New service added to existing site, permit needed?

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Hi guys,
At my church we want to add a new service at the road for a new sign & future use.
The existing sign is fed from the same circuit as the parking lot lights and it is thereby slave to the timeclock controlling those lights.
That has been fine for the existing sign, but the new one we want is a little more souped up, & it needs be on when the parking lot lights are off, i.e. during the day.
We don't want 2 have 2 dig a trench & feed the sign with a new circuit.
It would be nice 2 have the city provide us w/ a new service so that we can avoid the trench as well as have means 4 future floodlights or whatever 2 be fed from a service @ the sign.
It would also be nice 2 just call the city & have them drop us a new 100A service feed to a meter base that I could set up.
I was just wondering if I would need 2 get a contractor 2 sign off.
I am in Huntsville, AL.
 
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John120/240

Senior Member
Location
Olathe, Kansas
I was just wondering if I would need 2 get a contractor 2 sign off.
I am in Huntsville, AL.

.....need to get a contractor to sign off ? I don't know about Huntsville, AL but here you need

a Master Electrican license to get the permit.

What you propose would work. A meter & panel mounted on unistrut might look tacky

depending on your point of view. Remember you need two ground rods.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
Hi guys,
At my church we want to add a new service at the road for a new sign & future use.
The existing sign is fed from the same circuit as the parking lot lights and it is thereby slave to the timeclock controlling those lights.
That has been fine for the existing sign, but the new one we want is a little more souped up, & it needs be on when the parking lot lights are off, i.e. during the day.
We don't want 2 have 2 dig a trench & feed the sign with a new circuit.
It would be nice 2 have the city provide us w/ a new service so that we can avoid the trench as well as have means 4 future floodlights or whatever 2 be fed from a service @ the sign.
It would also be nice 2 just call the city & have them drop us a new 100A service feed to a meter base that I could set up.
I was just wondering if I would need 2 get a contractor 2 sign off.
I am in Huntsville, AL.

As far as needing a permit - that depends on the rules of the AHJ in the area. It can be very different rules there than it is in some other place.

As far as not wanting to feed with a new circuit from existing service you need to consider a few things.

1. Many POCO will not do this for nothing, those that have in the past are changing their ways and usually will charge something for anything they have to build.

2. There will be a monthly minimum charge on this new service even if it does not use much energy. What money is saved on install could easily be spent on monthly minimum charges over time.

3. If destruction of landscaping is reason to not want to dig a trench there is directional boring as an option.
 
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