These are different organisations and confusing them is the commonest reason people send the form to the wrong place.
Our working map places this region in the East Midlands distribution licence area, held by National Grid Electricity Distribution (East Midlands) plc. Three further licence areas are held under names that differ only inside the bracket, covering the West Midlands, South Wales and the South West.
We describe that as a working map because our source for the fourteen areas is secondary, and boundaries do not follow the county lines anyone would draw from memory. The operator publishes a postcode checker and that is the thing to trust.
Your supplier sells you electricity and sends the bill. The distribution network operator owns the cables that bring it to the house, and is the party the 28 day form goes to. You do not choose your operator and changing supplier does not change it.
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | Yours |
| Email address | So they can acknowledge it |
| Installation address | Where the device actually is, which may not be your billing address |
| Timing | Within 28 days of installation |
| Duration | Five to ten minutes, on the department's estimate |
| Fee | None, and no inspection is triggered |
The 28 days and the five to ten minutes both come from the final stage impact assessment, which describes the process government intended. We present it as what you are asked to do rather than as a rule with a sanction attached, because that is what the document supports.
Four things people routinely ask the wrong body about.
| Question | Who actually decides |
|---|---|
| Whether you may fix it to a particular surface | The local planning authority |
| Whether your landlord or freeholder agrees | Whoever owns the building, and the lease |
| Whether the kit itself is compliant | Settled before sale by registration on the ENA Type Test Register |
| Whether your socket is fit to use | An electrician, if there is any doubt at all |