When Should an Electricity Meter Enclosure Be Replaced?

As energy demands in family homes and other buildings grow, requirements for electricity meter enclosures also change. Distribution companies issue requirements to keep energy distribution safe, compliant with standards and suited to modern technologies. In some cases, this means the meter enclosure needs to be replaced.

Keep up with connection requirements

It is important to monitor the distributors’ connection requirements. All distributors specify how metering equipment must be located, designed and connected. These requirements help determine whether an enclosure at your premises needs to be replaced. If you are unsure, the distributor’s technician or your electrician can assess the situation.

Review the connection requirements:

• EG.D connection requirements (see “Requirements for customer premises”)
• ČEZ connection requirements
• PRE connection requirements (see document “MM 501”)

We regularly monitor updated connection requirements and adapt our electricity meter enclosures accordingly. We supply enclosures that meet the latest requirements and tell you which distributor they are suitable for.

Preparing a customer connection for photovoltaics

Installing a photovoltaic system requires special attention. The electricity meter enclosure must meet these requirements. Check that the existing enclosure is suitable for metering at premises with a generator or microgeneration source.

For this purpose, we offer PER 2F and PER PRE-F electricity meter enclosures, which meet the latest distributor requirements for metering with photovoltaic systems.

Learn more about requirements for electricity meter enclosures used with photovoltaic systems.

Read the article ››

Also check these requirements

• Enclosure material: Older customer premises sometimes still have wooden frames. These need to be replaced with modern enclosures.
• Check whether the enclosure is resistant to splashing water. It should not consist only of welded profiles or sheet metal. The enclosure and door should have a verifiable IP ingress protection test.
• The enclosure should have enough space for an HDO receiver (if ripple control is required). If the available space and location meet the distributor’s requirements, it should be possible to add an installation switch and, if needed, an auxiliary relay.
• If you still have black circuit breakers mounted on a black board inside a wooden enclosure, the enclosure will certainly need replacing.
• If the electricity meter is still behind a cover panel when you open the door, the enclosure will need substantial modification or, preferably, replacement.
• If the meter enclosure is not in a publicly accessible location or at the property boundary, it will need to be relocated and will most likely need replacing as well.
• A cable for the HDO signal must run from the enclosure to the household distribution board.

New customer connections—even in older homes

An enclosure needs replacing when the current distributor requirements differ from the features of the existing enclosure at the customer premises. All new customer connections must meet the distributors’ current requirements.

A customer connection is also considered new if it has been disconnected for more than one year. This means that if you renovate an older home that has been without electricity for over a year, you will most likely need to replace the meter enclosure so that it meets the connection requirements.