Citation and commencement
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Meters (Certification) Regulations 1998 and shall come into force on 1st August 1998.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these Regulations—
“the Act” means the Electricity Act 1989;
“approved” means approved by or under regulations made under paragraph 2 of Schedule 7 to the Act;
“authorised examiner” means a person who is authorised in accordance with regulation 5;
“authorised manufacturer” means a person who is authorised in accordance with regulation 3;
“authorised repairer” means a person who is authorised in accordance with regulation 4;
“certification period” means, in the case of a meter of a type specified in columns 1 to 6 of Schedule 4, the period stated in relation thereto in column 7 of that Schedule and, in the case of any other meter, the period of 10 years, the period beginning in each case on the date on which the meter is certified for the purpose of the Act;
“directions” means any directions issued by the Director under paragraph 6(1) of Schedule 7 to the Act;
“EEA Agreement” means the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2nd May 1992(1) as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17th March 1993(2);
“EEA State” means a state which, at the date of the entry into force of these Regulations, is a Contracting Party to the EEA Agreement;
“equivalent European provisions” has the meaning given by regulation 8;
“meter examiner” means a person appointed under paragraph 4 of Schedule 7 to the Act;
and
“permitted margins of error” means the margins of error referred to in regulation 7.
(2) Unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in these Regulations to a numbered regulation or Schedule is a reference to the regulation in or the Schedule to these Regulations bearing that number; any reference in a regulation or a Schedule to a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph of that regulation or Schedule bearing that number; and any reference in a Schedule to a numbered table is a reference to the table bearing that number at the end of that Schedule.
Authorised manufacturer
3.—(1) Any person who manufactures meters and satisfies the Director that—
(a)he owns or has available to him apparatus for the examination, testing and regulation of meters which complies with directions;
(b)he operates at a manufacturing unit a quality assurance system in respect of every meter manufactured by him at that unit which conforms to the standard contained in European Standard EN ISO 9001:1994(3) or to any standard, technical regulation, manufacturing method or code of practice accepted in other EEA States conformity with which will achieve an equivalent assurance of quality; and
(c)he would be capable of complying with the conditions set out in paragraph (2),
may be authorised by the Director for the purpose of these Regulations in respect of meters manufactured by him at that manufacturing unit for a period not exceeding three years but so that any authorisation may be renewed from time to time.
(2) An authorisation granted by the Director to a person who satisfies the provisions of paragraph (1) shall be subject to the following conditions—
(a)that the authorisation shall only apply in respect of meters which have been examined, tested and regulated using the apparatus referred to in sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (1);
(b)that the authorised person shall operate at all times at each manufacturing unit a quality assurance system which conforms to the standard referred to in sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (1) and shall maintain a record in permanent form of the system which he operates and of the actions taken to comply with that system in respect of the meter or meters which he intends to submit for certification in accordance with regulation 6;
(c)that the authorised person shall secure that each meter referred to in sub-paragraph (b) of this paragraph shall be examined and tested in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 1 or one of the equivalent European provisions;
(d)that the authorised person shall cause every meter in respect of which a certificate has been issued under regulation 7 or 9 to be so stored while it remains under his control and so packaged for delivery when it is to be dispatched from his control as to prevent, so far as reasonably practicable, damage which would cause it to operate in a manner which would not conform with the permitted margins of error;
(e)that the authorised person shall permit the Director or any persons authorised by him to have access to any manufacturing unit and to examine and test all apparatus and to inspect all records referred to in this paragraph at all reasonable times for the purpose of ensuring that the authorised person is complying with the conditions of his authorisation;
(f)that the authorised person shall comply with directions; and
(g)that the authorised person shall pay any fee payable by him in accordance with regulation 11.
(3) An authorisation under this regulation may be terminated at any time by the Director upon giving not less than 28 days notice to the authorised person if he is in breach of any condition of his authorisation and, in the case of a breach which is capable of being remedied, has failed to remedy that breach as soon as reasonably practicable after notice has been given to him by the Director specifying the breach.
(4) For the purpose of this regulation and Schedule 2—
(a)a person shall be treated as manufacturing a meter if he has caused the meter to be assembled so as to comply with the conditions of his authorisation but has not himself manufactured every component part of the meter;
(b)“assembled” includes the carrying out of repairs or modifications to a meter within a period of twelve months after the date upon which a certificate in respect of that meter was first issued under regulation 7 or 9; and
(c)“manufacturing unit” means premises specified to the Director in writing (which may identify the premises by reference to a plan) at which meters are manufactured but excludes any premises or that part of any premises which are used, otherwise than as provided in sub-paragraph (b), for the cleaning and repair of meters which have previously been used for measuring the quantity of electricity supplied.
