A property has been split into 2 houses can they share a power supply?

Hi ​@JohnWells ,

Loooooooooooooong story short answer: No.

Long answer below.

This is absolutely not recommended and there’s nothing to gain but a LOT to lose. Even if you could do it, I strongly recommend against it. You can’t legally make a profit out of it anyway so if you were planning to use it to make extra money, then I definitely recommend against trying.

There’s also the matter of the capacity limits - the 80/100A you’re assigned by the DNO is not designed or intended to be shared with other properties. It’s meant to be just for your use only.

In all honesty, it’s just not worth attempting it.

Just curious, but why did you want to do this anyway?

The property has recently been made into 2 houses but is still being supplied by one consumer unit 

Gotcha, since you’d have to put meters in anyway to calculate usage of the other property, you may as well do it properly. Here’s an old discussion that’ll probably help you:

It’s MUCH better to completely split the two properties onto their own supplies and let the other half pay an energy supplier directly. Not the cheapest way to do it, but definitely the safest and least painful in the long run.

You’ll need to do some re-wiring and install a consumer unit for the other property as well as get your DNO and OVO (or another supplier) to install their equipment to make this work.

Hey ​@JohnWells, 

I'd like to expand on the excellent advice from ​@Blastoise186.  Splitting the supply to each property simplifies management for both you and your new neighbours. If you were solely responsible for utility payments, as you mentioned, you'd be liable for any debt or usage costs across both properties.  Separate supplies also enhance safety. In an emergency, the supply to one property can be shut off without affecting the other.

Please keep us informed of your progress and whether the article shared was helpful.

Was the property split done by a developer ​@JohnWells or by another method?

If the new properties have their own address and services (water, council services), then it would be best to arrange for the local DNO to make good separate supplies to each property. The old cabling might not be rated to supply enough power for 2 households and therefore to prevent future problems, it would be sensible to update the feed and metering at the same time. 
 

Thanks, that's useful information