Homeowner - Power supply cable relocation

[proy900]

Hello.
Just a lowly homeowner here who is beginning to panic after a major house renovation regarding relocation of the main supply cable to the electrical box.

Just to make a point straight off, no work to move the main supply cable has been made, but the electrical box has been taken off the wall and temporarily secured in a safe way. No wires have been pulled, but all the new wiring is reeled up waiting to be connected. There is still power to the house via the original cable.

The situation:
I have purchased my mother-in-laws 1920's, semi-detached property and am nearing completion of a double side, single rear, and annexe extension to the house ( a shameless flex!). Finishes are starting to be applied internally but I have what I assume to be a major headache coming to a head with the main power cable.

Both of the main power supply cables to the semi-detached houses appears to run from the road, and under my neighbours drive. Now this doesn't appear to be a "looped" circuit as I understand them from YouTube videos (apologies if the terminology is incorrect) as there are two separate cables that emerge from the ground on the neighbours gable end of the house. The first cable immediately returns into his house where his electrical box is, the second cable, supplying my property, is fixed against his side wall, around the rear wall, and disappears into a non-descript, black ?junction? box (still on his property), then out of this box again, and around onto my property.

Originally this cable was fixed mid-height to my rear wall and around to my gable end where it was routed into the electrical box/service head etc...

Since the rear and side extensions have been built, the electrical box is now inside the property in the utility room. The whole electrical box has had to be slightly repositioned 90 degrees to be fixed to a new wall without obstructing the doorway into the room. The cable has been (temporarily) left in place which is now hanging inside my kitchen below the ceiling, and through into the utility room. There's now the issue where I understand that this cable cannot be inside the house more than a few meters.

Is it possible for the main power cable to be disconnected and relocated from the aforementioned external junction box, fixed at a higher level externally to the rear of my property, and fed into the utility room roof into a brand new electrical box in the utility? The length of cable intruding into the house would be less than 2 metres.

Can this cable be touched by suitably qualified electricians?
Does the DNO have to be informed about this work?
Should this have been made clear to me by the architect (who moved the electrical box on the plans), the builder, inspector, or the electrician long before it got to this stage?

I understand that if the DNO has to do the work it would likely be to disconnect the cable on my neighbours property, install a new cable from the road, up my drive, and into my house all at my expense? Is there a framework to say how much this could cost me?

Now my neighbour is an absolute legend. He's a nice, friendly, peaceful, older gentleman who wants nothing more than to live a quiet life and not get into any strife. Could he demand that my supply cable be removed from his property, and the cost to do so would be the DNO's to bear to reinstate power to my property? I am sure he would not accept any wayleave payments, mainly because I'll happily give him a generous donation not to do so, and in his advancing years would not see much of any benefit to a small, annual payment for the pleasure of having someone else's cabling stuck to his house.

My family and I are desperate to move in within the next few months as, bar this issue, the house is in a habitable state. My builder, who has been utterly fantastic throughout the whole build, now seems to be being somewhat cagey on the issue and keeps dismissing or avoiding talking about it.

So I've come cap-in-hand here to seek advice from you fantastic bunch. Having always admired skilled trades I would not dream of doing anything that would be considered a faux pas, dangerous... hell, even illegal! Certainly not with potentially risking my whole family under the same roof.

Thanks in advance.

TLR - Can the power supply cable be rewired by an electrician or is it a DNO jobby?

 

[littlespark]

simply... its a DNO job.

To work on the cable.. making it shorter etc, it would need to be isolated in the road.


I dont think there is hard and fast rules about how far into the property the cable can go. It will be a supply cable, and be fairly sturdy. My own is near the centre of the house, not on an outside wall. Can it be routed, carefully to a suitable location without bending it, twisting it or otherwise causing strain. It may be an old cable, and the slightest over-movement could cause it to shear.... with a loud bang.

It may be a newer cable.. jointed in the black box outside, but it still shouldn't be treated too roughly.

Just to say, the cable, fuse and meter should never have been detached from the wall in the first place.

 

[Vortigern]

Usual costs of road supply are around 3-5k given that you dig the trench on your property for the cable, usually 450mm deep from pavement level. You usually need to supply 4 inch ducting to the pavement for the DNO. The old supply will be removed. So apart from costs, all you have to do is decide where you want the supply which is already determined by where the new CU is. Again lead times are around 4-5 weeks so you are into the new year before it is done. It is highly inadvisable to move or otherwise interfere with the old incomer. As stated by @littlespark it should never have been moved. Even twisting it 90 degrees was a serious chance of a short and an explosion that can at best be life changing at worst........
What might be done in the interim is to use the existing supply until this situation can be regularised. Perhaps the DNO can secure the old cut-out in the interim as it is unsafe and if you have a family moving in the risk factor is unacceptable. This should all have been sorted out prior to even starting the re-wire. So you have not been best served by whoever planned this work. At least you have an architect who is professionally indemnified so that is one thing in your favour.

 

[MJPD29]

Your electrician can't do it. The dno has to do it, and it will be entirely at your expense. Be careful moving anything as mentioned above older cables can be extremely dangerous if disturbed or bent in any way.