You can use the electric meter only if there is a seal on it. Electrical metering devices are sealed by electrical network employees. This process is mandatory; it is illegal to use a meter without a seal, regardless of where it is installed: in a private house or in an apartment.
Why and in what cases is sealing the electric meter needed?
The meter must be sealed in the following cases:
- the counter is moved from one place to another;
- the device is installed for the first time;
- the meter is being repaired or replaced;
- the seal was damaged.
Reference! The meter must be sealed within three days after installation or replacement. At this time, electricity will be charged based on daily averages.
Regulatory documents on filling
The process of sealing the meter is regulated by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 354, clause 81 , as well as by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 442, clause 8 . According to these documents, sealing must be carried out before signing for acceptance of the device into operation. The commissioning of the electric meter, and therefore the initial sealing, is paid by the service provider. The consumer pays for re-sealing and repair of the device. They check the meter for free.
Guarantee supplier and network organization
The Law of the Russian Federation “On Electricity” considers business entities who, on the basis of a public offer, enter into an electricity supply agreement with any person who wishes to purchase electricity and resides or carries out business activities in the territory served by the guaranteeing supplier, as a guaranteeing supplier.
The law considers enterprises through whose equipment the supplier of last resort supplies electricity to be network organizations.
That is, the supplier of last resort is an enterprise that provides electricity and receives payment for it, and the network organization is the owners of the equipment (poles, wires, transformers, etc.) with the help of which the supplier of last resort transmits electricity to the consumer’s network equipment.
Who can seal an electric meter?
Only employees of the service provider can perform sealing. You should leave a request at your power grid site to commission an electric meter. An employee of the energy sales company will check the factory seal on the meter, the calibration interval and the correct installation of the meter. If everything is in order, he will put a seal and draw up an acceptance certificate.
Important! Only a representative of the energy sales company can perform sealing. Do not contact electricians based on advertisements, management company employees or other services. In this case, sealing will be illegal, and the consumer will be fined.
Protection against unauthorized deletion
Interestingly, latches and rotors do not open without breaking. Therefore, it will not be possible to increase the length of the wire or remove the magnetic indicator from it, since these devices are self-protecting.
Stickers have their own protection. At the moment of their peeling off, it is impossible to maintain the integrity of their structure. In addition, it has a unique number, so you cannot reinstall another instance.
At the moment, you can find ways on the Internet on how to remove the sticker from the meter. For example, according to users, you can use the heating of a hair dryer to reduce the heterogeneity of the substrate, freezing the suspension inside the flask with dry ice, and installing two magnets for a weak field. Some recommend attaching a shielding ring.
Types of fillings
Power engineers can use various types of seals in their work.
Lead seals
This type is used most often. A special wire is threaded into the unit to be sealed, and a lead seal is attached to it, pressing it with a numbered sealer.
Plastic number seals
Such seals have an individual number, so the electricity supplier keeps strict records. The seal is closed on a rotor system; it is impossible to open such a seal unnoticed; if you try, the special latch will be broken.
Seals clamps
These fillings are rarely used. This seal looks like a plastic clamp. The tip of the clamp is threaded into the bracket, in which it can only move in one direction. The seal can only be opened by breaking the clamp.
Sealing stickers
These are brightly colored stickers with the words “sealed, do not open.” If you remove this sticker, the inscription “tamper attempt” will appear on the seal.
Anti-magnetic seal
Unscrupulous citizens sometimes use a magnet to change the readings of an electricity meter. To protect the device from the effects of magnets, an antimagnetic seal is installed. This is a sticker with a magnetic suspension capsule in the middle. If a consumer tries to influence the electric meter using a magnet, the suspension particles will fill a special capsule, and this cannot be corrected.
What it is
An antimagnetic filling is a rather complex product with a special element that reacts to a strong magnet or a long-term weak magnetic field. It consists of an ultra-sensitive magnetic indicator, the customer’s logo and numbering, protection from mechanical, foreign and other external factors, as well as additional perforation and an element responsible for the impossibility of temporarily removing the sticker from the PU. It also includes a tear-off element with a duplicate number so that copying errors are eliminated at the time the device is entered into the journal.
