Electrical inspections, Records of Inspection and meter shifts, answered by Jordan Statham, director of The Conduction Company and a registered electrician and electrical inspector. These are questions clients have asked The Conduction Company in emails and on quotes: who connects a heat pump or CCTV, how a meter shift gets arranged, what a safety check involves, when high-risk work needs a Record of Inspection, and how long an electrical WOF lasts.
A Record of Inspection is the certificate a registered electrical inspector issues after checking high-risk work, such as solar or mains work, and that inspector can never be the person who did or supervised the job. A meter shift starts with you asking your energy retailer. The Conduction Company arranges the rest with the metering installer.
Who installs and certifies heat pumps, ventilation and CCTV work?
A registered electrician has to make the electrical connection for a heat pump, a ventilation system or CCTV, The Conduction Company says, even when someone else installs the rest of the system.
Connecting a system to the electrical supply, or installing a new power outlet to do it, is prescribed electrical work under the Electricity Act 1992. Section 74 of the Act says nobody may do it unless they are authorised, such as a registered electrician with a current practising licence.
Some heat pump and ventilation companies use installers who are not registered. They bring in an electrician for the final connection. The electrician connects the system up and signs it off as electrically safe, and the installer does the ducting and the rest. CCTV often works the same way.
Sometimes a CCTV installer can use an existing power outlet nearby, and then no electrician is needed for the power. The Act's definition of prescribed electrical work leaves out connecting something with a plug inserted into a socket outlet.
The other option is one registered electrician who knows these systems and installs each of them from start to finish. That is how The Conduction Company works: it installs heat pumps, ventilation systems and CCTV itself, connection included.
A job needs a meter shift. Who arranges it, and what does it cost?
You start a meter shift by asking your energy retailer for one, and The Conduction Company arranges everything after that.
Your retailer starts organising the paperwork. Their charge usually shows up as a line on your next power bill, and it varies from retailer to retailer, so ask them what it is before you book. The Conduction Company sets out what a meter shift and its inspection typically cost in its switchboard upgrade cost guide.
When you make the request, we tell you which metering company to mention, and we give you our company name and our electricians' names. Your retailer sends the paperwork to that metering installer, who books a date with us, so everyone works together on the day your switchboard goes in.
On the day, we do the switchboard work, remove the old meter, and leave it on site. The inspector turns up, hangs the new meter, inspects our work, and seals and livens the meter. Then we carry on with the switchboard, and at the end of the day you're all sorted.
"There are three parties involved. There's a bit of juggling around, but we'll help you through it at all stages," says Jordan Statham, director of The Conduction Company.
Why are the inspection and the meter shift charged separately?
They are two separate jobs, paid for by two different parties, The Conduction Company explains.
The meter shift is your energy retailer's charge. It covers the paperwork and admin, and supplying and installing the meter. The inspection is the second job. Usefully, the metering installer can do both: install the meter on behalf of your retailer, and inspect the work we have done on site.
Even when one person does both, the bills stay separate. The Conduction Company pays for the inspection, and it is included in our quote. You pay for the meter shift, through your energy retailer.
What happens during one of your electrical safety checks?
The Conduction Company carries out a thorough investigation of the whole property, checking every part of your electrical installation.
We do it all digitally, on a form we fill in on our phones, which lets us upload photos and add notes about each section of your home. Essentially it is a big digital checklist. We walk around checking every aspect of your electrical installation: what state it is in, whether it needs remedial work, and whether it was installed compliantly. We carry out some limited testing as well, where it is needed.
At the end we produce a full report. If we find a whole list of things that need replacing, we can build a full quote, so you know the total cost. If the issues are minor, we give you a price to fix them on site while we are there, which saves you another call-out fee to get us back.
What is in the report a client gets afterwards?
The Conduction Company's report works through your property section by section, with photos of each section and a detailed breakdown of the condition of every part of it.
For each section, it explains what type of electrical fitting or cabling is in place, reports on its condition, and lists any remedial work needed. The recommendations come right at the end, with a close-out summary.
What is a Record of Inspection, and when is one needed?
A Record of Inspection (often called an RoI) is the certification document a registered electrical inspector issues after inspecting high-risk prescribed electrical work, The Conduction Company explains, and one is needed whenever an electrician completes that kind of work.
Regulation 70 of the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 says all high-risk prescribed electrical work on a low or extra-low voltage installation must be inspected. Regulation 72 says the inspector must prepare a written record of that inspection.
There is a whole bucket of work in the high-risk category, listed in regulation 6A. In most homes it comes down to two kinds. One is parallel generation, such as solar and battery systems connected to the grid. The other is mains work, which includes installing a new main earth.
