Starting October 22, hundreds of homes and small businesses in Somerset’s TA21 postcode—including Wellington, Langford Budville, and Rockwell Green—will receive visits from National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) as part of a vital safety inspection programme.
The inspections focus on the service termination points, commonly called cut-outs, where the main electricity cable and fuse are located. Typically found near the electricity meter, cut-outs are crucial components ensuring safe and reliable power supply. Although modern homes built since the 1980s often have the cut-out installed in an outdoor meter cabinet, some may have it inside, near the meter or consumer unit.
Approved contractors from the company A Coole, clearly identified and carrying authorized ID, will conduct visual checks to ensure cut-outs are functioning properly. These inspections involve recording basic details and taking photographs, with no disassembly or interruption to power supply.
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This visit is part of a wider rolling programme aiming to inspect 400,000 cut-outs annually across the Midlands, South West, and South Wales over the next two decades. The programme supports NGED’s Ofgem license obligation to maintain safety and reliability in the electricity network.
Richard Brady, NGED’s Policy Engineer leading the programme, emphasized the importance of these inspections: “The UK’s energy system is one of the safest and most resilient globally. These visits reaffirm our commitment to maintaining the highest safety standards. If any defective cut-out is found, our engineers will promptly make repairs at no cost to customers.”
In addition to safety checks, the visits help NGED gather data about low-carbon technologies (LCT) connected to homes, such as electric vehicle chargers and solar panels. This information supports better network planning and faster connections of LCT devices in the future.
Customers who prefer not to have inspectors enter their properties can alternatively take and send photographs of their cut-outs and meters for assessment. While NGED recognizes these visits may cause some inconvenience, they are essential to ensuring ongoing safety and efficiency of electricity supplies in the region.