Rental fee for temp power

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stevenje

Senior Member
Location
Yachats Oregon
We received a request to set a temp power meter/panel for a new home. We will not be wiring the new home. We will pull a permit for it, set it in place and remove it for a set price. What is the going monthly rental fee rate for the use of the temp power panel? Thanks in advance!
 

petersonra

Senior Member
Location
Northern illinois
Occupation
engineer
Most of the cost is in the labor to install it and remove it. Personally, I would just charge them whatever you would normally charge for the labor and the cost of the parts.
 

petersonra

Senior Member
Location
Northern illinois
Occupation
engineer
That would really be a bad business plan.

unless the OP has a lot of this type of business he is not going to get to reuse the parts. it seems silly to lose money on a one up type of proposition.

it will cost him a certain amount of money for the labor and some for the parts. why would you want to charge less than what it costs? More would be OK.

he might be able to rent the parts like people rent fences. if so he can charge accordingly.

it seems to me if this was anything the OP did on any regular basis he would not be on an Internet forum asking how much to charge. that is why my answer was to charge according to what it costs like any other project.
 
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infinity

Moderator
Staff member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Journeyman Electrician
How much would you charge to rent temp service for say 6 months? Assuming you already had the thing made up the cost would still need to include permits, installation and removal, plus profit. Seems to me that it would be cheaper to just price it as a new service. When the job is done call for a POCO disconnect and never look back.
 

petersonra

Senior Member
Location
Northern illinois
Occupation
engineer
How much would you charge to rent temp service for say 6 months? Assuming you already had the thing made up the cost would still need to include permits, installation and removal, plus profit. Seems to me that it would be cheaper to just price it as a new service. When the job is done call for a POCO disconnect and never look back.
seems like a good plan to me for someone who does not do much of this kind of thing.
 

stevenje

Senior Member
Location
Yachats Oregon
seems like a good plan to me for someone who does not do much of this kind of thing.

I already have a number of construction temp power panels that we move to various projects that we wire. For this project, I will be paid to pull the temp electrical permit, install the unit and then remove the unit. Someone else will be doing the electrical for the new home. I was just wondering what a fair monthly rental fee would be. Thanks.
 

cpinetree

Senior Member
Location
SW Florida
I already have a number of construction temp power panels that we move to various projects that we wire. For this project, I will be paid to pull the temp electrical permit, install the unit and then remove the unit. Someone else will be doing the electrical for the new home. I was just wondering what a fair monthly rental fee would be. Thanks.

I think I would flat rate it, and be paid up front. This way when the front end loader destroys it or something else happens you are paid. It will also allow you to charge for the service call when the GFI won't reset.:lol:
 

growler

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta,GA
We received a request to set a temp power meter/panel for a new home. We will not be wiring the new home. We will pull a permit for it, set it in place and remove it for a set price. What is the going monthly rental fee rate for the use of the temp power panel? Thanks in advance!

I don't like the idea of providing temp power for others.

When you provide temp power to a job site someone is supposed to be assigned to monitor the power system and check it on a regular basis to make sure it's safe (OSHA). You really should conduct regular inspections and keep a log of when say the GFCIs were tested. Not much to it if you are on the job but if you are just renting out the service it could be a lot of extra work.

I always wonder why the company that's going to wire the house or business is not providing their own temp power.
 

infinity

Moderator
Staff member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Journeyman Electrician
I already have a number of construction temp power panels that we move to various projects that we wire. For this project, I will be paid to pull the temp electrical permit, install the unit and then remove the unit. Someone else will be doing the electrical for the new home. I was just wondering what a fair monthly rental fee would be. Thanks.


Just figure out what the total installation, removal, and permits costs are, add some profit and divide by the number of months they will be renting. If the number of months goes beyond your estimate you will make more money.
 

stevenje

Senior Member
Location
Yachats Oregon
I don't like the idea of providing temp power for others.

When you provide temp power to a job site someone is supposed to be assigned to monitor the power system and check it on a regular basis to make sure it's safe (OSHA). You really should conduct regular inspections and keep a log of when say the GFCIs were tested. Not much to it if you are on the job but if you are just renting out the service it could be a lot of extra work.

I always wonder why the company that's going to wire the house or business is not providing their own temp power.

Good thought growler. That is something I did not consider. We have a weatherproof tube (2" pvc with a screw on cap) attached to each of our temp units, which has the GFCI testing log in it. We test every Monday morning.
 

