Metering devices installed in apartments or houses and calculating the amount of electricity consumed require regular verification and replacement if necessary. According to the bill, which came into force in 2022, all costs for planned replacement of meters must be borne by organizations supplying electricity. However, there are a number of situations when the owner of the apartment or other real estate will have to pay for this.
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In what cases is replacement made?
There are several possible events that require replacing the meter:
- First of all, in 2006 the government decided that all electricity meters should be replaced if they have an accuracy class of more than 2.0. (As a rule, outdated devices include mechanical meters with the well-known spinning disk);
- if the meter has traces of mechanical damage - for example, the glass is broken or the mechanism itself does not work;
- if the device functions incorrectly, the amount of electricity consumed is calculated incorrectly, the indicators differ from the real ones;
- if the consumer has switched to a payment method based on several tariffs, then it is necessary to replace the existing meter with a multi-tariff one.
Recommendations for purchasing a new meter
Regardless of the type of meter purchased (induction, electronic, multi-tariff, single-phase, three-phase), in addition to wondering how much the device costs, you need to pay attention to its following characteristics.
- Check the date of the initial meter inspection. PUE (Rules for the Construction of Power Installations) regulate the possibility of installing a metering device if two years have not passed since the initial inspection for single-phase meters and one year for three-phase ones.
- The brand of the meter should be agreed upon with the energy supply organization. It may not be suitable for the accuracy class and in this case will not be accepted for use.
- Check the presence and integrity of seals on the metering device. To access them if you don't know where they are, ask the seller for their location.
- Carefully inspect the meter housing. There should not be any damage to it. The presence of even a small crack will be grounds for refusal to accept the device for operation.
- Be sure to fill out the warranty documents and keep the receipt in case of a factory malfunction of the meter to return it to the store.
Who is legally required to pay for the replacement of the old meter?
The metering device is considered the property of the consumer, which means that the owner of the premises in which the device is installed must pay for the replacement. However, in some situations, the meter may belong to the supplier or be transferred to the housing and communal services for maintenance. In such cases, replacement is made free of charge.
Important! If the housing is municipally owned, then by law it is the municipality that is obliged to pay for the replacement of metering devices.
When do electricity meters change at their own expense?
As already mentioned, if the housing (apartment or private house) is privatized and owned, then the consumer must pay for the replacement.
About replacing metering devices
The procedure for replacing (installing a new) meter consists of the following steps:
1. PURCHASE
At this stage, you need to make sure that the metering device is registered in the State Register (a list of imported and domestic electricity metering devices that have been certified and approved for use in Russia).
When purchasing an electricity meter, first of all, you should pay attention to the date of initial verification carried out at the manufacturer (the device can be approved for operation if the state verifier seals are not older than 24 months for single-phase electricity meters and not older than 12 months for three-phase ones), accuracy class (not lower than 2.0).
Pay special attention to the calibration interval. This is especially important because, according to the law, the expiration of the verification interval and neglect of its verification makes such a meter non-calculated - that is, despite its physical presence, calculations will be carried out for three months - according to the average monthly volume of consumption, then - according to standards.
When choosing a multi-tariff meter, it is necessary to check the meter's compliance with the tariff zones of the day established by order of the Federal Tariff Service: night zone from 23.00 to 07.00, peak from 7.00 to 10.00 and from 17.00 to 21.00 (the rest of the time not indicated in hourly intervals is the half-peak zone ; the daytime zone is considered to be the time of peak and half-peak zones). To do this, you need to contact the branch of NESK JSC and check the correct programming or reprogramming of the metering device.
2. DISASSEMBLY
A consumer of NESK JSC who intends to dismantle an electric meter for replacement, repair or verification must send, in a manner that allows confirmation of receipt, a written statement about the need to take readings of the existing meter, inspect its condition and connection diagram before dismantling it to one of the following: organizations:
— branch of NESK JSC, with which the consumer has an energy supply agreement (Sample application);
— branch of NESK-Electroseti JSC (Sample application).
The application must indicate:
- FULL NAME. the applicant (who is in a contractual relationship with NESK JSC for the supply of electricity);
— personal account number or energy supply contract number,
- the exact address;
- Contact phone numbers.
The dismantling procedure ends with the documentation of the inspection results by a representative of the network or sales organization (drawing up a report), after which this electric meter is removed from the calculations.
Please pay attention!
Unauthorized dismantling of an old electric meter is unauthorized interference with the operation of the meter! A broken seal on an old electric meter entails a change in the payment procedure - they will be made based on the volume of the utility resource, calculated as the product of the total power of all electrical appliances available to the consumer by the hours of their round-the-clock operation for the period starting from the date of unauthorized intervention in the operation of the electric meter specified in An act of checking the condition of the metering device before the date of elimination of such interference.
3. INSTALLATION
Print and fill out the application for installation of an electric meter. You must submit the completed application to the branch or send it by email, having previously contacted a specialist by phone. After completing the application, our specialist will contact you within 1 - 2 business days to clarify the installation time of the meter.
