Moving Your Energy Meter

Moving your energy meter can either be relatively straightforward or a complex, and costly process depending on your specific situation.

The simple answer is yes, you can move your meter if you want to. However, it’s both dangerous, and illegal, to do so yourself. This means that you will have to pay for someone to come and move it. You should therefore make sure it has to be done, and compare different ways of doing it, before you proceed. 

There are a variety of reasons why you might want to move your energy meter, for instance you may be doing building work and it’s in the way, or it might simply be too hard to reach, and therefore hard to read. 

If you only want to move your meter or less, you can generally contact your energy supplier and they will do it for you. The first thing to do is visit your energy supplier’s website as they will have all of the information for you, and be able to give you a quote for the work. This applies whether you've got a standard credit meter, a prepayment meter, or a smart meter.

When it comes to more drastic moves, who you contact will depend on the type of meter in question.

If you want to move an electricity meter over a long distance, or perhaps move it outside or inside, you will have to contact your Local Distribution Centre (LDC). This is because they will first have to move your mains supply, before your energy provider can move the electric meter. You will also have to contact them if you want to move it to a different wall, or even a different room.

The same rule applies for a gas meter. You will have to contact your local gas transporter if you want to move it more than a meter, if there are obstructions to the flexible pipe, or if you want to move it to a different side of the wall. 

Costs will vary depending on whether your energy supplier can do the work and the scale of the work that needs to be done. 
 

 

Your energy supplier will give you a quote so you could compare other suppliers and switch if it will be cheaper. Your current supplier has to be the one to move your meter so you’ll have to switch before you can move it. If you’re finding it hard to read and are a priority customer, for example you are disabled or a pensioner, the provider should move your meter for free. 

 

 

When it has to be done by your LDC or gas transporter will be a much bigger cost, at minimum it will be £400. However, this can quickly rise if it becomes a much bigger job and could be upwards of £1,000. You might even need a gas engineer or registered electrician to carry out supplementary work which means added costs.