At whose expense will the electric meter be replaced in 2022: law and procedure

Housing and communal services

Mikhail Bondarev Author of the article

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There are a number of reasons why an electric energy meter may need to be replaced, and it is important to know how to do it correctly. In some houses where meters were installed more than 16 years ago, planned replacement is taking place due to their technical obsolescence.

Among other reasons:

• failure;
• service life has expired;
• replacement with a modern multi-tariff meter for significant savings in resource consumption.

The procedure for replacing metering devices is subject to rules that should be strictly followed. Let's list the regulatory documents and clarify who should and at whose expense the replacement is made.

The legislative framework

When operating and replacing electricity metering devices, they are guided by the legal framework of the following documents:

• Civil (Article 543 and Article 210) and Housing Codes of the Russian Federation;
• Federal Laws No. 102 (dated June 26, 2008) and No. 261 (dated November 23, 2009);
• Resolutions of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 491 and No. 530 of 2006.
• decision of the State Standard of the Russian Federation.

Legislative requirements establish that the responsibility to monitor the uninterrupted operation of electricity meters and timely take measures to repair or replace them lies with the owners of privatized apartments, as well as the management company. Metering devices installed in municipal housing stock and on staircase landings are controlled by the energy supply and building management organizations.

The owner of privatized housing has the right to refuse to replace the meter, in which case he will be charged at a tariff that exceeds the standard one.

What are the advantages of smart meters?

The main advantage of smart meters is the complete automation of the data collection process. The devices will independently transmit information about energy consumption to the electricity supply organization. Devices will be able to transmit indicators directly via a home Wi-Fi network, a mobile phone or a SIM card installed in the meter.

One of the main goals of installing smart metering devices is to transfer responsibility for non-payment of bills to the direct violator, and not to divide the amount of the debt of the defaulter among all consumers through the tariff.

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Who should change the electric meter and at whose expense does it change?

Let's consider cases of installing a meter in an apartment or private house and common areas of an apartment building: how and at whose expense the replacement takes place in each of them.

On the landing and other common areas

The landing is a common property of the house and the electricity meters installed in the entrance belong to the common property of the house (RF PP No. 491). Therefore, their replacement must be carried out by the management company at its own expense.

However, owners of residential premises should carefully read the agreement concluded with the management organization. They have the right to indicate at whose expense such work will be carried out.

Important! According to the rules established by law, violation of the procedure for replacing and removing the seal from an old meter entails a fine. At the same time, it is possible to use a recalculation based on already paid energy consumption for the last three years at the maximum tariff.

Privatized apartment

From July 1, 2022, responsibility for the correct operation of the device, its safety and maintenance lies not with the home owner, but with the service provider.

A private house

Since the house is owned, the metering devices must be replaced at your own expense (RF PP No. 530). The exception is municipal housing buildings, where control over the meters is established by the energy supply or management organization and payment for replacement is made at their expense.

Municipal housing

Resident citizens using an apartment under a social tenancy agreement are not the owners of the premises. The owner of the housing stock is the municipality, which enters into appropriate agreements with resource suppliers and management companies. Accordingly, replacement of electricity meters is carried out at the expense of the state.

If the energy supply or management company tries to collect funds for replacement from the tenant of the apartment, their action will be considered unauthorized. The tenant can contact the housing inspectorate and refer to Article 539 of the Civil Code.

Electric meters with expired service life must be replaced, which can be viewed in the device passport or obtained from the service organization.

What seals are installed when sealing the meter?

Let's talk in more detail about sealing the meter as an important stage in the procedure for accepting a new PU for calculations. According to paragraphs. “g(1)” clause 32 of the RF PP No. 354, the executor of the control system has the right to install control and anti-magnetic seals on the meters, as well as other devices that record illegal interference in the operation of the control panel.

The sealing is carried out before signing the act of putting the meter into operation - in order to enter into the act the numbers of the seals and the places where they are installed (clause 81 (8) of the RF PP No. 354). There is no charge for the installation of seals and devices (clause 81 (11) of the Russian Federation Regulations No. 354). The owner pays only for re-sealing, when the seals or verification marks have been broken (clause 81 (14) of the RF PP No. 354).

At the time the launcher is put into operation, its body should already have the original lead seal from the manufacturer. The secondary control seal is installed by the control panel performer in order to exclude the possibility of access to parts and changes in the control panel readings. The seal can be lead or plastic.

Also, the CP contractor, when accepting the meter for commercial accounting, installs anti-magnetic seals: they record the effect of a magnetic field on the device, which can affect the meter readings.

The consumer will not be able to remove the installed seals from the IPU without damaging them: traces will remain in the form of letters or watermarks. Therefore, if the control panel was exposed to a magnetic field for at least 1 second, the control panel performer will establish this fact during a control check of the control panel using antimagnetic seals.

