Posted 30 October 2023

Electricity meter for business query

Hi all,

I have a small business which has 3 electricity meters - I recently had a blackout which was blamed on old wiring in the premises. The electrician recommended he will update all the wiring and will install one meter and get the changes approved with the provider etc. He said he'll increase the voltage or capacity (I think he said) so no more blackouts and that all no more blackouts will occur as the meter will be able to cope with the demand.

Apologies I'm no expert but is there any benefits of going from 3 meters to 1? will I get any questions from my provider? Just need to ensure it's safe (and he's approved electrician).

Thanks all
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  1. mutley1's avatar
    as willy says, it will be that you have one main meter and then that is split into separate meters. this is used when a property is separated into different areas, and the owner wants to know how much electricity is used in each area separately.

    if you don't need to know this split, then there is no need to have separate meters.
  2. Willy_Wonka's avatar
    I doubt you have 3 meters.

    You should have one power source that is then split into 3 meters.

    Did the blackout effect the whole building?
    SP2013's avatar
    Author
    Just affected our side, the business side.
  3. SP2013's avatar
    Author
    Admittedly I don't know if it's one power source then split into 3. The other flats above have their own meters. I pay for the 3.
    Willy_Wonka's avatar
    OK. Lets start with the basics.

    Do you have to submit meter readings for all 3 meters to get billed? OR do you supply one reading to your supplier from one meter?
  4. JimboParrot's avatar
    I think contacting UK Power Networks would be a good idea. Do you own/rent the premises?
  5. melted's avatar
    I'm no electrician, but I think sometimes a three phase supply, which is commonly used in commercial premises, will have separate meters, one for each phase on old installs.

    I think a three phase meter would probably still give three readings to submit, rather than totalling the readings together.


    If the wiring is the really old rubber stuff, then the sooner you get it replaced the better. (edited)
  6. beadysamuk's avatar
    I have a separate meter in my studio for my kiln and other electrics there. It has to go on a separate line from the consumer unit because the kiln is powerful, so we popped in a meter (about £10 on ebay) so I could see what was household and what was me. So my usage didn't go into the general bills kitty, I threw the cost of my extra usage in. Even with 2 meters we only pay one bill as only one mains wire comes into the house.
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