What should I do if my gas meter box full of water and I can't read it?

Thanks, OVO are sending an engineer out.  The box is below ground level but it hasn’t flooded before in the time we have lived there (11 years), although we have had a lot of rain.  I have resisted smart meters because I doubt it will be able to ping readings anywhere from that position (plus I am waiting for all the problems everyone else seems to be having to be resolved).

@SR3 Good point - will do.

Thanks Peter, Ovo suggested warm water and a hairdryer but neither worked. The meter is not in a great place - under ground level in a border - but this is the first time this has happened.

Who do I contact to get a meter changed as my gas meter is unreadable due to installation position and condensation.

David

Are you experiencing the same issue as @LAM, @David green? If you are, take a look at the best answer for more help with this. 

Update:  The SMS (smart metering service) engineer (arranged through Ovo) came out this morning and said he could not replace the meter until the box had been moved.  I will relay this to the National Grid gas, who are coming out to (hopefully) move the meter next week.  I just hope that they do not say they can’t move the meter until it has been replaced…...

May I just bring some clarity here?

Before requesting that work be done, it’s important to understand which party has responsibility for what.

No consumer should ever need to contact the National Gas Grid. They are solely responsible for the high-pressure mains that traverse the country.

There are five companies who manage the Gas Distribution Network (GDN). Here’s the current map from Ofgem’s website:

Your local GDN is responsible for the pipework to your house up to, and including, the Isolation Valve:

The Meter is the responsibility of your current Energy Supplier - OVO in this case. If you switch Supplier, then they take over that responsibility regardless of which company originally fitted the meter.

The gas pipework inside your house is your responsibility, but can only be worked on by an engineer who is Gas-Safe registered.

The plastic Meter Box is the house-owners responsibility. If a new hinge or door needs fitting, for example, then you can do this yourself.

If you want a meter relocated then you can buy an appropriate box and have it fitted in advance of your GDN engineer arriving on site. This would be most appropriate if you decided to have a new meter box embedded within the wall by a local builder.

Here is an inbuilt gas meter box and associated components available from the UK company BES for £33 +VAT.

I hope this clarifies who you need to turn to for different parts of the process.

Hi there @robbie74 !

I can certainly try to offer some advice here. Just so you know, I’m not familiar with the policies or processes of Pure Planet, but generally it’s pretty similar across the board. You’ve definitely come to the right place for advice though!

Firstly, I definitely agree with you about not messing with the meters. I think it’s technically your responsibility, but I would also argue that the only people who should break out the toolkits are trained engineers who know how to fix these things.

Even if it is a quick fix to get rid of that water, it’s probably not a bad idea to get help to get things checked over and I suspect there’ll be two stages to this fix. If you’re able to, could you snap a few photos of your gas meter and the area around it and pop those in your next reply? Once we’re able to see what’s happened, it might help us to figure out what to do.

As for who to contact… I’d recommend reaching out to your local gas transporter network in the first instance. You can find a map on the Ofgem website for this. They might be able to send out one of their own engineers to see if the water can be drained out and hopefully stop it coming back.

After that’s done, you should be able to get your current supplier to replace the meter for you. They’ll try to sort out the readings and fix the bill as best they can as part of the meter exchange.

If you get stumped, feel free to give us a shout and we’ll see what we can do.

@robbie74 Hi Robbie, as @Tim_OVO says, the meter box is your responsibility.  As it is full of water, I guess it’s the sort that is half buried/buried in the ground, is that correct?

There should be a drain hole in the bottom of the box but invariable these get blocked.  I suggest you remove as much, if not all of the water as you can with a jug; if you have a bike pump you can suck up the last dregs with it, then check for a drain hole.  You may need to carefully dig under part of the box where the hole is and put gravel underneath it to aid with drainage.

Once it’s clear you may find that the condensation will eventually clear and you’ll be able to read the meter if it hasn’t been damaged; this, however, could take a few months.  Also look at the link that Tim sent with my bit about tapping on the meter window.

Peter

Thank you for your reply. I’m concerned about the rust appearing on the pipe and the condensation preventing me from reading the meter.

The box looks intact.

Frankly, I was quite surprised when my gas supplier told me to start messing with it.

I’ll give the local transporter a call.

Thank you for your advice   

What did the transporter advise, @robbie74?