Flame Energy’s guide to new energy connections

For a new electricity connection, a full site address and the exact position where you would like the new electricity meter is needed. In addition to this, the KVA capacity of the site is required to ensure that you’re getting the most accurate bills. Your KVA capacity is the maximum demand for electricity for your site. For more information on KVAs, check out our handy explainer video.

We will also need to know if your site needs a single or three phase power supply to determine the distribution of a load. A single-phase power is an alternating current (AC) power unit with two wires. There will usually be one power wire (the phase wire) and a neutral wire, with current flowing between the two wires. A three-phase power supply is an AC power circuit that has three wires. Each phase’s AC signal will be 120 electrical degrees apart. Usually, a single-phase power supply is used where the main use of electricity is for lighting or heating and a three-phase power supply is for sites that are powering large electrical motors.

Likewise, you will need your MPAN number. This is a reference number unique to you, used to identify every electrical supply point in the country. This will usually be 21-digits long and begin with an ‘S’, however, you will only need the last 12 to 13 numbers. The easiest way to find this is to check the top left or bottom right of one of your recent electricity bills.

For a new gas connection, there are multiple factors that are needed. An annual KWH load required for the site. This will include how many Kilowatts your site will be using per hour or annum. A full site address is needed as well as the exact meter location, this will have details of any internal and external meters and an ‘x’ on google maps to show the exact positioning.

A MPRN (meter point reference number) is also needed. This is the gas meter number that is used to identify the gas service at your site. This is used to help your provider identify and track exactly where they are sending gas to. You can find your MPRN on one of your recent gas bills or the meter box itself. It will be a six-to-ten-digit number, usually beginning with a 74 or 75.

If there is no MPRN, a live/ dead check will need to be done to assess whether there is a live supply of gas going into the site. This is usually done via a gas network operator (for example, Cadence) when a site’s gas has been unused for a while, or the site is derelict. This check will tell us whether the gas supply is dead or live.

Most standard gas meters can be installed within five to ten working days. For electricity meters, most are installed within five to 14 working days following an accepted quotation. Flame Energy has been able to install gas and electric meters within 3 working days before, but this time does depend on how long quotes take to be accepted. Once we have established the fundamental requirements for your metering works, a fully managed metering resolution will be implemented. This will have little to no disruption to your site’s operations.

All our metering works are carried out on an individual basis. Therefore, the cost of installing a new meter will depend on a variety of factors. How far back to the grid the connection will need to go, as well as the different requirements your site may have. Our team of energy experts will be able to offer the best tailored price for you.

If you’re looking at setting up a new energy connection, you can find our forms here to help you make the first steps in setting up your new gas and electricity connections. Once these have been filled in, our team of energy experts can handle the rest for you. Or give us a call today on 0115 648 5655 to find out more.