Sparks Warned: Don't Touch The DNO Backboard!

Don’t mess with the backboard! That’s the plea to the trade this week following an alarming rise in alterations to DNO kit…

…a company implicated in the electrocution of a footballer in Portsmouth admits its guilt…

…and why experts are predicting that 2026 will be a ‘pressure-cooker’ year for electricians…
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Show Notes:

Catch all the stories, links, and product info from this episode - it’s all waiting for you in the show notes at 👉 https://www.efixx.co.uk/sparks-warned-dont-touch-the-dno-backboard

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ViperClip 👉 https://hub.efixx.co.uk/ViperClip
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Time Stamps ⏱️
00:00 Electrical News Weekly 23/02/2026
00:54 Don’t Cut DNO Backboard, Trade Warned
02:20 Leisure Firm Guilty Over Footballer Electrocution
03:28 Tough Year Ahead For Electricians?
05:27 Sync Energy Rewarding Installs With Bonuses
06:10 Legrand Unveils Next Gen Detectors
07:23 Multifunctional Luminaire From Saxby
08:16 Tridonic Launches Clever LED Driver
08:50 Petrel Shortlisted For Business Award
09:13 ChumpFix Rebrand - Now With Larger Packs
09:49 Paul Russells Lamp Of The Week
10:30 eFIXX Learner Of The Week
11:10 Join Our Careers Linkedin Group
11:30 Tea Break With Quickwire
12:39 eFIXX Fantasy League Roundup
14:55 Thanks To Our Premium Partners
15:35 Challenge Words & Winners
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#enw #electricians