Please pay attention!
It is not recommended to install the meter yourself.
4. AUTHORIZATION FOR OPERATION
The installed electric meter must be approved for operation.
Admission into operation is understood as a procedure during which the readiness of the electric meter for use, the correctness of its inclusion, and, if there are no comments, its sealing are checked.
To be allowed into operation, you must send a written application to one of the following organizations in a manner that allows you to confirm the fact of receipt:
— branch of NESK JSC, with which the consumer has an energy supply agreement (Sample application);
— branch of NESK-Electroseti JSC (Sample application).
The application must indicate:
- FULL NAME. the applicant (who is in a contractual relationship with NESK JSC for the supply of electricity);
— personal account number or energy supply contract number,
- the exact address;
- Contact phone numbers.
The procedure for admission to operation ends with the documentation of the inspection results by a representative of the network or sales organization - the drawing up of a report, which must necessarily indicate:
— number of the installed seal;
— initial readings of the electric meter.
From the date of commissioning, payments for electricity will be carried out in accordance with the readings of the newly installed meter.
Draw your attention to!
In accordance with the requirements of Federal Law-261 (Article 13, Part 10), NESK JSC informs its consumers about possible providers of services for equipping with metering devices.
Services for equipping electricity metering devices in the Krasnodar Territory are provided by: NESK JSC and NESK-Electrical Grids JSC.
I do not have information about other enterprises and organizations providing services for the installation and replacement of metering devices, as well as about their prices.
NESK JSC offers a wide range of certified electricity metering devices, as well as services for replacing and programming electricity metering devices.
If you have chosen our company to perform work on replacing and programming electricity meters, you need:
— select the service you are interested in in the appropriate price list;
— print, fill out and submit to the branch of NESK JSC an application for the provision of services in the prescribed form with the obligatory provision of an identification document;
— receive an invoice for payment for the provision of services;
- remit payment.
After receipt of payment to the bank account of NESK JSC, a representative of our company will agree with you (by phone) on the date and time of the work.
The completion of work (provision of services) must be confirmed by your signature in the Work Order in the column “Work completed in full.”
Order the service you are interested in
You can also use a single number to receive consumer requests (Contact Center):
+7
+7
8-800-600-02-20.
Replacing the meter yourself - procedure and requirements
Which electric meter to choose
Devices should be selected based on the following classifications:
- current consumption - variable or constant;
- number of phases – one (50 V) or three (380 V);
- number of tariffs – one or several;
- type of device - mechanical or electronic.
- connection type - direct or through a transformer.
Mechanical meters are most often replaced with more modern electronic ones. The fact is that mechanical devices have the following disadvantages:
- it is impossible to take readings automatically;
- When metering electricity, very significant errors occur;
- can take into account only one tariff;
- they can be easily adjusted to reflect underestimates;
- Difficult to install and operate.
Thus, most often, electronic devices are installed that are devoid of all of the above disadvantages. Reference! This device is based on a special device that electronically calculates the electricity consumed and records the readings. Such meters allow you to take into account any amount of electricity; they can be installed both in an apartment and in a private house.
Multi-tariff meters are also quite often installed. The essence of their work is to calculate energy depending on the time of day, which leads to lower costs compared to charging at a single tariff.
Attention! The possibility of calculating electricity indicators at several tariffs does not exist in all regions of Russia.
There are the most modern meters that have a liquid crystal display and a digital interface. Their disadvantage is their high cost, so consumers often choose simpler devices.
Preparation of necessary documents
According to the law, it is unacceptable to replace an electric meter without permission from the energy sales company. The following actions must be taken:
- Prepare a passport (identity card) and documents confirming ownership of the premises in which the replacement should be made. In the absence of the owner, it is necessary to issue a power of attorney.
- With the prepared documents, contact the supplier (Energosbyt) and write a statement, indicating the reason for replacing the device.
The utility company must accept the application and send a specialist to determine whether replacement is actually required. Then he removes the seals and records the last accrued readings.
Important! After the seals are removed, the cost of consumed energy will be determined at a special inflated tariff, which does not take into account real consumption.
Removing and installing the meter
Dismantling the old meter and installing a new one is usually carried out by an Energosbyt specialist, but you can replace it yourself if you are confident in your qualifications. You need to do the following:
What are smart meters
Such telemetry devices themselves transmit data to utility companies via the Internet. They can be integrated into any electricity metering system.
At the same time, smart electricity meters provide:
- Primary collection of information about consumed electricity.
- Accumulate and store data.
- Transmit information via communication channels to the energy supply organization. For this purpose, wired or wireless communication channels are used.
- They have the ability to cut off electricity to the consumer or limit consumption. This function is used for persistent defaulters.
- Transmission of operational information about the state of the network, the occurrence of an emergency or other malfunction.
- If there is a break-in attempt, failure, exposure to a magnetic field, or illegal connection, it automatically reports this to the dispatcher.
- Inform the owner about his outstanding payments;
- They remotely change the tariff plan according to a given algorithm.
