ESA has Identified Increasing Safety Concern Surrounding Meter Base Installations

April 18, 2025

ESA and EFC are raising awareness on an increasing safety concern the ESA has identified surrounding meter base installations.

ESA identified an increase of installed meter bases where the neutral block is isolated from the enclosure. According to OESC Rule 10-210 a bonding conductor must be installed between the meter base and the consumer service box as per OESC Rule 10-210 Meter bases with an isolated neutral to the enclosure are marked to indicate they are permanently isolated. Installing these meter bases without a bonding conductor pose a potential electrical safety hazard.

Meter bases are certified to the product standard (CSA C22.2 NO. 115:20 – Metermounting devices). Recently, there was a change to traditional Meter bases with the introduction of Meter Bases with isolated neutral as these types of meters satisfy OESC Rule 10-210. While the standard mandates clear markings to distinguish the different types, many installers, including licensed electrical contractors, continue to install them incorrectly.

ESA and Electro-Federation Canada (EFC) are collaborating to examine product labeling requirements in the standard (CSA 22.2 N0.115) to identify potential opportunities for enhancing the visibility of product labels.

The ESA and EFC would like to increase the awareness and education of installers and distributors with the following resources:

• Published Bulletin 10-15*
• Issued a Toolbox Talks document on meter base grounding & bonding on the supply side of the service box to the Electrical Contractor community (January 2024)
• Released a podcast that discusses the changes in meter base standards (June 2024)
• Issued a Distributor Bulletin with similar information to the Electrical Distributors (July 2024). ESA and Electro-Federation Canada is looking for forward continuing collaboration with the electrical community on this issue, ensuring safe and proper meter base installation.

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