Transcript

Coming up on this week's news, don't mess with the backboard. That's the plea to the trade this week following an alarming rise in alterations to DNO kit. A company implicated in the electrocution of a footballer in Portsmouth admits its guilt. And why experts are predicting that 2026 will be a pressure cooker year for electricians. Welcome to Electrical News Weekly. Whether you're listening in the van on site or down at the wholesale counter, I'm Joe Robinson and I've been through the best of the electrical industry news to save you the trouble. We're being lit by Flex 7 with their lightning fast pre-wired modular lighting connection system that keeps your installation times razor sharp. And this week's challenge word competition is supported by the good people at Brady. If you need a label, they've got a printer and so much more. If you think you've spotted the two words that I've been challenged to slip into this week's show, comment with them below for the chance to win this exclusive cap branded with Friends of the Show Quickwire and Chump Tools. And while you're there, click the links in the show notes to check out what our sponsors offer. Never alter the DNO backboard in a meter unit. That's the plea to the trade this week by industry authorities following a shock rise in alterations. Scottish Body Select is warning installers this week about what it terms the significant risks of cutting around DNO intake equipment and backboards during renovations. In a technical circular, the organization says vibration from cutting and movement can result in the loosening of cable connections. It can also compromise conductor insulation in the service cable, cable head or metering equipment. This movement or the equipment being impacted accidentally could also result in damage to the enclosure or the insulation. This in turn could expose live conductors or equipment and introduce the risk of an electric shock. If an earth or shortcircuit current fault then occurs. This may result in an arc flash which could cause burn injuries or ignite adjacent flammable material. It says older service heads are also prone to cracking and become brittle over time. They can contain hidden dangers such as asbestos. Fused cutouts made from black phenolic plastics absorb moisture and under load conditions, carbon deposits can build up. This can result in the normally non-conductive material becoming conductive, making the fuse carrier and service head live. Select’s Robert McGoogan says installers involved in the practice of altering backboards can even be prosecuted because statutory regulations will have been breached. He says under no circumstances should contractors attempt to cut or alter DNO equipment. If the kit needs to be adjusted or repositioned, you must contact your DNO to do the work. A leisure company has indicated a guilty plea for its role in the electrocution of a footballer by a faulty flood light. 34 year-old Albert Xhediku died after coming into contact with the lights pylon at Mountbatten Leisure Centre in Portsmouth in 2016. Now Parkwood Community Leisure Limited, which operated the pitch at the time, faces sentencing over the incident. Xhediku was playing five a side football with friends when he went to retrieve the ball which had gone over the boundary fence. While climbing back over the fence, he made contact with the mast of the adjacent light. He screamed and went into a seizure as he suffered an electric shock. Xhediku, who's originally from Albania, was given CPR by paramedics, but later pronounced dead at the nearby Queen Alexandra Hospital. The incident sparked a major probe by the health and safety executive. HSC inspector Michelle Canning told his inquest in 2019 that previously other players had received minor shocks from the control box at the base of the flood light. The box was damaged and had apparently been repaired with cellar tape. The inquest was told another man who climbed the fence to retrieve a ball had also received an electric shock from the flood light just months earlier. He reported the incident to staff on site at the time. Parkwood Community Leisure Limited will be sentenced on the 16th of June. Experts are predicting that 2026 will be a pressure cooker year for electricians and other trades people. That's because while work is still abundant, new research reveals that stress is building on sparks as financial uncertainty and mental strain rise fast. The trade brain report shows an industry running flat out while confidence, insecurity, margins, and well-being slips. Almost four in 10 trades people say stress or difficulty switching off is likely to affect them in the next year. Nearly a third are worried about low mood or mental health issues. Both figures are higher than last quarter. That pressure isn't coming from a lack of work. It's coming from uncertainty over money. Almost 30% of trades people don't know what their next job will actually be worth, making it harder to plan, invest, or say no to risky work. Day rates are actually increasing with electrician day rates rising by an average of 10% this year. That takes rates from 300 to 500 in 2025 to 330 to 550 this year. Order books are full and almost one in five doesn't have availability until April. But rising costs of materials and irregular workloads mean annual income remains flat. Material and tool costs are now squeezing nearly two thirds of the trade while late payments, tool theft, and being undercut are eating away at already thin margins. Lee Wilcox, boss of On the Tools, says that on paper, business looks busy, but on site it feels very different. He says there's still work coming through, but fewer jobs are paying what they're used to. That's hitting electricians hard when everything from fuel to food has gone up again. Lee says they're grafting hard just to stay steady. The gap between the headlines and what's actually happening on site is where the real pressure sits. The data also shows behaviour shifting. The trade is being super careful with spending. It's spreading its purchases across multiple wholesalers and placing more weight on quality guarantees and service, not just price. And if you'd like to remove one pressure from yourself, then start installing the fantastic range from this week's fire sponsor, Fire Angel. They'll keep watch over you and your loved ones even when you can't. Click the link in the show notes to find out more. Another way of easing the pressure is, of course, to make the most of the many promotions in the trade. For instance, Sync Energy is currently running a promo which will reward anyone who installs two of the brand's acclaimed EV chargers. The bonus is a crisp 50 quid. If you're registered on the Sync Energy app, you're automatically enrolled in the scheme. To be eligible, all installs must be fully commissioned, set up correctly in the app, and have the end user complete their first charge. You can choose your reward in two ways. A simple digital voucher that you can redeem at over 500 outlets including Screw Fix and John Lewis. Alternatively, if you do 20 installs and a due over 500 quid, Sync will give you cash back with an invoice. To do this, you'll need to be set up as a supplier and VAT registered. The promotion runs until April and it sounds like they'll be tiramisu for tea. In product news, Legrand has unveiled a new generation of greeneye motion presence and absence detectors from CP Electronics. The range includes a number of detectors featuring a patented rotating bezel. This allows direct access to the potentiometers from the front, making setup and adjustments faster and easier. Users no longer need to remove the sensor from the ceiling in order to make adjustments, mitigating the risk of ceiling tile damage, dust, or disruption. The rotating cover also conceals settings, and it protects the controls from any tampering. Detector settings are adjusted with graduated markings that are notched for precise alterations. Additionally, Green I features dual commissioning, which means that you can configure the detectors either manually or using a handset. The detectors also feature plug-in terminals and removable connector blocks, simplifying wiring and offering the option to unplug detectors when required. They have a 10-year lifespan and no maintenance requirements. Legrand is also providing installers with a catalog of information, resources, and videos, including a demo of how to use