Hi from an Owner in Tenerife

Hi all, 

I've just joined this community after searching online for some advice about a situation in our Community in Los Cristianos and am looking for some advice please.

Long story short the electrical connections from the mains on the other (Upstream)side of our meter are in need of some renewal as they dont meet the needs of certain owners that have installed A/C, Electric cookers etc etc and have failed recently in some apartments (there are 80 total )

In the UK its considered to be the responsibility of the Electricity Supply company (Endesa) to make repairs up to your meter and yours afterwards (downstream). Our Administartors (prompted by some owners with a problem) consider that it is something the Community should pay for and have approved a derama via an EGM.

I have not found out how many attended this EGM but understand it was a 'majority' decision to go ahead.

I disagree strongly with the decision as I think we should be hiring a solicitor to pursue Endesa to do the work in the first instance.

Does anyone have any similar experience of how these things work in Spain please?

Any help advice appreciated

Mike

This message was last edited by mcbrid on 05/10/2019.

Hello Mike and welcome to EOS

I doubt UK electricity regulations will be enforceable in Spain.

If you think you know better than the majority of your community you will have to request another EGM and put your proposals forward.

Hi and thanks for the welcome

I'm not trying to impose Uk regs on Spain.

I'm just trying to find out if there is the same demaraction between supplier and consumer responsibities when it comes to the supply line.

It would appear sensible to have th emeter as the cross over point wouldn't it, regardless of the country?

Of course with Spain it could be anything!

You are correct, it could be anything and don’t be surprised if they just make it up.

I was only politely trying to explain that Spain is not the UK. You probably already know that some British come to Spain brainwashed believing the whole world is the same as the UK and start complaining when they can’t get a loaf of Hovis and Bisto gravy.

My advice for what it’s worth, is just go with the crowd and don’t make waves.

Do you live in an extremely old complex? All wiring outside the community should be checked and upgraded as necessary by the electric companies and should be fit for use.

You say some of the houses have failures with ac, ovens etc. Have you checked what power they are contracted for? Lots of places are still contracted for 3.3Kw whereas 5.75Kw is really necessary for modern appliances.

In which case, the individual properties are responsible for getting the wiring checked by an electrician to certify it is safe to increase the amount of power. Once that is done, at owners' expense and a boletin (safety check certificate) is issued they can approach the electricity supplier to up the amount of power to the property which should stop the appliances tripping out. 

I think the only people can answer your questions are your President or your Administrator

Why can’t the owners just install a breaker that deals with 5.75Kw. Maybe we need a qualified electrician to explain what all this contracted capacity is all about. Is it an electric company profit making scheme or a consumer price reduction scheme?

The Administrator (and President) are pretty useless when it comes to this sort of thing. They just fold and pay whatever anybody asks

Which is why I'm asking the question

The question of contracted power is interesting as nobody seems to realise they will also be liable for an increased standing charge once the work is done

This again begs the question - what do you pay your standing charge for unless its the supply line upstream of the meter?

Mike,   Mariedav is spot on.  It is not a good idea to replace the main bus in your consumer unit without having your wiring checked and as the circuit will be live you could get one whale of a jolt trying to do it if you slip.  You are correct that those who opt for a higher power rating will have to pay for the higher contracted amount of electricity.  

The standing charge is for potential generation.  Generation is both finite and instantaneous.   If sufficient generating capacity is not available you can end up with brown outs, low frequency and finally blackouts.  

There will be a breaker on the upstream end of the meter as well.  It will correspond to the contracted amount of electricity.  If you put a bigger breaker into the consumer unit which allows you to draw more than the breaker on the upstream end of the meter the meter breaker will blow.  They are usually time delayed so you will not be able to reset at your consumer unit right away.  If Endesa has to come out and reset it they will insist viewing your consumer unit.  If they spot that you have altered the main fuse rhey will hit you with a retrospective additional charge for increased contracted standby to the last time they or a qualified electrician certified the contracted maximum off take.  Short answer do not increase the breaker value in your consumer unit. 

Any charge related to an increase of the contracted capacity is the responsibility of the consumer.  The electricity company is generally responsible for the wiring post breaker but only as far as the original specification calls for.  If you increase the requirements you foot the bill.  The same is true in the UK

It all sounds a bit double dutch to me, BUS, WHALE, BROWN OUTS. Maybe wise to get a professional electrician to advise.

Thanks for all the interest and responses guys but a lot of them are pitching at he wrong problem

I have no intention of doing anyhting with my installation although some on the complex have a problem becaus ethey are overloading I do  not

The issue is entirely the other (upstream) side of the meter where there is a junction box.The meters are the new 'online reading' type which send readings back automatically and as I understand it also have an ICP (INTERUPTOR CONTROLA POTENCIA) feature which can limit how much power you can draw down to that which you currently pay for

But I digress - the problem is in the junction box where the connection is being made to the main site in-feeds for each group of meters.

These connections are old and need replacing but I dont think I should have to pay for this

Mike, if the specification was not changing you might be able to successfully argue that it is maintenance but as some of the people are seeking an increase in Pontencia it becomes an upgrade and the consumer  pays. It is the same in the UK.

i am in Fuerteventura and it is exactly the same for us.   

I was CEO of the largest Power Station in Derbyshire for ten years.   

I am tending towards that view and as this then becomes an improvement I think I am entiled to decline to participate on the back of the cost being more than 3 months community fees as per Horizontal Law rules

I really dont need extra capacity as I only heat water and run a small fan sometimes

Be interesting to see how that ploy plays out anyway!

Thanks all for your input

You can't beat a good sausage and  Bisto gravy But when you look for it you can't find it anywhere. Where did it go?