Power Theft (Meter Bypass) - Restoration & Certification

Has your property been used for a grow operation, or has a previous occupant tried to heat their spa pool for free? Don't get into trouble. Let's get it repaired and re-certified today, anywhere in Auckland.

Bypasses are usually crudely installed, easily detectable and genuinely unsafe. We disconnect the bypassed section, repair the affected upstream cabling, and get the system running again, legally. On completion we issue an electrical safety certificate confirming the installation is back to normal and electrically safe.

eCertify's Auckland pricing is a minimum charge including up to 1 hour of labour plus materials for disconnection and mains restoration. Damaged fittings, protection or restoring bypassed sections to standard supply are quoted separately, and we'll always confirm costs before any additional work. If the meter seals are cut, a third-party re-seal may be needed before certification.

Our job is to get your power back to normal. We have no obligation or interest in reporting findings to any authority; details are disclosed only to whoever booked the job.

What a bypass actually does

A bypass takes supply from before the meter, so the energy used never gets recorded. To do that, somebody has to get into the metering side of the installation and connect around it, and that work is almost never done to any standard. What we find is usually undersized cable with no protection in front of it, connections made by twisting and taping, and live parts left where a person or an animal can reach them.

That is the real problem with a bypass. It is not a tidy piece of work that happens to be dishonest. It is unprotected cable carrying full mains current inside a building, which is how a house catches fire.

What we do on site

We isolate and disconnect the bypassed section, assess the damage to the cabling and equipment upstream of it, repair what needs repairing to get supply running through the meter properly again, then test the installation and get it back on. Where fittings, protective devices or sections of cable have been damaged or removed, restoring those to a normal standard of supply is quoted separately and confirmed with you before we touch it.

How long it takes

The price covers up to an hour of labour plus the materials for the disconnection and mains restoration, and a straightforward bypass fits inside that. Where the cabling behind it has been cut about, it takes longer, and you will know the cost before that time is spent rather than after.

The meter seals, and the one thing we cannot do for you

If the meter seals have been cut, a third party re-seal may be needed before certification can be completed. That sits with the metering provider, not with us, and it is worth knowing at the point you book rather than discovering on the day. Tell us the state of the seals when you call and we will tell you whether it applies.

If the repair turns out to include mains work

Sometimes what is behind a bypass is not a repair to the existing mains but replacement of them. Mains work is classified as high risk prescribed electrical work under the regulations and has to be inspected as well as certified, which is an additional step and an additional cost. We will tell you if the job has gone that way before it does, not afterwards.

What you get at the end

An electrical safety certificate confirming the installation is back to normal and electrically safe. The regulations require it to be issued as soon as practicable after the installation is connected to supply, and no later than 20 working days after connection, so it is not something that quietly never arrives.

Who we tell

Whoever booked the job, and nobody else. We have no obligation and no interest in reporting what we find to any authority. Landlords, new owners and buyers inherit these situations regularly and it is not their doing. Our job is to make the installation safe and get your power back to normal.

What the price includes

The price is fixed and includes GST. It is a minimum charge covering up to one hour of labour plus materials for the disconnection and mains restoration, callout and mileage anywhere in Auckland, and the safety certificate. Damaged fittings, protection, and restoring bypassed sections to a standard supply are quoted separately, and no additional work starts until you have agreed the cost.