Authorised repairer
4.—(1) Any person who repairs meters and satisfies the Director that—
(a)he owns or has available to him apparatus for the examination, testing and regulation of meters which comply with directions;
(b)he operates at a repair unit a quality assurance system in respect of every meter repaired by him at that unit which conforms to the standard contained in European Standard EN ISO 9002:1994(4) or to any standard, technical regulation, manufacturing method or code of practice accepted in other EEA States conformity with which will achieve an equivalent assurance of quality; and
(c)he would be capable of complying with the conditions set out in paragraph (2),
may be authorised by the Director for the purpose of these Regulations in respect of meters repaired by him at that repair unit for a period not exceeding three years but so that any authorisation may be renewed from time to time.
(2) Any authorisation granted by the Director to a person who satisfies the provisions of paragraph (1) shall be subject to the following conditions—
(a)that the authorisation shall only apply in respect of meters which have been examined, tested and regulated using the apparatus referred to in sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (1);
(b)that the authorised person shall operate at all times at each repair unit a quality assurance system which conforms to the standard referred to in sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (1) and shall maintain a record in permanent form of the system which he operates and of the action taken to comply with that system in respect of the meter or meters which he intends to submit for certification in accordance with regulation 6;
(c)that the authorised person shall cause each meter which is repaired at a repair unit to be repaired to a standard and using such materials as would reasonably be expected to enable it to operate within the permitted margins of error for not less than the certification period;
(d)that the authorised person shall secure that each meter referred to in sub-paragraph (b) of this paragraph shall be examined and tested in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 1 or one of the equivalent European provisions;
(e)that the authorised person shall cause every meter in respect of which a certificate has been issued under regulation 7 or 9 to be so stored while it remains under his control and so packaged for delivery when it is to be dispatched from his control as to prevent, so far as reasonably practicable, damage which would cause it to operate in a manner which would not conform with the permitted margins of error;
(f)that the authorised person shall permit the Director or any person authorised by him to have access to any repair unit and to examine and test all apparatus and to inspect all records referred to in this paragraph at all reasonable times for the purpose of ensuring that the authorised person is complying with the conditions of his authorisation;
(g)that the authorised person shall comply with directions; and
(h)that the authorised person shall pay any fee payable by him in accordance with regulation 11.
(3) An authorisation under this regulation may be terminated at any time by the Director upon giving not less than 28 days notice to the authorised person if he is in breach of any condition of his authorisation and, in the case of a breach which is capable of being remedied, has failed to remedy that breach as soon as reasonably practicable after notice has been given to him by the Director specifying the breach.
(4) For the purpose of this regulation and Schedule 2 “repair unit” means premises specified to the Director in writing (which may identify the premises by reference to a plan) at which meters which have previously been used for measuring the quantity of electricity supplied are cleaned, repaired, tested or regulated but excluding any premises or that part of any premises which are used for the manufacture or assembly of meters.
Authorised examiner
5.—(1) A public electricity supplier, an authorised manufacturer or an authorised repairer may nominate a person for the purpose of this regulation.
(2) If the Director is satisfied that a person nominated under paragraph (1) is competent to carry out the functions contained or referred to in regulation 7 the Director may authorise that person to be an examiner for the purpose of certifying meters for the purpose of the Act.
(3) A person authorised to be an examiner shall not be authorised to examine any meter which he has wholly or partly manufactured or repaired, or one which he has examined, tested or regulated in a capacity other than that of an examiner authorised under paragraph (2).
(4) An authorisation granted by the Director to a person who satisfies the provisions of paragraph (2) shall be subject to the following conditions—
(a)that the authorisation shall only apply in respect of meters which have been manufactured or repaired, as the case may be, by the person by whom he was nominated under paragraph (1);
(b)that, where regulation 9 applies, he shall examine and test not less than the number of meters selected in accordance with a sampling procedure determined by the Director having regard to national or international sampling procedures or plans;
(c)that he shall send to the Director not more than seven days after the expiry of each month a report stating the number of meters which have been submitted to him in accordance with regulation 6 and the number of meters in respect of which a certificate has been issued under regulation 7 or 9 during the preceding month; and
(d)that he shall retain a copy of each certificate issued by him for a period of not less than one year from the date of issue and shall produce the copy to the Director if requested to do so.
(5) An authorisation under this regulation may be terminated at any time by the Director upon giving not less than 28 days notice to the authorised person if—
(a)he is in breach of any condition of his authorisation and, in the case of a breach which is capable of being remedied, has failed to remedy that breach as soon as reasonably practicable after notice has been given to him by the Director specifying the breach;
(b)he fails to exercise proper care and attention in performing his functions under regulation 7 or 9; or
(c)he is unable, otherwise than temporarily, to perform his functions under regulation 7 or 9.
(6) Where—
(a)a person nominated under paragraph (1) and authorised under paragraph (2) is temporarily unable for any reason to act as an authorised examiner;
(b)the person by whom he was nominated has nominated another person under paragraph (1) who has been authorised under paragraph (2); and
(c)the person referred to in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph is again able to act as an authorised examiner,
the Director may give not less than 28 days notice in writing to the authorised person referred to in sub-paragraph (b) of this paragraph terminating his authorisation.
