Checking the Electrics in a Resale House: Capacity, Wiring and PLN

Electrical wiring hides behind walls and ceilings, so it rarely gets a serious look during a viewing. Yet old cables and careless joints can end in short circuits, broken appliances or a fire.

This guide is for anyone buying or renting a resale house, and for shophouses (ruko) and warehouses too. It covers what you can check yourself, the warning signs to note, and how to change the account name and upgrade the power with PLN, the state electricity company.

Power level and meter type

Start at the PLN meter box at the front of the house.

PLN supplies homes at set power levels, including 450, 900, 1,300, 2,200, 3,500, 4,400 and 5,500 VA. A house’s level is printed on token receipts or electricity bills, and you can check it in the PLN Mobile app with the meter number or customer ID. The current limiter in the meter box is fitted by PLN to match that level.

Ask yourself whether that level is enough. List the appliances you will run at the same time, such as air conditioners, a water pump, a water heater and an electric stove. If you plan more, you may need an upgrade. Ask too whether the house has more than one meter, for example for a part that is rented out.

There are two meter types:

• Prepaid (token). Check the remaining credit and listen for warning beeps. Note the credit balance at handover.
• Postpaid. Ask for the last few months of bills and the receipts. Arrears are recorded against the house’s connection, so agree in writing that the seller pays everything up to handover.

Check the meter seal as well. A broken seal, or wires connected before the meter, is a warning sign, and tampering like that can bring sanctions from PLN. Ask the seller to settle it with PLN before handover.

Open the MCB panel

Inside the house there is usually a panel or box of MCBs (miniature circuit breakers) that splits the power into circuits. Open the cover and look at:

• The circuits. Is each MCB labelled with the rooms it serves? If not, ask the seller or an electrician to show you.
• Physical condition. No scorch marks, loose wires or cracked covers.
• Old-style fuses. If the house still uses old fuses, the wiring is probably old too.
• A residual current device, often called an ELCB or RCCB. It cuts the power when current leaks and protects people from shocks. Ask whether there is one, then press its test button.
• Where the panel is. Easy to reach, dry, and in flood-prone houses above the flood line.

For the rest of the house, use our resale house inspection checklist.

Cables, sockets and earthing

Ask when the wiring was last replaced. An older house may still have its original cables.

• Cables. Look at any visible cables in the ceiling space, storeroom or underfloor. Cracked, brittle or discoloured insulation means old cable. Cables fixed straight onto timber without a protective conduit are worth noting too.
• Joints. Joints simply wrapped in tape and hidden in the ceiling are weak points.
• Permanent extension leads. Lots of stacked extension sockets mean the house has too few power points.
• Sockets. Look for loose, cracked or blackened ones. Plug a phone charger into several sockets to make sure they all work.
• Earthing. An earth connection carries leaking current safely into the ground. See whether the sockets have earth contacts, then ask an electrician to check that the earth wire really connects to an earth rod in the ground.

The quality of the wiring says something about the quality of the whole build, as covered in signs of a well-built house.

Warning signs to note

• Scorch marks around sockets, switches or light fittings.
• A burning smell or a smell of melting plastic.
• Sockets or switches that feel warm.
• Humming or crackling from the panel or sockets.
• Lights that flicker or dim when the air conditioner or pump starts.
• MCBs that trip often.
• Plugs or appliance cable ends that have melted.
• A tingle of electric shock when touching appliances, taps or an iron fence.

Any one of these is enough reason to have an electrician check before you make an offer.

Timber houses and fire risk

In a timber house, one overheating joint is enough to start a fire. In dense timber neighbourhoods, such as parts of Banjarmasin’s riverbanks, fire can also spread quickly to the houses next door.

What to look for in a timber house:

• Cables inside protective conduit, not fixed straight onto the boards.
• Joints inside junction boxes, not dangling in the ceiling space.
• No overloading of a single socket or a single MCB circuit.
• Hot lights, such as spotlights, kept away from timber boards and ceilings.
• A fire extinguisher (APAR) within easy reach, and everyone in the house knowing where the MCB panel is.

A house that has been flooded, for example in the January 2021 floods in South Kalimantan, needs extra attention. Ask whether sockets, the panel and cables that went under water have been replaced, and how high the sockets sit above the floor.

Changing the PLN account name and upgrading power

Once the house changes hands, put the PLN account in your name. Bills, notices and any future power upgrade are easier to handle that way.

• Name change is applied for through the PLN Mobile app or at a PLN office. Prepare your KTP (ID card) and proof that you own or bought the house. PLN will tell you the requirements and any fee.
• Power upgrade is also applied for through PLN Mobile or a PLN office. The cost depends on the power level. Before applying, have an electrician check that the cables and MCBs in the house can carry the new load.
• SLO (Sertifikat Laik Operasi) is required for new installations. If you rewire or upgrade the power, ask PLN whether an inspection and a new SLO are needed.

Three-phase power for shophouses and warehouses

Houses usually run on single-phase power. Businesses with machinery, compressors, large pumps or many air conditioners often need three-phase power.

Before you buy or rent a shophouse or warehouse:

• Ask whether the building already has three-phase power and at what level.
• Check the panel and main cables with an electrician.
• If you need more power or a switch to three-phase, ask PLN first. PLN will assess whether the network at that location can supply it.
• If you are renting, agree in writing who pays for the upgrade and what happens when the lease ends.

What to do next

On the viewing, note the power level, the meter type, the state of the panel and any warning signs. For an older house or a timber house, have an electrician inspect it before the price is final, then use the repair estimate to negotiate. Before handover, settle the bills, record the meter reading and plan the name change. Other first-week tasks are in our moving house checklist.

If you are looking for a house, shophouse or warehouse, the properties Vorneo is marketing are on our property listings page.