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I just bought a flat in Scotland, which has ACE900 KBD electric meter. Naturally, the mains power into the flat goes into the meter, from which there are two live outputs feeding two consumer units - one covers all the standard stuff (lights, outlets, power shower, etc) and the other smaller CU covering the electrical heating (there is no gas in the building, so everything is electric).

While lights, outlets, etc work, there is no power going into the secondary circuit and thus there is no heating in the flat. This is bad, considering the climate in Scotland.

Ideally, I wish I could sort it out myself, of course. I know my way around electricity and can deal with most of the usual stuff, however the meter is sealed and obviously I am not allowed to break the seal. So, is this something that is controlled from the outside or do I need to call the power company to come sort this out?

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    Have you checked with your power utility to ensure that they have fully enabled your device? It's not clear whether this meter has the ability to control more than one output but the utility folks should know. – jwh20 Nov 3 '20 at 12:40
  • It is responsibility of your current supplier (the company you pay the bill to) not the distributor to sort out. The supplier is responsible for the meter regardless of who originally installed it. Disclaimer: I work for a UK power company. – DavidPostill Nov 3 '20 at 13:54
  • This question is very analogous to "I have basic cable TV and want to turn on HBO/Showtime/porn channels, and I'd prefer to not talk to the cable company"... Although in this case it'd probably save you money to "go legit" lol... you could punch down those or new heaters onto the primary CU if you really want to... but the secondary is typically there so the heat can be billed at a lower rate. You just need to hitch your wagon to a favorable rate plan... – Harper - Reinstate Monica Nov 4 '20 at 22:25
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Your supplier needs to turn the Economy 7 output on. They can probably do this via an update the next time you top up with the key.

And you need to register a new account with the supplier anyway to ensure you aren't being charged for any debt or outstanding balance of the previous occupant.

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  • Ah, that's an interesting point. I didn't realise the secondary circuit only woo Optus on economy 7. Does this mean that one circuit works during the night and the other storing the day? – Aleks G Nov 3 '20 at 18:35
  • Output 1 is 24-hour for general use. Output 2 is off-peak only for storage heaters; I don't know if it can be turned on for 24-hour use. If you have panel heaters that don't store heat an electrician should move them to 24-hour circuits. – Owain Nov 5 '20 at 9:18

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