A BNO is the company or person responsible for installing and maintaining the electricity distribution network inside a multiple occupancy building.
What is a multiple occupancy building?
A multiple occupancy building is a single structure that has been divided into separate units, each used by different people, households, or businesses. These individual spaces could be apartments, offices, studios or retail units, depending on the building’s purpose. While each occupant has a private area for living or working, they often share certain facilities, such as hallways, staircases, lifts and parking areas.
Multiple occupancy buildings come in many forms, from residential apartment blocks and Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) to mixed-use developments with shops on the ground floor and flats above. The common factor is that the building serves multiple occupants at the same time, requiring coordinated management to ensure safety, accessibility, and maintenance for everyone using the space.
Many customers choose a Building Network Operator (BNO) to install and maintain the electricity network inside a multiple occupancy building.
What is a Building Network Operator (BNO)?
A BNO can be the building owner, landlord, developer, or a third-party company responsible for managing the building’s internal electricity network. There are two types of BNOs:
Licensed BNOs – These have a distribution licence under the Electricity Act 1989 and are also called IDNOs (Independent Distribution Network Operators).
Unlicensed BNOs – These do not hold a distribution licence but still manage the internal network within the building.
If you have appointed a BNO, we’ll install a single, non-metered supply up to an agreed intake position, usually a main cut-out fuse. From there, you or your appointed BNO are responsible for the internal wiring and distribution to each unit.
Key responsibilities if you are the BNO include:
MPANs (Meter Point Administration Numbers): If you hold a Distribution Licence, you provide MPANs to end users; if not, we will issue MPANs for each customer
High-capacity supplies: For supplies over 69kVA, you’re responsible for installing and managing any current transformer (CT) metering
Completion certificate: A certificate for your internal work must be provided before we can energise the supply
Isolation switch: Strongly recommended on your internal network
Emergency contact details: Must be provided before we can proceed
BNO agreement: We’ll send a technical agreement outlining your responsibilities. This must be signed before the connection can be energised
What other options do I have?
If the building has 7 units or less, we can design a communal metering setup.
We’ll install a single main distribution board (MSDB) in a ground-floor communal area
The space must allow all meters to be installed within 3 metres of our equipment
We’ll issue MPANs for each unit
Your appointed electricity supplier will install the meters and connect them to our board
We’ll install a service cable to a cut-out at the intake point and issue you one MPAN for the entire building.
No individual MPANs will be issued for units within the building
If your load is over 69kVA, we can install a CT metered supply and set up a connection agreement with you
If your internal electrical network is to be adopted by an IDNO, we’ll install a non-metered supply at the boundary of your site and enter into a bilateral agreement with the IDNO.
Once you have decided what option is best for you, please submit your application and inform your quoter when they contact you. Doing so will help make sure your quote is accurate and prevent delays later on.
Frequently asked questions
As your Distribution Network Operator (DNO) we don’t install cables and equipment in buildings of multiple occupancy. This is due to problems with accessing cables for safety reasons, essential maintenance and fault repairs.
If your building already has multiple occupancy and is partly or fully connected to our network, switching entirely to a BNO setup isn’t possible unless all existing customers connected to the SSEN network request to be disconnected and those disconnections are completed.
Additionally, if a BNO wants to supply only a limited number of customers in the building, this is only allowed if the building already has both SSEN and BNO supplies in place.
If the building currently has only SSEN supplies, the BNO can only take over the building's supply in full, and only after all customers connected to SSEN have been disconnected.
The table below shows who is responsible for what part of the electrical supply in a multiple occupancy building:
Area
Responsible
Service cable to cut-out
DNO
Cut-out and main fuse
DNO
Cabling from cut-out to meter
BNO
Meter
Electricity supplier
If your building needs a high or low voltage power supply, we as your DNO, will install the equipment such as switches or transformers inside a switch room or substation provided by the building owner.
Your appointed energy supplier will install meters inside the building. They’ll also check that the building’s internal electrical network is safe before turning on the supply.
Cables inside the building from the main intake to each meter are installed by the BNO.
If there’s a fault within the BNO network (for example, damaged cabling in a riser or lateral), the responsibility for fixing it lies with the BNO or whoever owns/maintains that part of the internal electrical network
Residents: need to contact their building manager, landlord, or managing agent. They’ll work with the BNO or their appointed electrical contractor to investigate and resolve the issue
BNO: need to arrange a qualified electrician to carry out fault-finding and repairs. Depending on the fault's location, access may be needed to intake rooms, meter cupboards, or service risers.
If you’re unsure whether the fault is with the DNO (external supply) or BNO (internal network)
If you’re using an unlicensed BNO, we’ll register the MPAN’s (Meter Point Administration Numbers) for all supplies past the intake.
So we can create these MPAN’s, you’ll need to provide the following information:
BNO name (e.g., company or building owner)
Location of each supply, including the full postal address
Number of properties (e.g., number of flats or units)
Emergency contact details
Please contact your assigned project manager to discuss your MPAN requirements.
If you’re using a licensed BNO, they are responsible for creating all the MPAN’s.