Application for certification
6.—(1) A person who requires a meter to be certified for the purposes of the Act may submit the meter to an authorised examiner who is authorised to certify a meter submitted by that person, or to a meter examiner.
(2) Each meter which is submitted for certification in accordance with regulation 9 shall be accompanied by a report verified and signed by the person in charge of manufacture or repair, as the case may be, or by a person nominated by him.
(3) A report for the purpose of paragraph (2) shall contain the statements and information specified in Schedule 2 including, where that meter is designed to operate with a transformer, the statements and information relating to the transformer.
Procedure for certification
7.—(1) Subject to regulation 9, a meter which is submitted to a meter examiner or an authorised examiner shall not be certified by him unless, in addition to being satisfied as required by paragraph 5(2)(a) of Schedule 7 to the Act that the meter is of an approved pattern or construction, he is satisfied—
(a)either that the meter has been tested in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 3, conforms to the standards described in that Schedule and can reasonably be expected to operate within the permitted margins of error for not less than the certification period, or that it has been tested in accordance with and conforms to one of the equivalent European provisions; and
(b)that it has been sealed in accordance with directions.
(2) The permitted margins of error shall be an error not exceeding plus 2.5 per cent. or minus 3.5 per cent. at any load at which the meter is designed to operate.
(3) Where the examiner is satisfied that a meter complies with paragraph (1), he shall issue a certificate of compliance specifying the serial number of the meter, and thereupon that meter shall be a meter certified for the purpose of the Act.
(4) Each certificate under paragraph (3) shall be numbered in the sequence in which it is issued.
Equivalent European provisions
8.—(1) Equivalent European provisions are—
(a)the provisions as to verification in Council Directive 76/891/EEC(5) as amended by Commission Directive No. 82/621/EEC(6) and Protocol 1 and Part IX of Annex II to the EEA Agreement;
(b)European Standard EN 61036:1996(7); and
(c)any standard, technical regulation, manufacturing method or code of practice accepted by other EEA States conformity with which will ensure a level of precision, security, safety, durability and fitness for purpose equivalent to that assured by conformity to Schedule 3.
(2) A meter examiner or an authorised examiner to whom a meter has been submitted under regulation 6 shall take into account the results of the tests carried out by the bodies and laboratories of other EEA States where such bodies and laboratories conform with European Standard EN 45001:1989(8).
Batch certification
9. Where—
(1)a number of meters have been submitted to a meter examiner or an authorised examiner at the same time by the same person;
(2)that person is a public electricity supplier, an authorised manufacturer or an authorised repairer;
(3)each meter is of an approved pattern or construction and is accompanied by the report referred to in regulation 6(2); and
(4)the examiner has examined and tested a sufficient number of the meters to satisfy himself that it provides a reasonable test of all of them,
he may issue a certificate in respect of all the meters so submitted to him specifying or identifying the serial number of each meter and including all the information contained in the report submitted under regulation 6(2) and thereupon each of those meters shall be a meter certified for the purpose of the Act.
Duration of certification
10. A meter certified or deemed to be certified for the purpose of the Act shall cease to be so certified or deemed to be so certified—
(1)if the approval of the pattern or construction of the meter is revoked;
(2)if it is or becomes installed in a manner which is not an approved manner of installation;
(3)if any alteration is made to the meter;
(4)if the meter ceases to operate within the permitted margins of error;
(5)subject to paragraph (6), at the expiry of its certification period; or
(6)if the meter is of a type specified in columns 1 to 6 of Schedule 4 and is immediately before the coming into force of these Regulations certified for the purpose of the Act and the effect of paragraph (5) would be to cause the meter to cease to be certified sooner than if these Regulations had not been made, on the expiration of two years from the coming into force of these Regulations or at the expiry of the certification period, whichever is the later.
Fees
11.—(1) Any person who submits a meter for certification under regulation 6 shall pay to the Director in accordance with paragraph (3)—
(a)in respect of each meter submitted for certification by a meter examiner a fee of 34 pence; or
(b)in respect of each meter submitted for certification by an authorised examiner a fee of 18 pence.
(2) A person who has submitted a meter to a meter examiner or an authorised examiner under regulation 6 shall, within seven days after the last day of each month in which he does so, deliver to the Director a statement of the number of meters which he has submitted during the preceding month.
(3) A person who has submitted the statement referred to in paragraph (2) shall, within thirty days of the delivery of the statement, pay to the Director a fee calculated in accordance with paragraph (1) in respect of the meters referred to in that statement.
Revocation
12. The Meters (Certification) Order 1987(9) and the Meters (Certification) Regulations 1990(10) are revoked.
S. C. Littlechild,
Director General of Electricity Supply
2nd June 1998
I consent
John Battle,
Minister for Science, Energy and Industry,
Department of Trade and Industry
24th June 1998