GerryB

Senior Member
A temp I did last year I charged $1000.00. It was an existing house they demolished that had an underground 200 amp service. The POCO made me put in a 200 amp UG meter socket,(used the old one). With delays the temp was used for 8 months. I never checked it once, but if you're supposed to I would want to get paid also. Find out how much the port-o-let is and charge the same:D
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
What would be a better business plan?

If he truly wants to make it a rental.

I would guesstimate how long the equipment could be expected to last.

Lets say its a year of use.

Now I would take what it costs me to build parts and labor. Lets call it $1,000.00

Now I want to make a profit on the rental of at least 30 to 40%. I don't go to work for practice.

$1,000*1.35=$1,350

$1,350/12months=$112.50 per month. Round it up to $125 per month.

So I would have a installation / removal charge and 125 month.


Or you could go the other way and just flat rate the whole thing and toss it put after but the OP asked about rental.
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
I don't like the idea of providing temp power for others.

When you provide temp power to a job site someone is supposed to be assigned to monitor the power system and check it on a regular basis to make sure it's safe (OSHA). You really should conduct regular inspections and keep a log of when say the GFCIs were tested. Not much to it if you are on the job but if you are just renting out the service it could be a lot of extra work.

That is not exactly true. Each contractor is responsible for their own employees use of GFCIs.

You may be thinking of the assured grounding program
 

growler

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta,GA
When you provide temp power to a job site someone is supposed to be assigned to monitor the power system and check it on a regular basis to make sure it's safe (OSHA). You really should conduct regular inspections and keep a log of when say the GFCIs were tested. Not much to it if you are on the job but if you are just renting out the service it could be a lot of extra work.

That is not exactly true. Each contractor is responsible for their own employees use of GFCIs.

You may be thinking of the assured grounding program


Well folks I think Bob is right because I can't find the OSHA requirement to test GFCIs.

After my last class on OSHA ( and as usual getting the crap scared out of me for not keeping all the correct/required records) I made up several forms to try and cover myself for all occasions. I think I just added the GFCI test as a precaution.

I still think it's a good idea to check those GFCIs and keep a record but not required. Sorry about that folks , I'm getting old, senile and paranoid ( it happens ).
 
If he truly wants to make it a rental.

If it's a rental, then you (the equipment's owner) are responsible for maintenance. You also accept liability for problems and failures. You can quickly loose money if a lightning strike toasts the panel or if someone makes a jack-leg connection that starts a fire and the rental agreement doesn't exempt things like that.

This, of course, might be why they want to rent and not buy. (There are also accounting games around renting or owning.)
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
If it's a rental, then you (the equipment's owner) are responsible for maintenance. You also accept liability for problems and failures. You can quickly loose money if a lightning strike toasts the panel or if someone makes a jack-leg connection that starts a fire and the rental agreement doesn't exempt things like that.

Most rental agreements make the renter responsible for damage.

Of course you would be responsible for defects etc. I don't see it much different than the one year warranty provided with new installations.
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
Well folks I think Bob is right because I can't find the OSHA requirement to test GFCIs.

After my last class on OSHA ( and as usual getting the crap scared out of me for not keeping all the correct/required records) I made up several forms to try and cover myself for all occasions. I think I just added the GFCI test as a precaution.

I still think it's a good idea to check those GFCIs and keep a record but not required. Sorry about that folks , I'm getting old, senile and paranoid ( it happens ).

You are not wrong. As far as i know GFCI testing is per the instructions and the company I work for does test and log the GFCIs on construction sites.

However if push comes to shove I think each contractor using GFCIs is required to do so.

As a result we work with other trades that will always use a GFCI pigtail from our GFCI receptacles.
 

petersonra

Senior Member
Location
Northern illinois
Occupation
engineer
If he truly wants to make it a rental.

I would guesstimate how long the equipment could be expected to last.

Lets say its a year of use.

Now I would take what it costs me to build parts and labor. Lets call it $1,000.00

Now I want to make a profit on the rental of at least 30 to 40%. I don't go to work for practice.

$1,000*1.35=$1,350

$1,350/12months=$112.50 per month. Round it up to $125 per month.

So I would have a installation / removal charge and 125 month.


Or you could go the other way and just flat rate the whole thing and toss it put after but the OP asked about rental.

I think i would charge them $1000 up front and $200 a month. To me this situation seems like something with no real upside unless you have a bunch of them going on.
 
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