Underground cabling

The use of underground cables is more common in the distribution of electricity. In the areas where the National Grid is a DNO (the Midlands, south-west and south Wales) the network is made up of 60,000 miles of overhead line and 83,900 miles of underground cables.

Regional DNOs have differing levels of underground cables, varying by location and voltage.

How does Thomson Broadbent know I have underground cables?

• Our team that have access to geographical information systems that showed the approximate location of the cables.
• We cross reference this with land registry information to ascertain where the cables might traverse residential land/property.
• It is very usual for solicitors to miss this sort of information when people purchase house, unless specific searches are requested.

Where are the cables specifically

We can only give an approx location however, you can also access this information, for your property on Line Search Before You Dig.

Any agreement that is forthcoming will include a location plan showing the cable route.

Eligibility

For your case to be successful, it must meet this minimum criteria:

• The cable has to pass underground through the property boundary and go on to serve other properties (i.e. nto be there just solely to serve your own property).
• The property must have a residential dwelling.
• The cable must be live (i.e. not abandoned or decommissioned).
• You must own the property affected.
• There must be no existing agreement already in place for the equipment.

How the process works

For a low voltage case, once we determine there is a live claim we submit this to the DNO for review.

They will ready a wayleave agreement these are usually termed agreements between 14 – 30 years. You can find out more about wayelaves in our blog post here.

For a high voltage case, once we determine there is a live claim we submit this to the DNO for review

We then negotiate the claim and agree the fee in principle with them, once this is accepted by the property owner

It will then go through a legal process to ready the deed of easement/servitude

How long is the process

Once review by our team and determined there is a claim, and whether it is low voltage (less than 1,000 volts, typically 240 volts) or high voltage (more than 1,000 volts) and depending on the Distribution Network

The process for low voltage typically takes 6 – 9 months.

The process for high voltage typically takes 12 – 18 months.

Fees

We work on a contingent only success basis. This means that, if we’re not successful in getting the network operator to agree that a payment is due to you, we’ll close our file free of charge.

If your case is low voltage only, we dont charge a fee. This is because our fee for these cases if paid by the Network Operator on your behalf.

If your case includes high voltage equipment, our fee is calculated as 20%+VAT of the money you receive.

Disclaimer: The information in this blog post was accurate at the time of publishing. However, laws, regulations, and best practices may change over time. We do our best to keep our content up to date, but we cannot guarantee that all information remains current or correct. This blog post is for general information only and should not be taken as legal, financial, or professional advice. If you are unsure about anything, please contact us or seek professional guidance before making any decisions.