Who is responsible for the safety of the meter and seals?
If electric meters are installed inside a residential or non-residential premises, responsibility for the safety of the device and seals rests with the owner of the property. This is determined by Government Decree No. 354 of 05/06/11.
And the safety of seals and meters located on staircase landings must be ensured by the organization involved in the operation of the housing stock.
What is determined by the Decree of the State Construction Committee of the Russian Federation No. 170 of September 23, 2003. Useful article? Rate and share with friends!
Electricity meter replacement act
After the specialists replace the meter, a report is drawn up, which is signed by the owner of the house and the contractor. The document contains the following information:
- address of work;
- technical characteristics of the removed and installed meter;
- date of completion of work;
- date of verification of the old and new electricity meter;
- indicators of the new device;
- the amount of unaccounted electricity during the absence of the device;
- reason for replacement;
- information about the organization that carried out the work and its full details.
Counter on the street
The act of replacing the electric meter is carried out in two copies, one of which remains with the owner of the house, and the second - with the energy supply organization.
Legislative framework
The main regulations that regulate the issues of changing metering devices include:
- Housing Code of the Russian Federation.
- Federal Law of November 23, 2009 No. 261-FZ “On energy saving and increasing energy efficiency, and on introducing amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation.”
- Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 4, 2012 No. 442 “On the functioning of retail electricity markets, complete and (or) partial restrictions on the consumption of electrical energy.”
These regulations determine the procedure and conditions for replacing meters. Some points related to the contractual part of such a procedure are stipulated in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. For example, Article 210 specifies who bears the costs associated with replacing equipment.
Beware, scammers!
Not everyone understands the meaning and order of innovations. And scammers take advantage of this. They try to impose paid services on apartment owners.
Now the service organization notifies the owners in writing about the need to replace the old electric meter, which has reached the end of its service life, with a new one.
It’s easy to buy a database of owners with electric meter data on the Internet. Fraudsters call clients by manipulating laws. The main goal of scammers is to force the owner to change the device at his own expense.
They often go around apartments and, using intimidation with large fines, force them to change a working electric meter. Draw up a contract for the sale of an electric meter and services for its replacement. They take money. To install the seal, it is recommended to contact the energy sales service.
Remember: changing electricity meters is now required free of charge. If you are offered to buy a device and demand money, it means they are scammers.
It is impossible to sue for unauthorized actions of a third party. The owner signs contracts and pays for purchased equipment and services voluntarily.
If the owner is forced to provide a service to replace the electric meter, you need to call the organization and find out whether specialists have been sent to your address.
Required documents
In order to replace an old electricity meter, you should prepare the following documents:
- completed application;
- a document that confirms the identity of the owner;
- certificate of ownership of a residential property;
- technical documents for the device.
Watch the video. At whose expense are the metering devices installed:
Installation Requirements
Before installing a new device, you need to take care of preparing the installation site for it.
The operating period of the electric meter can be affected by temperature, humidity, and vibration in the room.
Please note! In this regard, we can highlight the following list of requirements that apply to the meter installation procedure:
- If the new device is to be installed indoors, the air in it must be dry. When it comes to installing the device outdoors, a box must be attached to the wall, into which the device itself is subsequently attached;
- when choosing a location for installing the device, you should remember that it must be located in such a way that a specialist has unhindered access to it;
- the electric meter is installed on a rigid surface that should not vibrate or move;
- it is allowed to install the meter on a shield made of wood, metal, plastic;
- the shield must be installed vertically;
- the device is placed on the wall no higher than 170 cm from the floor;
- installation cannot be carried out if the device deviates more than 1 degree, since otherwise the meter may not work correctly. This is especially true for induction models;
- remember, the wires must be stripped at least 2 cm;
- After installing the device, a specialist must ground the area;
- The device must be equipped with automatic switches that will operate, for example, in the event of a fire.
Reasons for replacing the electric meter
In practice, replacement of devices on the basis of which utility bills are calculated rarely occurs. However, all homeowners – both city apartments and private houses – face this problem.
The replacement of the device can be carried out by the management company or by the homeowner himself. Representatives of the management company or electricity supplier usually carry out the replacement as planned, notifying the owners of apartments or houses in advance. And owners more often buy new equipment (or contact the management company with a request to replace it) due to a breakdown of the device.
The electric meter installed in a floor, apartment or house switchboard must be in good working order, like other electrical installation devices: circuit breakers, RCDs, stabilizers, sockets
If, for some reason unknown to you, the device stops or, on the contrary, begins to spin much faster, you need to urgently call a specialist.
Sometimes a small repair is enough, but more often, in case of such a malfunction, a conclusion is issued to replace the old electricity meter. According to it, you need to either install a new device yourself or contact the management company.
Here are some of the reasons for replacement that you may encounter during the operation of the electric meter:
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Inconsistency with current network parameters
The electric meter has exhausted its resource
The seal is broken or broken
Technical breakdown or mechanical damage