the handset features. Green I is compatible with LED lighting, and some options are also DALI 2 compatible. The range comes with a 5-year warranty and post installation support. And set your reminders because we've got Legrand's national specification manager, James Wallace, on this week's live stream to discuss this and other technologies. It should prove to be a cracker. Our lighting highlight this week is a multi-functional Luminaire from Saxby. The Hero Ultra is the brand's signature bulkhead, and the good news is that it's just been upgraded. There are now standard emergency and microwave sensor variants. It's supplied with a white bezel as standard, but you can customise it with chrome and black options, as well as eyelids in white and black. On its 15 watt setting, the Hero Ultra boasts an impressive output of 1,800 lumens at a super efficiency of 120 lumens per watt. There's a clever CCT switch, which allows you to switch between five colour temperatures from a warm 2,700 Kelvin to a cool 6,000 Kelvin. And there's another switch that allows you to switch between 8W, 12 watt, and 15 watt power ratings. There are no fewer than four conduit entries on the side with a push to lock bezel. The fast fit hinged gear tray and push fit connector makes it easy to install. It has an ingress protection of IP65 and impact resistance of IK10. Lighting control gear maker Tridonic has unveiled a special LED driver which it says can cut lighting pollution. This piece of kit features two channels which means it can tune the output in terms of its intensity and from warm to cool color temperatures. This can help humans and wildlife at nighttime. The color temperature ranges between 2,000 Kelvin and 4,000 Kelvin, and you can dim right down to 1%. Alternatively, the two channels can be used to define two separate lighting zones and illuminate them with different settings. For example, it's possible to illuminate footpaths and cycle paths with a higher light intensity than the streets at night. Still on lighting, hazardous area luminaire specialist Petrel has just shortlisted in the West Midlands Business of the Year Awards. After a rigorous judging process, the Birmingham based brand submission was shortlisted down to a group of three in the investment category. Patrol was founded back in the 1930s and is now a top British manufacturer of ATEX, UKCA, and EX certified lighting. The winner will be announced later this month. Chumpfix has been rebranded with smart new packaging. Chump Tools have refreshed their popular Chumpfix range, making life that bit easier on site. Both the standard Chump Fix and the larger Chumpfix L now come in new trade focused packaging. There's also a handy new multipack with both sizes included, so you can grab one pack and restock the van in seconds. If you're using plenty, the Chump F20 bolt pack gives you 20 chump fix and the best value per unit. You can pick them up from your wholesaler. CF is an approved stockist, or order direct from chumptools.com. There's even a competition running where you can win a free pack. Hit the link in the show notes to find out more and enter the competition. Now, how about this for a bright idea? It's the Paul Russell's lamp of the week. And today we're giving a shout out to the classic General Lighting Service or GLS Shape. With its origins dating all the way back to the early 1900s and the very beginnings of our great industry, we've come a long way since Edison's carbon filament made from a piece of bamboo. This clear version has four LED filaments giving out a lovely warm glow. It's just 7 watts, but gives the same output as an old school 60W incandescent at 806 lumens. It comes in both bayonet cap and Edison screw bases. We're sure that the hardworking inventor and entrepreneur would be proud of his legacy, the development of light sources, and the increases in efficiency wrought by LED lights. Now, it's that great moment where we get to celebrate the sterling work being done by our next generation. Our learner of the week slot is brought to you by Viper Clip for rapid, secure, and fireproof installations of cabling. And our learner this week is Daniel Mulloy. He's an apprentice at Aaron Electrical Services, but still studying at Milton Kees College. What stands out with Daniel is his social post showing his practical work. He isn't just showing finished jobs. He's openly asking for feedback, which is a clever move that really engages the electrical community on LinkedIn. His images show a great variety of practical work from PVC wiring into plastic conduit. And he's also a fan of our free CPDs. Congratulations, Daniel, on being the EIX learner of the week in association with Viper Clip. And all the best in your new career. And if you're looking to break into the industry, we can help. eFIXX has set up a dedicated LinkedIn group for people training in electrical installation. It's aimed at apprentices, full-time learners, and adults training in the evening. Just log on to LinkedIn and search for UK electrician apprenticeships and career support. I'll also put a link in the show notes. And now to the lighter side of the electrical news. Yes, it's time for a tea break with QuickWire and its range of incredibly rapid electrical connectors. Grid Bosses have come up with a clever whis to deal with the UK's alien electricity network. They plan to transmit power wirelessly. That's right. I also laughed like a hyena when I first heard it. But they want to bypass aging and boring old technology such as pylons and cables and instead send your energy over the air. The National Grid Electricity Distribution has partnered with the clever engineers at the company Space Solar to come up with a wireless transmission system for the UK. This technology could, for instance, bring power on shore from wind turbines without bothering with a cable on the seabed. It could also be used to send electricity across areas of outstanding natural beauty without anyone seeing it. Tim Pak, NGED's director of strategy and transformation, said that innovative thinking is fundamental to supporting the transition to a cleaner energy future. And on that bombshell, that's the lighter side of the news in our tea with Quickwire and their range of incredibly rapid electrical connectors. Click the link in the description to check them out for yourself. Now, just before we get to your favourite bit of the show where I reveal last week's challenge words and winners, we want to thank our premium partners. We couldn't make the news without you. First up, empowering their customers to harness power through light with their intelligent energy solutions, solar technology, and advanced lighting systems. It's Ledvance. One of our favourite new innovations here at EIX, especially now it's in sexy new packaging for rocksolid fixings in flimsier materials. Don't just fix it when you can chump fix it. And the best thing to come out of Yorkshire since stainless steel, the home of EV Ultra and other groundbreaking and quality products, it's Doncaster Cables. Click the links in the show notes to find out more about these great brands. If you think you know the words that I've struggled into this week's show, pop your guess into the comments. We'll take all the correct guesses and select one at random to be the winner of an eFIXX goodie bag prize. Answers submitted after midnight on the Wednesday after release will not be entered into the draw. Now, let's reveal the winners of last week's challenge word competition as sponsored by Brady. Remember, if you need a label, they've got a printer and so much more. Click the link in the description to view their incredible range. Last week's words were H High Jinx and Essex, and only two people got it right last week, and they're both friends of the show who I couldn't bear to choose between. So, I've decided they've both won. So, well done to you, Jason KM5MQ and Dave Friselle 3882. Click the link in the show notes to claim your prizes. This week, we've been lit by Flex 7 with a lightning fast pre-wired modular lighting connection system that keeps your installation times razor sharp. Don't forget to click the links in the show notes to find out more. Thanks for listening to this episode of Electrical News Weekly. Make sure you subscribe to receive the next update. Thanks for listening and until next time, have a great week. Stay safe out there and remember there's no such thing as a torque calibrated arm.