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Updated on 06/03/23 by Emmanuelle_OVO

Meter boards and how to get them replaced - your guide

 

It’s a well known fact that nothing lasts forever, and what may have worked well back in the day might not be ideal anymore. This is especially true if you’ve got asbestos anywhere in the equipment and would prefer not to have this stuff lurking.

 

For some tips as to who is responsible, check out this excellent guide too:

 

 

For the most part, it’s up to your friendly local neighbourhood Distribution Network Operator (DNO) to take care of these jobs, but they all have different rules and policies about who can make the request. A full list of all the current operators can be found on another handy guide Tim wrote:

 

 

However, that’s only one story by itself. Once you know which one is responsible, how you reach them is another story… :wink:  The good news however, is that a friendly Blastoise has researched all of them and gathered together the details to help solve these puzzles.

 

I’d also like to give thanks and credit to the support teams of the DNOs that I reached out to for their help and advice in tracking down a few of the more elusive answers.

 

The information below was checked and should be correct as of March 2022. If you spot any mistakes or have any suggestions to update this guide, feel free to let me know!

 

Please note that contact email addresses won’t be included in this guide to help reduce the chances of forum spammers finding them and flooding the DNOs with spammy junk.

 

Where possible, I have included contact phone numbers and links to contact forms. Don’t forget to let your supplier know as well, especially if the meter(s) need to be moved or removed temporarily! If this is required, a very good tip is to try to arrange everything on the same day, in a way that allows everything to slot in very nicely. Book the DNO appointment for a morning slot, then book with your supplier for an afternoon slot on the same day. This is the best way to do it unless you want to have the lights off overnight! :sunglasses:

 

As a final note, this guide mainly relates to replacements due to faults. However, these details might also work for upgrades/downgrades as well.

 

UK Power Networks - MPAN Areas 10, 12 and 19 (East England, London, South East England)

 

I have good news here if UK Power Networks happens to be your DNO. According to their website, you can reach out to them directly to put requests in. While they might charge for the job, they’ll happily offer advice and do an initial survey for free. You can find all the details at these links and a request form is provided as well:

 

 

Alternatively, you can also ask for advice and submit requests by phone. They provide a freephone number for this, which is 0800 029 4285. Lines are open Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm.

 

National Grid Electricity Distribution - MPAN Areas 11, 14, 21 and 22 (East Midlands, West Midlands, South Wales and South West England)

 

National Grid don’t have any specific guidance on their website for this. However, I did manage to reach out to their team via live chat. You can find the chat log over here, and it’s also what sparked me to write these up.

 

 

If National Grid Electricity Distribution is your DNO and you’ve got asbestos issues, Ellie advised me to recommend that you contact your supplier in the first instance and they’ll go from there. However, if it’s for any other reason, WPD might be able to help you out directly.

 

The general contact form can be found here. Alternatively, they’ve got a freephone number which is 0800 096 3080.

 

Scottish Power Energy Networks - MPAN Areas 13 and 18 (North Wales, Merseyside, Cheshire and South Scotland)

 

This is where things get a bit confusing and not quite as clear. SP Energy Networks seems to offer different advice depending on where you are and also what the job is. For example, in England and Wales, they state that you should contact them directly to arrange for a meter board to be replaced, while in Scotland, they will only temporarily disconnect/remove their equipment to allow a 3rd party to swap out the meter board. SPEN will then reconnect their equipment to the new board.

 

However, if you want to get the main fuse replaced, that’s a different story altogether. While the advice SPEN offers is identical across the UK, it appears that SPEN will only accept requests to replace the main fuse if you’re off supply (in which case they recommend you call 105). Otherwise, you may need to contact your supplier instead and they’ll forward the request.

 

Here’s a few useful resources as well:

 

Alternatively, you can call 0330 10 10 280 if you’re in England/Wales, or 0330 10 10 260 if you’re in Scotland. The lines are open Monday to Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm. These are 03 numbers, so calling them won’t cost any more than calling any other 01 or 02 number and are covered by any inclusive allowances.


Northern Power Grid - MPAN Areas 15 and 23 (North East England and Yorkshire)

 

Northern Power Grid is one of the easier ones here. According to their own advice, they are able to help out with both meter boards and main fuses directly. I couldn’t find any details as to charges, however NPG will be happy to offer advice free of charge before you commit. Requests can be made online. Details can be found at the links below.

 

 

Alternatively, you can call the freephone number 0800 011 3332. Lines are open 24/7.

 

Electricity North West - MPAN Area 16 (North West England)

 

Hmm… It looks like Electricity North West is very mysterious and doesn’t seem to have any details on their website. :worried: I’ll keep trying though! If I do manage to find the details, this section will be updated.

 

In the meantime, their contact details can be found here.

 

Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution - MPAN Area 17 (North Scotland)

 

:information_source:This DNO appears to be a subsidiary of Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN).

 

As with other DNOs that come under the SSEN umbrella, you can submit requests directly for both meter boards and main fuses. They’re always happy to offer advice and investigate the job upfront free of charge, and they also don’t charge to have these jobs carried out. The only potential snag is that you might sometimes be asked to buy a meter board yourself, but otherwise, their engineers will take care of the rest. Your local DIY store should have plenty of materials in stock that can be used as a meter board.

 

To get things going, here’s the details that you may find helpful.

 

 

Alternatively, you can also call the freephone number 0800 048 3516. Lines are open Monday to Friday 8am - 4pm.

 

Southern Electric Power Distribution - MPAN Area 20 (Southern England)

 

 :information_source:This DNO appears to be a subsidiary of Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN).

 

Another one under the SSEN umbrella. but listed separately for convenience and just in case things change later on.

 

You can submit requests directly for both meter boards and main fuses and they’ll take a look. Advice, surveys and jobs are offered free of charge, other than for materials where specified. They’ll do the rest for you.

 

To get things going, here’s the details that you may find helpful.

 

 

Alternatively, you can also call the freephone number 0800 048 3516. Lines are open Monday to Friday 8am - 4pm.

 

There’s also a few Independent Distribution Network Operators, or IDNO for short. These are more special edge cases, so I can’t easily offer advice here. For the most part however, you may need to contact either your supplier or the main DNO for your area in the first instance.

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