Extra Electric meter ?

[Orkibi]

Hi, Im looking in to converting a basement/garage in to a flat.
Anyone has an idea how much is the cost to get an extra electric meter ? and should we contact the electricity company for it ?

Thanks for any advice.

Hadar

[dickie]

Hi,
Your sparkie can install the meter and then have the power company inspect.
Just had a new box fitted for $800.00.

Hope that helps.

[Taurean]

It was suggested to me to install a check meter but on ringing Genesis, they knew nothing of a check meter. A seperate meter box would be a far better option, you aren't faced with shared power problems, I would spend the $800
How do members cope where a seperate box for practical reasons cannot be installed. Sorry if this is a hi-jack but subj so closely related.

[Vinc]

Power company does not have to be informed, Electrician wires in check meter.

[Perry]

Single phase digital electricity meters are $75-$100.
A registered electrician is required to install the (sub)
board for a proposal like yours. Include meter[s]* in the
specs. I advice against any communication with the
electrical energy supplier, as distinct from Vinc's simple
"does not have to be informed" advice, good as it is.

Two meter boxes means two availability/supply charges,
costs which can be avoided with check meters.

Genesis use a call centre where the average IQ is not high.

*Depending on area and other factors, two meters will
be needed if two phases need to be run.

[Orkibi]

Thanks for the reply's , very helpful.

Hadar

[Glenn]

I have found two sources of meters.
One from the old meter reader guys who take them out and sell them as a perk. Look in the yellow pages for electrical inspectors.
The best ones I have found are new electronic and take up a very small space on the board.
VIRCOM EMS sell them for the prices that Perry specify.
These are single phase. If you are into something bigger like a three phase one then I have found the meter reader source is best.
Avoid like the plague the old dial ones. They are hard to read and subject to terrible reading errors. Naturally you have to do the power readings and on charge the tenants yourself. The power company does not do this sort of thing.

Of course making a baement flat has its own perils like non city council compliance and fire insurance. Insurance companies will not pay out if the work does not conform. I would doubt that many home handymen would build the place to the current fire ratings required. If you end up in the tenancy tribunal the court will take the tenants side because the RTA required owners to comply with the building code.

[Orkibi]

Cheers Glen, I'm actually looking in to doing it with a building consent etc. ( I didn't buy the property yet I'm doing my D.D with regard to the reno)

Thanks

Hadar

[spurner]

Don't bother with the check meter, it can be a headache trying to apportion electricity usage and obtain money from the tenants.

Definitely install a new meter, the meters themselves are not too expensive. The major cost is running the new electrical main cable to the meter. I have done a couple of these and the costs were around $3,000+ but it depends a lot on the distance to the new connection, and the load you want to run to the unit.

The last one I did I had to run a new main cable all the way to the post on the street, as there was not enough capacity on the existing main which fed the current flats.

Best speak to a good sparky...

[Perry]

Don't bother with the check meter, it can be a headache trying to apportion electricity usage and obtain money from the tenants.

If there's a check meter, there is no apportioning.
One simply reads the meter. What am I missing, here?

I have used check meters for a number of years and
recommend the practice. There are risks to be managed,
but risks are inherent in the nature of providing rentals.

However, comments about cable capacity and so on do
need some expertise. What I find strange is that the
calculations always take a worst case scenario. I.e. if
every possible circuit is fully loaded, all at once. E.g.
each place has oven, all four stove-top elements, the
hot water cylinder, a 2.4kw heater running in every room,
the washing machine, dishwasher and every light on.
All simultaneously! I just shake my head and remind
the overly cautious that's what fuses are for.

[Glenn]

I just shake my head and remind
the overly cautious that's what fuses are for.

No that is not the power companies reasoning at all.
I have faced this problem more than once. I was placing more than one tenant in an industrial property. I wanted separate metering and the power company said their rule was to have a separate mains cable and its associated fuses on the street. I pointed out that in fact there was a spare phase in the mains cable but no they wanted a completely new cable.
So that is when I installed the separate check power meter. (done I might add with a registered person).
Interesting as it may be to some a latter tenant actualy blew the power companies HRC fuse once with his welder. Just as well the electrical supplier was just across the street, so we quickly changed the fuse for them rather than let them see what we had done.
Actually the issue of cable size and so forth is not so much about fusing current / capacity but volt drop.
So anyway I believe the reason for them wanting to have separate cables and fuses for each customer it makes it easier to cut the customer off when they do not pay. Some of the really old blocks of flats are a complete nightmare for the poor fellows who have to cut off non paying customers. They can not simply pull out a mains fuse because that will disconnect several flats. So they have to get into the back of the board and disconnect the phase from the meter input. They hook a neutral onto the flat phase so that if some dumb smarty tries to enliven their flat with an extension lead from next door they get one very large flash and hopefully a big fright.

[Perry]

Glenn
I was meaning the sparky, not the energy supplier. Sorry
for the confusion.

HRC fuses are no longer fitted in new installations, I believe.
I use circuit breakers, but a special type rated for welders.
(Can't recall the type name, just now.)

Besides easier to cut people off, they get to collect yet
another availability charge, too, when they're separate
supply lines.