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SteveDoddsMTB
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April 14, 2023
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Main fuse cut out upgrade needed for electric vehicle (EV) charger installation - how do I arrange this?

  • April 14, 2023
  • 14 replies
  • 4673 views

I had an electrician round this afternoon to discuss fitting a EV charge point and he said that we need an upgraded fuse cut out, the house was built in the 1930s and it's probably the original fuse cut out (the fuse element is just a piece of copper wire!).
I need this upgrading to something safer and with at least an 80A fuse.

The electrician was also asking what earthing facility is at the property and how the earth is provided in the street.  There doesn’t seem to be a DB earth terminal.

Who do I contact?  (I live in Staffordshire, distribution ID 14)

 

Many thanks

Steve
 

 

Best answer by Blastoise186

Updated on 02/02/26 by Ben_OVO​​​​​​

 

Hiya!

That’ll be National Grid AKA Western Power Distribution. Try this one: https://www.nationalgrid.co.uk/contact-us/contacting-national-grid-electricity-distribution/ways-to-contact-us

The articles below explain which types of jobs our engineers can do, and which parts of your supplies are managed by OVO or your network operator.

 

 

 

14 replies

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BPLightlog
Super User
BPLightlogSuper User
Super User
March 24, 2024

I don’t think so, it should be automatic depending on the kW rating of your charger 

 

 

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    hertsevaddict
    Rank 2
    hertsevaddict
    Rank 2
    March 25, 2024

    I now have the main fuse upgraded to 100 Amps 🥳 

    Do I need to update my PodPoint charger with this information somehow? Was originally installed when the main fuse was 60 A

    EV charges have a max of 32 amps on single phase, so can´t see why you would need to change anything. 

    Mine had a sensor installed to potentially limit it, but, with 100amps and still on gas, I cannot see it ever limiting the output until we have a second car charger and a powerful heat pump installed. 

      S
      Newcomer
      saimurali619
      Newcomer
      January 21, 2025

      I now have the main fuse upgraded to 100 Amps 🥳 

      Do I need to update my PodPoint charger with this information somehow? Was originally installed when the main fuse was 60 A

      Hiya, When I contacted my DNO UK power network to upgrade the cutout fuse to 100 Amps, they are saying its chargeable as it requires power line to be upgraded from phase 1 to phase 3. Have your power line upgraded to phase 3 before they changed fuse to 100 Amps?

      Blastoise186
      Super User
      Blastoise186Super User
      Super User
      January 22, 2025

      Usually you can go up to an 80A (or sometimes 100A) service with Single-Phase just fine, but it could be that there’s constraints in your area that means it’s not possible right now. I’ve seen that happen in a handful of cases.

      If your DNO is saying to go Three-Phase, that could be a sign there’s not enough capacity to upgrade your service at this time without going Three-Phase.

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