The Record of Inspection is the document stating that the installation has been inspected by an independent inspector and has passed as electrically safe. Regulation 72 requires it to say whether the installation is, and will be when powered, electrically safe, with the certificate of compliance attached. The Conduction Company explains every certificate type, and what an independent Record of Inspection costs, in its guide to electrical certification .
What should be ready before an inspection of high-risk work?
Before The Conduction Company inspects high-risk work, the electrician who did it needs the following in place. This is the checklist from The Conduction Company's own inspection quotes.
The main earth. An earth tag or label at the switchboard end of the main earth conductor. The main earth electrode's location listed on the switchboard. The electrode correctly clamped, not loose, with a tag, and located and accessible.
The tests. Main earth continuity tested at no more than 0.5 ohms, the limit AS/NZS 3017:2022 sets for the main earthing conductor. Mains polarity tested with an independent earth. Earth fault loop impedance tested.
The board and the paperwork. A fully enclosed meterboard switch, if there is one. The certificate of compliance on site and ready, because the inspector attaches it to the Record of Inspection.
If items are missed and we need to come back, a re-inspection charge applies, and extra time may be charged if we wait on site while issues are fixed. If you are not sure how something needs to be done, The Conduction Company is happy to confirm it before the inspection.
When a meter is downgraded, who is responsible for the Record of Inspection?
The electrician doing the work that makes the meter downgrade possible is responsible, The Conduction Company says.
That electrician organises the certificate of compliance. The Record of Inspection is then organised through them, either with the same person who will hang the new meter, or with a different inspector altogether.
Does your own work ever need an independent Record of Inspection?
Yes. Even a registered electrical inspector cannot sign the inspection for work they carried out or supervised, so The Conduction Company's own work needs an independent Record of Inspection whenever its inspector did or supervised the job.
Regulation 71(2) of the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 says a person may not inspect prescribed electrical work they personally carried out, supervised, or issued the certificate of compliance for.
"That's a good thing. It keeps it fresh. The inspector should be viewing that with fresh eyes, to see that the work has been completed correctly," says Jordan Statham, director of The Conduction Company and its registered electrical inspector.
The Conduction Company has a registered inspector in-house, so high-risk work done by its other electricians can be inspected without bringing an outside inspector in.
What does an electrical WOF check on a caravan or transportable building?
An electrical WOF checks that a caravan's electrical installation is electrically safe. Jordan Statham, director of The Conduction Company, compares it to the warrant on your car: "Like a warrant of fitness, but instead of mechanically safe, it's electrically safe."
The inspector works through a set checklist. Under AS/NZS 3001.2, a warrant of electrical fitness is only issued once the installation has been inspected and tested and complies in all respects. Once it passes, the warrant comes with a sticker, just like a mechanical WOF, and regulation 78(3) of the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 requires that sticker to go in a prominent place.
The warrant is what lets you plug into the site supply at a caravan park. In Jordan's experience, the vast majority of caravan parks will not let a caravan or campervan connect without one. Regulation 76 puts that check on whoever supplies the electricity: before connecting a caravan, or a relocatable building, they must verify it has a current warrant of electrical fitness.
How long does an electrical WOF last?
Four years, The Conduction Company says. That matches regulation 78(4) of the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010: a warrant of electrical fitness for a caravan or other connectable installation expires four years from its date of issue, or sooner if a new warrant is issued.
In short
High-risk work, such as solar or a new main earth, needs a Record of Inspection from a registered inspector who did not do or supervise the job. A meter shift starts with your call to your energy retailer, and the metering installer, the inspector and the electrician work together from there. A safety check ends with a section-by-section report, and an electrical WOF on a caravan lasts four years. That is how The Conduction Company handles inspections and meter shifts, in Jordan Statham's own words above.
If you need an electrical safety check, or an inspection of high-risk work, The Conduction Company offers electrical inspection and certification across Auckland . Happy to help.
Frequently asked questions
Can an electrical inspector inspect their own work?
No. Regulation 71(2) of the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 bars an inspector from inspecting work they personally carried out, supervised, or issued the certificate of compliance for. The Conduction Company's registered inspector inspects high-risk work done by its other electricians, and an independent inspector is used for any job he did or supervised himself.
Can you fix what an electrical safety check finds while you are there?
Often, yes. If the issues are minor, The Conduction Company gives you a price to fix them on site during the safety check, which saves you another call-out fee. If there is a whole list of things to replace, we build a full quote, so you know the total cost.
Who pays for a meter shift?
You do, through your energy retailer. The Conduction Company finds the charge usually shows up as a line on your next power bill, and it varies by retailer, so ask them first. The inspection that goes with it is paid for by The Conduction Company and included in our quote.
