ᐅ Utility connection pedestal in the garden vs. utility connection directly inside the utility room

Hello everyone,
we are (hopefully) moving into a semi-detached house next autumn. It is located 50m (165 feet) from the street and main utility connection, situated in the second row.

For the electricity application, we now have to specify whether we want a connection pillar installed in the garden and roughly indicate its location, or if we prefer a connection directly in the utility room, in which case we need to submit the ground floor plan.

The topic of electrical installation for a new build is still quite confusing for me, and unfortunately, depending on whom I ask, I get different opinions.

The pillar should ideally be placed directly at the front boundary. Since we are having a back-to-back semi-detached house built, our plot starts right at the house. However, we cannot put the pillar in front before construction (it would be installed before the build to supply temporary construction power), as it wouldn’t survive the construction process. So it would have to be placed further inside the plot. According to an employee from the local electricity network company in Berlin, this does not make sense because there would be a main cable to the pillar and then two separate cables running back again to the utility room.
He also said that a connection directly into the utility room would not be significantly more expensive.
Acquaintances, however, say that there is an additional cost of about 2000€ for installing the connection in the utility room instead of a pillar.

What are your experiences? What is considered "state of the art"? Is a pillar even possible with our layout?
For reference: We are building on a slab foundation.

Maybe you can shed some light on this for me.

Best regards

I have never seen anyone have something like this in their garden!

I wanted to have a column in the garden, but the certified contractor told me that it is not permitted. The utility connection also always goes into the house.
I am also located in Berlin.

HilfeHilfe schrieb:

I’ve never seen anyone have something like that in their garden!

It’s quite common. From the 1970s to the 1990s, they were often installed in the exterior wall. It’s convenient when you need access after 30 years.

vorkalmatador schrieb:

According to the Berlin power grid company, this doesn’t make sense because a multi-core cable would have to be run to the pillar, and then double cables routed back to the utility room.

He’s right. But cables don’t cost much. The main expense is the excavation work. So this option can’t be ruled out.

vorkalmatador schrieb:

Acquaintances say there’s an additional cost of about 2000€ for installation in the utility room instead of the pillar.

That’s nonsense. Maybe if the trench dug by the utility company is correspondingly shorter. In about 95% of cases, there is at least one cable under the sidewalk on both sides of the street. If the front yard is directly connected, you just dig 3–5m (10–16 feet) for the connection. The house might be 10m (33 feet) further back and connected with a private cable. You would dig the trench up to the house yourself, saving a lot of money.

Personally, I prefer having the main connection inside the house. It takes almost no space there because it is installed directly under the distribution panel. The network operator usually only needs access in case of a specific fault, which almost never happens.

Thank you for your previous answers!

Here, I understand that the post costs €1070 and the box €1570, which means only a difference of €500. That would be great. Am I correct? Or do I need both the post and the box if I want the connection installed into the house?

The point at the bottom is also interesting, especially for us, since it must be installed 50 m (55 yards) further back:

Additional payment per running meter of extra length: €63.70
Price reduction per running meter of own work on private property**: €50.60

We would do the trench and the empty conduits as "own work." So does the running meter cost us €50.60 or €13.10? Price reduction sounds to me like this amount is deducted. That would also fit danixf’s statement that the cable itself “costs nothing,” and the digging is the costly factor.

Best regards

Tolentino schrieb:

I wanted a pillar in the garden, but the certified utility specialist told me that this is not allowed. The service connection always goes directly into the house.

That's funny. We wanted it that way too, because that's the only way I know it. The network operator refused and completely prohibited it within the entire area of responsibility. We only had the choice between a pillar at the property boundary or a pillar fixed to the exterior wall.