Seals for electricity meters - types and recommendations

The legislation clearly stipulates that electricity metering and control meters must be sealed. Otherwise, their testimony is not taken as the basis for calculating payment. In some cases, this becomes the reason for defining the situation as theft of electric current, for which the consumer will be punished by a fine or more serious consequences. Therefore, seals for electricity meters are a sign that this device is working correctly, without breaking the law.

It should be noted that two seals are usually installed on the electric meter:

1. Factory, which guarantees that no one will climb inside the device.
2. A seal placed by a representative of an energy sales organization. It is usually installed on the terminal box, thereby ensuring that wires cannot be penetrated into the box for the purpose of theft.

Types of fillings

There are a large number of types of seals for meters. They come in different shapes and designs, but all perform the same functions.

Lead

Installation requires lead blanks, wires or fishing lines and a special sealing device. When installing protection, you need to pass a special wire through the hole provided by the manufacturer in the junction box mount, then through the hole in the housing protrusion and the second end of the wire through the hole in the seal.

Lead seals

Lead blanks are crimped with a special device. After this, it is impossible to remove the lead plate without damaging it. However, the craftsmen managed to replace it with a false seal with the wrong impression. This led to the emergence of similar polymer products.

Lead plate sealer

Plastic number seals

Disposable plastic numbers provide a high degree of protection from intruders. They can be used for different locking systems: rotating structures or transparent latch mechanism. In addition to the serial number, the organization also uses its logo. You can visually determine whether the integrity of the plastic is compromised.

Plastic license plate

Seals clamps

This type is rarely used. It is a plastic clip that extends in one direction. To open it by pulling it in the opposite direction, you need to break the device.

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Sealing stickers

There is no way to open it without damaging it. The sticker is brightly colored, has a serial number and the words “Do Not Open.” The adhesive is applied from the back and is protected by an easily removable film. It is impossible to remove the marked sticker without leaving a trace. The words that will indicate the autopsy will remain on the surface after removal. They cannot be washed off.

Stickers

How to seal an electricity meter

If the new meter was installed independently, the device must be sealed by employees of the resource supplier company. The steps are as follows:

• If the old meter has been replaced, do not throw it away before having it checked by an electrician. After deletion, it will overwrite the serial number and the latest indicators. In this case, you also need to show the broken seals.
• Contact the housing and communal services accounting department for detailed information on paying for metered services.
• After payment, contact the Housing Authority duty dispatcher again, he will record the payment and set the date and time when the owner should receive the paid installation services. You should also receive a special certificate from him, which must then be filled out by an electrician.
• Wait for the employee, and after his work is done, give him the form to fill out.

Important! It is worth double-checking all the data, serial number and readings.

• Provide the completed form to housing office employees for visual inspection (with engineers) and with the appropriate seals (accounting or office).
• This document will now need to be delivered to a single cash settlement center. There, specialists will recalculate and record new readings from the meter.

Sealing the meter
One of the main documents is a passport. It must be issued by the seller along with the newly purchased product. The passport must contain the following information:

• Date of manufacture.
• Equipment accuracy level.
• Confirmation date.

Only those meters that have been verified for no more than two years are allowed to operate. Otherwise, the meter will be sent for further inspection and a fee will be charged.

Location of seals

Who seals the meters?

Only employees of the organization that supplies energy supplies can carry out actions to install markings on the electric meter.

During this task, the consumer is located next to a company representative. You must be sure that all actions were performed correctly and the installed markings are not damaged.

What can you do yourself?

The owner of a house or apartment can buy a meter, automatic equipment and a shield that is suitable in size. Install everything yourself and carry out electrical wiring in the house, replace sockets, etc.

User Vremyazar talked about self-sealing electric meters, as well as the procedure for replacing equipment.

What to do if the seal is broken

If the seal in the shield is found to be damaged, the following steps must be taken:

1. Once damage is detected, take a photo. This way the date will be fixed.
2. Then carefully check all equipment in the panel for illegal entry into the circuit.
3. Notify the management company about the incident, make a statement (in two copies) to the energy sales organization to describe the fact of damage and indicate the meter data during testing. The first copy is sent to company employees, and the second copy is recognized and stored by the subscriber. You need to make sure that other applications have the same numbers and dates.
4. After this, a special committee will be created to review the integrity of the plan, possible violations and interventions.
5. Then install new fillings.

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Important! The consumer must be notified by company employees about the fact of verification of the device. You do not need to be personally present during this process. If this does not happen, the power engineers will write off all the missing energy to the tenant.

