Safety inspections start in new areas

Customers in the South West and the Midlands will be receiving visits from us as part of a safety inspection programme.

Domestic and small business customers will receive visits from NGED-approved contractors to check that service termination points at properties are working as they should.

The service termination point, also known as a cut-out, is the location where the main incoming electricity service cable and fuse is situated, in many cases close to the electricity meter. For most modern properties built since the 1980s, the cut-out is situated in a meter cabinet on the outside, although it can be located within the property.

Inspectors will visually inspect NGED and energy suppliers’ equipment and record basic details. No disassembly work will be carried out and customers’ power supplies will not be interrupted while inspections occur.

The inspections are happening at the following areas and postcodes:

SOUTH WEST

• Glastonbury (BA6)
• Gloucester Frampton Cotterell (BS36)
• Midsomer Norton (BA3)
• Nailsea (BS48)
• Ottery St Mary (EX11)
• Plympton (PL7)
• Shepton Mallet (BA4)
• Weston-super-Mare (BS23)
• Tregony (TR2)
• Truro (TR1)
• Yatton (BS49)

MIDLANDS

• Ashby-de-la-Zouch (LE65)
• Cannock (WS12)
• Chesterfield and Mansfield: Eastwood (NG16)
• Melton Mowbray (LE13)
• Redditch (B98)
• Rugby (CV21)

We are aiming to complete 400,000 inspections of cut-outs in homes and small businesses across the South West, Midlands and South Wales every year in a rolling programme over the next 20 years.

We have an Ofgem licence obligation to carry out asset inspections to ensure cut-outs at low voltage metered properties are operating safely.

Policy engineer Richard Brady said: “The UK is recognised internationally as having one of the most resilient and safe energy systems and this inspection programme underlines our commitment to the highest safety standards.

“Inspectors will visually examine cut-outs to check they are working as they should, taking photos and notes for our records. In the unlikely event of a defective cut-out being found, engineers will be sent to carry out repairs at no cost to the customer.

“Visits will also be an opportunity to confirm what types of low-carbon technologies (LCT) are connected to our network, for example electric vehicle chargers and solar panels.

“This will help our planning for load growth on the network and enable LCT items to be connected quicker in the future, as we’ll have records of the cut-out asset on site and its condition.

“These are important safety visits, but we understand they could be inconvenient for customers and apologise in advance if this is the case.”

Inspectors will be from companies A Coole or Calisen and will be clearly identifiable as working for NGED. They will be able to present ID and authorisation to enter properties.

Customers will have the option of taking their own photographs of their cut-out and meter and sending them to NGED who will decide if a follow-up visit is needed.