What is NERS Electrical Registration Scheme?

NERS is an is an accreditation scheme which focuses primarily on independent connection providers to ensure that they are meeting the industry standards in order to complete contestable connection work.

The aim of NERS is to encourage competition with the utility sector and also ensure that Independent Connection Providers have the technical competency to design, manage and carry out electrical connection.

 

What is the NERS Accreditation Process?

Partial – the Assessor will verify that the UCP under assessment has the appropriate Management Systems, Method Statements and Competencies in place and that their health and safety provision is appropriate for the work being done. The achievement of partial, in terms of time frame, is dependent upon how responsive the UCP is in dealing with any issues arising from an assessment and the extent to which working practices and competencies actually align to documented systems. Should the UCP be well prepared Partial may typically be achieved within a six week time from initial application. 

Full – the Assessor will verify that the UCP has work control, contract change control, HR, Procurement and storage systems in place to ensure that a consistency of working process and competency is maintained and that applies both at site works and in the office based supporting services.

Timescale will vary widely being dependant on the category and number of scope(s) requested. As such the time the Assessor may spend with a UCP could be anything between 2 and 15 days plus. If everything is in place then a report will be produced within 2 weeks of the visit. If there are deficiencies which need to be addressed then this will prolong the assessment process. In general for a medium size company the whole process from application to approval can take up to 3 months.

 

What are the benefits of the NERS Accreditation?

Accreditation recognised by all UK DNOs

Independent assessment and registration process

Assignment of an accreditation mark which will represent the achievement of a high technical, quality and safety standard

LRQA website listing of registered service providers

Can compete for work within the contestable connections market