In case of urgent need, you can seal the equipment yourself. To do this you will need:

1. Purchase fillings with similar images and replacements.
2. Then purchase special reinforced monofilament threads for sealing with a total diameter of 0.8 mm (depending on the diameter of the holes in the rack).
3. Cut a small piece of monofilament, screw its end to the first eye of the device body and insert the other end into the diagonal mounting bolt.
4. Place the plastic seal on the free end of the thread and then turn the shut-off valve fully.

Unaccounted Electricity Act

Principle of operation

The device operates, regardless of the type of indicator and the method of attaching it to the meter, according to one principle: during the action of a magnet or its field, the indicator changes color, is damaged, changes shape, that is, completely changes its appearance, which cannot be corrected independently. It is important to note that the magnetic field from a welding machine, washing machine or electric drill does not affect the sensor. Only those exceeding 100 milliteswords are valid. Even all the electrical appliances in the house cannot create such a number.

Note! Therefore, the seal can only be opened with an illegal device - a magnet, which is located as close as possible to the reading machine.

Today there are a large number of different devices, depending on what they control. Anti-magnetic fillings are divided into red, blue and brown. The red ones monitor light, the blue ones monitor water, and the brown ones monitor gas. As for products that are placed on an electric meter, they can look like a sticker or an adhesive plate with an indicator, or they can be a rotary type or in the form of a latch.

Anti-magnetic plates or electromagnetic tapes are attached to glass or plastic, the main thing is to maintain a level base. In this case, the location is selected so that it is possible to simply take readings from the register.

Rotary antimagnetic seals combine an antimagnetic sticker and a number element. The indicator is placed inside a latch made of plastic. With minor extraction, the entire structure will be damaged.

A latch is a product that has a “tail” that allows the user to not deceive the housing and communal services, open the clamp and change the wire.

There is also a capsule model. It is a plate with a suspension, which is destroyed when detached from the counter. This is the way to use it.

Regulatory acts

The law regulates the inspection of installed and commissioned equipment, the process of sealing equipment and the procedure for collecting fees. The service provider must provide a sample document upon request.

Clauses 8, 9 and 14 of paragraph 8 of Decree No. 354 state that it is necessary to seal the energy meter immediately before using it. In this case, the client is not charged anything. This is also confirmed in Part 8 442 of the Ordinance. Accordingly, no fee is charged for applying seals to equipment that is just being put into operation. Owners will only pay for re-seals due to equipment damage. This is confirmed by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 4, 2012 N 442, clause 8.

What is the fine for breaking the seal on an electric meter?

Fines for unused electricity are determined by the law on administrative crimes. The amount starts from 10,000 to 15,000 rubles, depending on the degree of the internal financial situation, the financial situation of the consumer and other factors determined by the judge.

Clause 62 of the “Rules for the provision of utility services to owners and users of residential and residential buildings,” to which the law of analogies applies, provides for the responsibility of citizens and consumers who are not responsible for electricity consumption. Appendix 3 provides several methods for calculating unaccounted power consumption. These methods are based on the fact that the maximum power consumption of a user-powered device or the maximum current carrying capacity of the input cable is multiplied by the unused power consumption for 3 months and the number of hours.

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Example:

1. 1.7 (three roots of a three-phase network) x 32 (nominal power of the machine) x 0.4 (supply voltage) = 21.7 kW / h (maximum electricity consumption per hour).
2. 21.7 kW x 24 (hours per day)) x 30 (days) = 15624 kW (maximum consumption of a 32-amp machine per month).

In this case, the legislator limited the period for calculating unconfirmed electricity consumption to three months from the date of discovery of the violation.

Replacement and installation

The procedure for sealing the meter can be free or paid for by the tenant. It all depends on the reason for the work. When installing new equipment (this is a formal requirement of the service provider company), payment is not charged.

Electricity meter installation certificate

When re-sealing at the initiative of the owner (when replacing an old meter with a new one), the following procedures must be carried out:

1. Contact your electricity service provider, send a written application (check the list of required documents with the supplier).
2. After receiving the receipt, payment is made at the bank branch using the received details.
3. The cost of such services can be found out directly from the company itself.
4. After sealing, employees must fill out a report indicating: the current readings of old and new equipment, the installation location and the name of the organization that performed the work on the specified day.

Replacing the meter by a company representative
Seals for electricity meters have different designs and configurations. However, the most important factor for a filling is its presence. Otherwise, problems with administrative legislation will arise, and fines may be imposed.

When may sealing be required?

The procedure is carried out in different situations:

• Installation of a new device.
• Changing the location of the counter.
• Identification of the fact of violation of the integrity of a previously installed seal.
• Replacement of the electricity meter in case of failure, damage or detection of malfunctions that result in distorted readings.
• Return of the mechanism after verification at the factory or in a certified laboratory.

There may be other situations that require sealing the device.