t have used a Lucy head as they didn’t use them.

A few years later they replaced the OH lines at the same time as I was having the house re-rendered. They fitted a new cut out and left me a load of cleats to clip the new cables once the rendering was done. Once I’d finished they came back and fitted the seals.

It’s a funny old world.

Sparkybum said:

I know of another electrician, clearly not me, who has got fed up with attempting to middle manage clients, power companies and himself to all be available at the same time on two different occasions. Unless you have got really easy going clients they will look at you like you're a jobsworth. 

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I think I know that guy   :innocent  

Many years ago I booked leccy supplier to turn up, remove seals, install isolator, put tails into meter and re-seal. They turned up 3 days late, fortunately I had 3 days work to do. Not bothered with 'official channels' since.

Evans Electric said:

I think I know that guy   :innocent  

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Me too!

That said SSE are quite happy for scheme members to remove the main fuse ............

Well theres a step forward into the 21st century  !

Hmmm  Guy at WP  wasn't too happy with me .     Called out on a Sunday morning  to a rental property , I know the landlord,   main switch melted .

Could have changed it live but thought  sod that , Sunday morning , don't Part Pee about so I pulled the main fuse & noticed it had a copper link in it , like you get in flats .

This was a 1970,s terrace  .  

I phoned it in next day ,  he said I shouldn't be pulling the fuse , I said , Health & Safety , standing there on double time  waiting for a meter guy to  turn up , not happening !!   

They called back later to say they'd checked the plans and all the fuses were in a cabinet  nearby ....I'd not seen that on housing before  , just flats  with the red cut-outs. 

Live & learn.  

Evans Electric said:

Could have changed it live but thought  sod that , Sunday morning , don't Part Pee about so I pulled the main fuse & noticed it had a copper link in it , like you get in flats .

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Get in touch with PE magazine....they love unusual,stuff like that....."I was doing a PIR and pulled the main fuse. Imagine my horror when I saw a ....".

kerching said:

"I was doing a PIR and pulled the main fuse. Imagine my horror when I saw a ....".

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Machined price of copper tube!  :Godno:

... I mean, who the bloody hell has a lathe on their van!?????

:shakehead :lol:

found bits of wire on 2 occasions, and in one case the head was still sealed, old wheal meter, so had had no fuse since it was built in the 80s. 

Found a few of the more common BS 1202-1:2002

a couple of welding wires and my favourite a couple of weeks ago..........Some rosin cored solder in an old MEM pot fuse carrier on a lighting circuit! 

kerching said:

AMELIE the seal fairy

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Didn't I coin that from one of my daughter's books when she was little?

Onoff said:

Didn't I coin that from one of my daughter's books when she was little?

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Yep!

i think you are correct