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Electrical

Who owns the fuse board in shared space?

Anonymous user 23/02/2024 - 2.41 PM

i live in a ground floow maisonette and in a cupboard which is part of my property I have the electricity companies main fuse and wiring to my meter and to my upstairs neighbours meter. My neighbour plans to move his fuseboard which he says invovles him gaining access to the wiring in my cupboard. I understood this wiring as it is before the meters is the property of the electricity company and would have thought it should not be tampered with. I also have no idea which electricity company would own it and who to contact to find out.

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1 Answer

Electrical Safety Services

Rating: 5 out of 5

Dereham

You are correct in that the cable coming in from the street and up to the main fuse in your property, belongs to the DNO (Distribution Network Operator). Your electricity "Supplier" rents this from the DNO, and this rental forms part of your electricity bill. In flats, things get a bit more complicated and its often the case that whilst you would assume that the cable from the main fuse in your flat to the upstairs flat belongs to the DNO, often is does not! Hence its normally the responsibility of the flat owner to mainatian and repair or even upgrade this cable. The cable is commonly known as a "Rising main" as it rises from the main fuse to the property above. If this cable does need replacing then access will be needed to your flat so that the power can be isolated safely to disconnect and reconnect as required. Its not a major job to istall a new rising main but its important that the main fuse in your flat (the cut-out) is re-sealed by your electricity supplier just in case they think you have tampered with it or have been trying to abstract free electricity!

Answered13 January 2013