Published: 1 May 2007
Category: News
For over two and a half years, electrical contractors in Counties Kerry and Wexford have been returning their Completion Certs to their Regulatory Body rather than their local ESB office when seeking a connection on behalf of a customer. This Scheme has been fine tuned over that period and is now operating very efficiently.
The Scheme will be extended to all other counties from April 1st 2007.
Contractors will find that in practice, this is a far more efficient and quicker way of having supply made available by ESB Networks, but it is important that the guidelines set out below are strictly adhered to. Otherwise the Cert cannot be processed by ECSSA or
transmitted to ESB Networks.
- Firstly, the MPRN is vitally important as, without this, ECSSA cannot log on to the ESB Networks website to confirm that the address shown on the Cert matches that on the website. In relation to MPRN numbers, it is important to note that these are 11 digit numbers which currently commence with 1. Numbers sequences beginning with the digit 5 are sometimes taken to be MPRN numbers but these are in fact ESB Design Numbers and they cannot be used to access the ESB Website.
The MPRN Number will always appear on any receipt which your customer receives from ESB Networks for payment of the capital contribution charges.
In the case of Existing Supplies, the MPRN Number appears on the ESB Bill. - Secondly, the measurements shown for the Resistance of Protective Conductor and the Insulation Resistance must fall within the acceptable parameters which are, 0.1 to 1 ohm, and greater than .5 megohms, respectively.
- It is vital that the contractor’s Registration Number is entered in a clear and legible fashion and that a mobile phone number is also included. When ESB Networks have made supply available, a text is sent to the mobile number provided informing the contractor that supply is now available and that the final connections can be made.
- The type of installation ie. New, Alteration, etc. must be ticked and the contractor must sign the Cert in the space for Preconnection Tests.
- A contractor must be a current member of ECSSA ie. membership fee paid at the time when the Cert is submitted and ECSSA must have proof of Public Liability Insurance.
- Finally, each Cert must have a Surcharge Stamp fixed to the top right hand corner.
NOTE: The ESB Website is configured in a way which stops the transmission of any Cert which fails to meet the criteria agreed between ESB and the Regulatory Bodies. Therefore, a Cert without an MPRN, with incorrect values, without a mobile phone number, or a Cert issued by a contractor whose insurance or membership has lapsed, will fail immediately, leaving ECSSA with no option but to return the Cert to the contractor.
With up to 200 Certs per day expected to pass through the Office, it will not be possible to make phone calls to contractors about
errors in Certs, so we would appeal to all to ensure that everything is in order before submitting the Cert.
A more detailed article on the above was published in the December 2006 Newsletter and can be downloaded from the ECSSA.