Originally published by the Australian Institute of Health & Safety
NT WorkSafe recently issued a safety alert for electrical workers and residents to exercise caution when accessing meter boxes fitted with older style meters found in homes built before 2014.
The alert was issued after Power and Water Service personnel have reported finding a number of heat damaged service fuse holders in meter boxes in territory homes.
The damaged service fuse holders have live parts exposed, creating an electrical safety risk to anyone accessing the meter box.
With the exception of the electrical meter, which is owned by Power and Water, the alert said the meter box and other items inside including the meter board, switches, fuses and circuit breakers belong to the homeowner.
The homeowner must maintain these in compliance with Power and Water’s meter manual and the Australian Standards, and the alert said to:
- Inspect the meter box to determine if a service fuse carrier and base is mounted on your meter panel and that it is in good condition.
- If the service fuse carrier and base are damaged, have an electrical contractor replace the fuse in entirety with a lockable circuit breaker.
For electrical workers on Power and Water metering requirements, the alert said a circuit breaker as a meter isolator is required for a safe and convenient isolation point for:
- Power and Water metering Section staff to service and maintain their metering installation.
- Electrical contractors to safely work on the customers’ switchboard.
- Power and Water officers or agents to perform disconnections as requested by the electricity retailer.
- Restoration of power supply by switching on a tripped isolator by the customer or by Power and Water personnel.
- The circuit breaker also provides graded electrical overcurrent protection for the customer’s installation.
- The circuit breaker is required to isolate the metering for a customer’s installation.
