I assume you mean paperwork needed before the power company will connect a new service.

As far as England is concerned, practically no paperwork is needed at all. The last new service I installed the PoCo just sent a completion form which I signed and dated. It's basically just a self-certification that whoever was responsible for the wiring is saying that it is safe to connect. There's no requirement for the person signing to have any qualifications whatsoever, no checks or anything like that.

The same procedure applied with a different utility company a few years ago. In one case they installed a PoCo-owned disconnect before barely any wiring was in place. I just opened it up and made the connections and then sent the form in. Nobody ever came out and even looked at it.

Years ago it used to be the case that the engineer would at least carry out a few basic tests before connecting -- megger, earth continuity etc. These days they seem to take the view that once it leaves the meter they really don't care what happens.

I'm not saying that if the guy saw something so blatantly dangerous that he'd still connect anyway, but they're certainly not as careful as they once were.



[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 10-25-2002).]