It's pretty scary that the smart meters can be controlled remotely

The DNO customer would probably get a telephone call within minutes of the fuse being pulled.

I suggest this because I called the outage line the other night (A thatched cottage burnt down near an 11kV line) and the voice system read out and asked for confirmation of my postcode against my phone number. So the databases are there and cross referenced already.

Big Brother is alive and well.

Nothing scarey about it Ant - I've got a remote control on my TV and that doesn't frighten me none

Regards

OMS

-------------------------
Failure is always an option

everything is becoming controlled by software these days. This has plenty benefits to the supplier they can remote disconnect you if you pay your bill a few days late. Also what happens if their computer breaks down and everyone get disconnected by accident. It may be called moving on with the times by it does have it faults too.

I also see a positive as well they could remotely isolate if you need isolation but I would also question how safe this would be as its not securely done manually and could become energised at any time.

Thats right, you use it every day, distributors, cash points, internet etc; etc; etc; and it is very successful.

As I pointed out earlier its not about big bruv or any conspiracy theory but its about self sufficiency and efficiency, the world is a rapidly changing place, people are not interested in wars and how many tanks can their dictators buy for a deal of 10p a barrel for oil, they want a good sandwich and a telly to watch and a computer to play on, the west has suppressed the middle east and places like africa for too long and they are now losing their grip, people just want to compete on the world market and enjoy the material things in life that we take for granted, aint nothing wrong with that, the problem being is that we will now have to compete on an equal basis and sustainability and efficiency is one of the keys to survival.

The problem is we have never been very good at this as we used to steal all the stuff from the colonies we occupied.

regards

-------------------------
"Take nothing but a picture,
leave nothing but footprints!"
-------------------------
"Oh! The drama of it all."
-------------------------
"You can throw all the philosophy you like at the problem, but at the end of the day it's just basic electrical theory!"
-------------------------

LoL -what's this RnR - you can't be a Son of Empire and have a conscience as well

OMS

-------------------------
Failure is always an option

I think the time has come to hang up our swords.

regards

-------------------------
"Take nothing but a picture,
leave nothing but footprints!"
-------------------------
"Oh! The drama of it all."
-------------------------
"You can throw all the philosophy you like at the problem, but at the end of the day it's just basic electrical theory!"
-------------------------

Not quite I fear - it's all going to get a bit excitable in North Africa and beyond over the summer so a few opportunities out there to make a few dirty bucks from both sides yet

Regards

OMS

-------------------------
Failure is always an option

The old BICC cables used to benefit from "commonwealth preference" for some time after independence in the 1960s. It meant that we had time to adjust to the high "market" prices for copper.

The countries became free. Did the citizens? Who was it that fled with their country's gold bars recently?

I expect the Terracotta Warriors will be there long before we are, everybody loves a 'Takeaway'.

regards

-------------------------
"Take nothing but a picture,
leave nothing but footprints!"
-------------------------
"Oh! The drama of it all."
-------------------------
"You can throw all the philosophy you like at the problem, but at the end of the day it's just basic electrical theory!"
-------------------------

Thought for a moment I'd slipped up and was on the Socialists Worker's Party website for a minute, all this talk of nationalisation.

Totally agree there Norman, hate to think what's to happen after these idiots have finished in power.

Was it normal to work on live service cable feeds back in the old days - say 1970's or before, or did they pull the substation fuse or pavement link box connectors first??

"Was it normal to work on live service cable feeds back in the old days - say 1970's or before, or did they pull the substation fuse or pavement link box connectors first??"

As far as I'm aware, as long as the LV cable isn't damaged, they will still work on it live.....

Regards

BOD

It is still routine practice for DNOs to work on LV Mains and Services live. WIth faults, it is a risk assessed method to determine what can be carried out with the network energised, and at what point it gets switched off. Under some scenarios, the "switching off" maybe using a "live cut" on the Main, which may be less disruptive than removing a fuse further back in the network.

If there is a risk to life and / or property, then it would be normal to isolate at the quickest / easiest point, while establishing isolation closer to the problem.

Regards,

Alan.

Some time ago, I was in a similar situation with my service head.

it had a fused neutral, rewireable, plastic though, supplied with PILC so pitch filled head.

it also had eco 7 with the associated mess of wiring and noisy timeclock and contactor.

I phoned the supplier and eventually got someone who said they didnt install isolators full stop, and the fused neutral was good because its fused twice as much. If I wanted to fir an isolator, they told me to cut the seals and pull the fuses if i thought it looked ok to do so.

some time later, i had the eco 7 removed and a single rate electronic meter fitted, and the head replaced when i told them it was leaking pitch, they did it live and fitted a 100a fuse

nobody commented on the missing seals