Main fuse box problem

dash34 · Feb 23, 2023

Hi Everyone,

I have a faulty smart meter, its broken since I moved in and I am putting all my effort to fix this, I am a tenant though.

A technician from the supplier visited the property, inspected the meter and he said that he needs to access to main fuse box to replace the meter. We have checked all the floors and hallways but there is no fuse box or anything. The technician also said the main fuse might be in itself but he cant work on it, the landlord should hire a private electrician.

I've asked to mylandlord where the main fuse box is he has no idea as well. He said that the supplier installed meters and all the system, they should know. I call the supplier they say your landlord should know where the main fuse box is...

Can you tell me there is no fuse box upstairs when you look at these pictures? By the way, this is a new building.

Thanks for your time and reading this.

westward10 · Feb 23, 2023

Assuming it is connected correctly they just use the isolator right next to it.

timhoward · Feb 23, 2023

westward10 said:
Assuming it is connected correctly they just use the isolator right next to it.

Looking at that picture I'd want to do a little testing to make sure nothing 'special' has been done! The others are all the same.

It seems likely the isolator on this occasion is on the incoming meter tails, and the service connector blocks are to connect up the outgoing SWA to the flat.
While it makes sense to be able to isolate the meter, doing it that way around would presumably also cause the smart meter to phone home if the isolator is operated.

westward10 · Feb 23, 2023

I agree which is why I said 'connected correctly' but as you say they are all the same and the line/neutral supply should be terminals 1 and 2.

snowhead · Feb 23, 2023

Can you take a photo of the wall on the left in picture 1 with the black cables going up to the the ceiling.
The photo needs to show floor to ceiling to see if any cables come up from the floor.

How many flats in the block and how many floors does it cover?
Is there a room like the pictured one with the meters on each floor?

The "Main Fuse Box" will be most likely be on the ground floor in a cupboard and will consist of the incoming mains cable and a sizeable steel box containing the fuses, the size of the box depends on the number of flats and will probably have a number of cables coming out of it equal to the number of flats.

The supplier won't know where the main fuse is, you need to contact the D.N.O for that area, they know where their cable enters the building and most likely exactly where their main fuse cut-out is.

[ElectriciansForums.net] Main fuse box problem

dash34 · Feb 23, 2023

snowhead said:
Can you take a photo of the wall on the left in picture 1 with the black cables going up to the the ceiling.
The photo needs to show floor to ceiling to see if any cables come up from the floor.

How many flats in the block and how many floors does it cover?
Is there a room like the pictured one with the meters on each floor?

The "Main Fuse Box" will be most likely be on the ground floor in a cupboard and will consist of the incoming mains cable and a sizeable steel box containing the fuses, the size of the box depends on the number of flats and will probably have a number of cables coming out of it equal to the number of flats.

The supplier won't know where the main fuse is, you need to contact the D.N.O for that area, they know where their cable enters the building and most likely exactly where their main fuse cut-out is.

View attachment 106340

There are 13 or 15 flats in the block. Each flat has their own smart meter. 4 floors total.
Yeah there are doors/rooms in each floor. All you can see is some scaffoldings when you open the doors. So they are always locked. We checked all the doors/floors but there were nothing.

And all these black cables goes somewhere upstairs, but nobody knows if they are gathered in a main fuse box...

I've called UKPowernetworks a hour ago, the lady on the phone told me that they are responsible for 8 millions building in the area so they can't know but sent me an email about their procedure. The below part is from her email:

''When a supplier finds any issues with our equipment, the supplier needs to send us a D0135 flow. They come in three different categories:

A – Emergency situation which requires immediate attendance.
B – No immediate danger but the condition/issue prevents the meter from being changed. We contact you, as the customer, usually in a couple of weeks to arrange an appointment.
C – The meter can/has been changed but a condition point has been highlighted. No work from us is required. ''

I really didn't know that and the supplier didn't follow this procedure.