It is important that the seal is created from a polyester, polyethylene or acrylic protective sticker, in addition to the topic of what a magnetic seal looks like on an electric meter. Its response time takes up to 10 minutes. Each one is created with a unique identification number and cannot be resealed.
Note! It is not sensitive to fields and interference generated by household appliances.
The need to install such products arose at the time of theft of many consumers of electrical energy with water or gas. Many people began to put neodymium types of magnets on accounting instruments to slow down or completely stop the counting mechanism. As a result of these actions, the consumer can spend any energy unlimitedly, and the meter will show the minimum amount of kilowatts. To correct the situation, representatives of management companies put similar seals. They allow you to effectively combat illegal actions of utility users and obtain real evidence.
The procedure for sealing an electricity meter
The seal on the electric meter is placed at the point of attachment to the panel so that it is not possible to connect to the meter without damaging the seal. The meter must have a technical passport, a special holographic sticker on the glass cover, and a manufacturer’s sign on the control panel.
It is necessary to coordinate the installation location of the device with the electrical networks. It is desirable that inspectors have free access to the meter. After installation, you should write an application to the energy sales company for the provision of a service - sealing the meter. Usually, at the same time, the consumer enters into an agreement with the company to supply electricity to this apartment or house. The metering device switches to the power grid balance. Your meter should be put into operation within a month.
Note! The input circuit breaker installed in front of the meter must also be sealed.
Plug for the input circuit breaker
Before sealing the meter, the energy sales representative must draw up a drawing. It must indicate all cable phases, power, number of RCDs and circuit breakers. After this, the employee installs the seal and draws up a report. The act must include the serial number of the meter, and if the meter is replaced, the current readings must be indicated. After this, both parties sign the deed.
What documents confirm the fact of sealing?
The sealing certificate confirms the fact that the meter has been sealed. Therefore, before signing a document, make sure that all seals are present and intact. You can also photograph them and attach the photographs to the act.
Can the act contain corrections?
Factual errors (incorrect number, date or name) may be corrected. If there are several errors, then it is better to take a new form and fill it out.
To fix it, you need to use the traditional algorithm:
- The option with the error is carefully crossed out with one line.
- Above or next to it, where there is free space, the correct option is clearly indicated.
- On the form they also write: “Believe the corrected.”
- Sign and date.
Data must be corrected in the presence of a representative of the customer organization.
Cost of sealing
The cost of sealing the meter will depend on your region, so it is best to find out the exact amount from the service provider. Usually the price varies from 390 to 2000 rubles.
Important! If the meter is installed for the first time, the electricity supplier is obliged to carry out the work free of charge.
Primary sealing refers to work in the event of installing a meter, replacing it with a new one, or moving the device at the request of the management company or electricity supplier.
Amount of fine for intentional damage
The fine for unmetered electricity consumption is determined by the Code of Administrative Offenses. The size is from 10,000 rubles. up to 15,000 rubles, which depends on the degree of guilt, the financial situation of the consumer and other factors at the discretion of the magistrate.
But this amount, even the maximum, is insignificant compared to the amount recalculated for utilities.
Responsibility for citizen-consumers for unmetered electricity consumption is provided for in clause 62 of the “Rules for the provision of utility services to owners and users of premises in apartment buildings and residential buildings”, applied by analogy with the law.
There are several methods for calculating the volume of unmetered electricity consumption, provided for in Appendix No. 3 to the OP FREE, which are based on the fact that the maximum power of the consumer’s power receiving devices or the maximum permissible current load of the input cable is multiplied by the number of hours of unmetered consumption within 3 months.
1.7 (root of three for a three-phase network) x 32 (machine rating) x 0.4 (mains voltage) = 21.7 kW/h (maximum power consumption per hour)
21.7 kW x 24 (hours per day) x 30 (days) = 15624 kW (maximum consumption per month with a 32-amp circuit breaker)
At the same time, the legislator limits the period for calculating unmetered electricity consumption to three months from the moment the violation was established.
Thus, the minimum payment for three months for unmetered electricity consumption according to the OP FREE method will be 107,961.84 rubles.
