VIR Cable from UKPN Cutout to Eclectically Meter

Good Morning

Looking for some advice.  I live in a first floor maisonette and the UK power network cutout is behind the front door on the ground floor, there is a pair of cables that run from the UKPN cutout to a main isolation fuse on the first floor.  The cutout only supplies power to this maisonette not the group floor maisonette.

My energy supplier contacted me about getting Smart meters installed, they sent round an engineer to do the work just before Christmas.  He took one look at the cables going from the UK Power Network cutout to (What I was told) the main fuse in front of the meter and said they are VIR cables and need to be replaced.  He referred the matter to UK Power Networks who sent round an engineer to take a look.  He confirmed the cables needed to be replaced, not because they dangerous but because all cables of this type that are currently installed have to be replaced. 

That was 6 weeks ago and no one had contacted me to tell me what was going on.  I called UK Power Networks this morning and they informed me the case had been closed as the cable's were not installed by them so not there responsibility, it is the owner of the cables responsibility to replace the cable's.

So I have spoken to local building control and they don't have records going back that far online, they might have records but they will need to research into the matter.  The guy I spoke to also said it might be they only have a record of Notification of Work and nothing else.  I then called the Estate Management company who very quickly fobbed me off with "It is your responsibility".  I don't see how this can be and I have a diagram from UK Power Networks that clearly states these cables are not my responsibility.

So just looking for some advice really, should these cables be replaced at a cost to me or should I push back to the Management company/Energy Supplier/UKPN as it is clearly one of there responsibility.

I accept Consumer Unit  and Internal wiring are my responsibility but I was always told everything before this is nothing to do with me. 

Regards

Richard

Well here’s a thought, if you are that keen on a smart meter, then write to your local MP advising that you wish to support the governments roll out of smart meters only you can’t because ....explain what’s happened.. no one will take responsibility and it is with great regret that you are not able to realise this wish. Also perhaps imply that there must be many properties that will be subject to this issue and that will have an overall defeatism of the smart meter scheme thus resulting in a much lower uptake and that clearly those responsible for the network are clearly not that interested or needing of a smart meter system as they infer to the government. 
 

???????

just politicising!! 

Building Control?.........good luck with that one

the person you talked to is obviously a cretin as these cables date from the , possibly, 1940s.   And their records will go back about 15/20 years

just saying

I wonder if the property deeds elude to any ownership ?

Hi All

Thank you for your advice, I had thought the same about Local MP,  I'll also recheck the deeds and see if there is anything in deeds about it.

Regards

Richard

If , as you say ,   the VIR cables are BEFORE  the meter ,  neither you nor your electrician are supposed to work on them .   Meter companies don't do any wiring SO  the work should be carried out  by the DNO    who in your case is  UKPN  .    

The meter monkeys are instructed to report any stuff like you have to the Network  who should be dealing with it .     If they won't  do as said above ,  go to your MP .  

Our ex apprentice  is now a meter fitter & he  reports stuff like  this on a daily basis  .      

The problem is that these cables would have been installed  by the old regional electricity board, depending on which of the three areas UKPN  coveres you are in, this would have either been The Eastern Electrity board, The South Eastern Electricty board, or the London Electricity board. In the 1990s, these were first privitised (they became companies and not boards) then in the late 90s the whole thing was split up, you'd no longer pay your bill to the REC, but the cables in the ground and the cutout were looked after by the DNO, you'd select an energy company, and they'd appoint a metering operator to look after the meter (Yes, its as big a courgetteup as the bloody trains.....)

Anyway, a strange situation came about with regards to flats and other similar properties, where a single cable is brought in, some distribution was installed by the board and then a cable to an individual head in the flat, to which the meter is then attached. The DNOs decided that they didn't want the resonsibility of these, so they end their responsibility at the main cable head for the building, the metering companies only do their meter from the local head in the flat, leaving the bit in between in a no-mans-land. Now the official line is that this is the responsibility of the BNO (building network operator). So who is the BNO for you? well mosty likely their isn't one, the supply industry has just managed to palm off responsibility for fixing the problem onto an enitity that doesn't exist. Dispite the fault that it was themselves in a previous incarnation who would have installed those cables 60 or 70 years ago.

Its also further complicated (as Deke says) that those cables are on the unmetered side, so they don't want anyone outside of the supply industry working on it, yes, the same bunch of companies who refuse to accept responsibility for it themselves.

Yes its a complete mess.

None of this really helps you get any further, I just thought a bit of history would be interesting!

Try reporting them as "intermittent smell,of what seems like burning but you cannot be certain and there are vulnerable people in the property"

dont say "it is burning OR it smells of burning" as they will turn up, no smell, no burning and go home