Antimagnetic fillings come with one or two antimagnetic elements:

• When a magnet is exposed to the first type of seal, the antimagnetic element disintegrates, which is recorded visually when checking the seal. Such a seal consists of two parts: the main one is glued to the upper part of the control unit body, and the tear-off spine, duplicating the number of the main part of the seal, is glued to the act of putting the control device into operation.

• If a magnetic field affects a filling with two antimagnetic elements, then the entire element turns black. The main part of the seal, like a single-element seal, is glued on top of the meter body, and the smaller part is glued to the front wall of the device below. The contractor writes down the number of such a seal in the act manually.

When installing seals, the contractor must explain to the consumer the consequences that will arise if the seals are broken (clause 81(11) of the RF PP No. 354).

RF PP 1498: how to check metering devices
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Electricity meter rules and terms

According to the rules established by law, violation of the procedure for replacing and removing the seal from an old meter entails a fine. At the same time, it is possible to use a recalculation based on already paid energy consumption for the last three years at the maximum tariff.

The electric meter must be operated according to the service life specified in the device passport. When the period has expired, the owner is obliged to contact the energy saving company, and it must send a specialist to replace the electric meter within 10 days.

What if the meter is broken?

If you find problems that require repair of the electricity meter, you should contact your energy sales office. There is no need to try to repair the device yourself, which could lead to breaking the seal, since breaking the seal will result in penalties being applied to the owner.

To eliminate the malfunction, you need to write a statement to the energy supply organization indicating the breakdown and the address of the premises. They are required to coordinate the departure of the master. The electrician will check the condition of the seal and diagnose the problem and draw up the appropriate report. If the meter cannot be repaired, it will need to be replaced.

Rules

The rules for installing an electric meter in a private house recommend installing it on the border of the balance sheet boundaries. This could be a wall of a house, a fence, or a separate support running along the border of the site.

The location is determined by the design organization together with the owner. It should not contradict the rules for operating electrical installations (PUE) and Government Decree No. 530. It states that the owner is obliged to provide the inspector with free access to the meter. According to the PUE and the project, the owner is obliged to comply with the conditions for installing the electrical box.

PUE 7 clause 1.5.29 prescribes the height of the electric meter. It should be within 0.8 - 1.7 meters from the ground. In exceptional cases, installation of the box at a height of 0.4 m is allowed.

In this case, the box must be designed for outdoor use. And the operating conditions of the meter must correspond to its location.

Reasons for replacing the meter

1. An outdated device with an accuracy class of 2.0.
2. The electric meter began to record inaccurate results. Does not show actual energy consumption.
3. Switching to another type of meter due to the choice of multi-tariff mode.
4. The replacement can be initiated not only by the owner himself, but also by the energy supply organization. This occurs due to the expiration of the installed device’s service life (service life has exceeded 16 years). Then the energy sales company notifies the homeowner in writing that a replacement is required. The owner is obliged to purchase and install the meter at his own expense within 30 days.

If the owner of the residential premises ignores the notification, then after the month has passed, a consumption tariff will be applied to him, based on the average monthly readings for the previous 3 months. This is the maximum time allowed to replace the meter. After this period, energy sales will begin to apply tariffs according to the standards approved by law.

Self-replacement of the electricity meter

The question often arises whether it is possible to replace the electric meter on your own. If the owner is a specialist in this field, then in principle this is not prohibited.

Important here will be:

• strict adherence to safety rules;
• in the absence of professional skills, installing the meter yourself is prohibited;
• written approval of the resource supplying organization;
• inviting a specialist to remove the seal from the old device, and after installing the new one to seal it.

Let's talk about replacing the electricity meter yourself step by step:

In this case, you should take into account some points and follow a certain procedure.

1. Write an application to Energosbyt explaining the reasons for replacing the meter and obtain permission for it. Bring with you a passport and documents confirming ownership (extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate).
2. Immediately ask all the necessary questions about the meter models. Select the type of meter, depending on the tariff plan. The model must be certified and contained in the Register.
3. It is better to purchase an electric meter from the company that supplies electricity. Buy a metering device. For example, many people are now buying multi-tariff ones, which allow significant savings, since the tariff is much lower at night. It must comply with the technical specifications required by the energy sales organization. To buy a meter, you will need to present a certificate; without it you cannot make a purchase.
4. At the appointed time, they will send a specialist who will record the removal of the seal from the old device.
5. The old meter is dismantled in compliance with safety rules. It will need to be saved for final readings. While the meter is absent, for this period the average tariff for the last 3 months will be charged.
6. Install a new meter and check its operation.
7. Write an application to invite an inspector who will check the installation and seal it.

After replacing the electric meter, the owner of the apartment is issued a sealing certificate.

It is necessary to keep the passport with the technical characteristics of the device, which contains data on the service life. Since it will be useful in the future, the next time you replace the meter.

What is the price? The cost of electricity meters starts from 800 rubles and depends on the technical characteristics. Work to replace the meter is determined by the region from 1 - 2.5 thousand rubles.