Moving your meter cupboard: what does it cost and how do you plan it into your renovation?

What does it cost to move a meter cupboard?

Moving a meter cupboard involves two bills: one from the network operator for the connection and the meter, and one from the electrician for the fuse box. Here is the overview:

The network operator’s charges differ from one operator to the next and from case to case; ask your network operator for them. The electrician’s prices are indicative prices for 2026, excluding VAT; for a home over 10 years old this is usually 6% VAT.

If the gas meter moves too, the network operator charges separately for that. In a home without a gas connection it is only about electricity.

If the old cabinet is due for replacement, this is the moment. You would rather not move a fuse box without an earth leakage switch; in that case, have a new fuse box fitted at the new location straight away.

Who does what when your meter cupboard moves?

The meter and the main connection belong to the network operator, and only they may move them. Everything behind that, from the fuse box onwards, is part of the installation in your home. This is how it goes:

New or modified electrical work must comply with the AREI, the Belgian general regulations for electrical installations, and a major change comes with an AREI inspection. If the cables to the new location run through the whole house, it is often sensible to rewire an old house at the same time.

How long does it take, and when do you apply?

The work itself is done quickly; waiting for the network operator is not. According to installers, it can take weeks to months before the network operator comes. So apply for the move as soon as you know where the new cabinet will go, not once the renovation is under way.

If your connection also needs to be heavier, for example for an induction hob or a heat pump, apply for that at the same time. Ask your network operator what is included in the relocation charge and what comes on top. If the meter or the cable also has to be replaced, there are extra costs.

If you combine upgrading from single-phase to three-phase with the move, you save, in the best case, an extra appointment and part of the cost.

In the schedule, the move comes before the finishing. What is covered up later goes first: the cabinet and the cables first, then the plasterwork, then wallpaper and paint.

Is moving it a waste if the cupboard can stay?

Often it is, and then we say so. Moving a meter cupboard quickly costs a few thousand euros with the network operator and the electrician, before anything has been finished. If the cupboard can stay where it is, you keep that money.

Moving pays off when the cupboard is really in the way: in a kitchen that gets bigger, in a hallway that is being gutted, or in a wall that disappears. When moving a kitchen, the meter cupboard is often the first thing that turns out to be in the way.

If a wall is coming out where the cupboard sits against it, the move is part of the opening-up work. What knocking down a wall costs is then linked to it.

How do you have us move your meter cupboard?

Request a quote or call us on weekdays between 9:00 and 17:00. Send a photo of your meter cupboard, where the new cabinet should go and the year your home was built. In a free advice meeting we go through what needs to happen, and afterwards you receive a plan and a quote.

If you agree, we measure up and check the walls. The final price and the schedule are then fixed, and we start on the day we agree together. You pay 50% on the first working day, once all materials are on site and we have started, and 50% on completion.

The old spot leaves a recess and holes. We close them up and plaster them together with the surrounding walls: plastering walls ready for finishing costs €22.99 per m² with us, including materials and excluding VAT (usually 6% VAT for homes over 10 years old). For a whole hallway or landing we use the same price per m² for plastering, with no surcharge for jobs from 50 m².

Our own electricians do the electrical work, four of our own building teams of four people each do the structural work, and our 97 own tradespeople do the finishing: 40 wallpaperers, 32 plasterers and 25 painters. We work throughout Belgium (Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia) and, as a contractor, we also take on the complete renovation of your home.