Does a meter replacement require main wire upgrade?

[swilsons05]

Thanks. I'll check those sections.

SC electric and gas (SCE&G) is the power company. They came and disconnected power from the transformer and did the re-connect after the initial inspection passed.


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[ceb58]

Thanks. I'll check those sections.

SC electric and gas (SCE&G) is the power company. They came and disconnected power from the transformer and did the re-connect after the initial inspection passed.


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Perhaps the inspector should have noticed it from the start but the installer should know it as well.

Well I was trying to be nice:happyno: but........
So your saying you did a non-compliant install. The inspector passed it. POCO reconnected. Now inspector says its wrong and wants it corrected with 4 wire or return it to a regular meter base.

Some one has gotten hold of some bad seafood.

I hope the homeowner is of the understanding type and lets you correct the mistakes, out of your pocket of course, and doesn't take you to court. Or they haven't paid you for the work yet and they refuse payment. And by the slim chance that you are not a licensed contractor, you don't have a leg to stand on by taking them to court.

 

[swilsons05]

I am licensed, thank you. And, to your point, a lot of things happened on this job that should have red flagged all of us. My antiquated understanding of grounding systems, the inspector's oversight, POCO's ignorance (either willful or unintentional) in letting it happen and reconnecting it. Bad seafood all around. I think we'd all be up the creek if she decided to take us to court over it. Let's hope she's of the understanding nature.


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[swilsons05]

I guess, legally, I'd be the only one up the creek as I'm the licensed contractor and inspectors have no skin in the game. Don't know about the POCO, but it's my neck on the line either way.

We'll get it fixed.


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[mgookin]

I guess, legally, I'd be the only one up the creek as I'm the licensed contractor and inspectors have no skin in the game. Don't know about the POCO, but it's my neck on the line either way.

We'll get it fixed.


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POCO only deals with the point from power generation to your end of the service drop. They will have blind eyes to everything past that point.

Think about this as if you were an inspector and a guy calls for a service change (which you did; it's not a meter replacement). You show up for inspection and see a fine looking install at a point in time when EC is calling for reconnect. You put your "OK to Connect" sticker on the meter pan. Next week EC calls for final. You find a new subpanel. Inspector scratches his head "well where's the old panel - oh, that's what you did, well then..." These things happen. I don't know what Charleston requires for drawings to get a permit on a single family, or if they review them, or what was drawn up, if anything. But let's agree that you as the EC have a duty to know what's required. Nobody said an education is free. Chalk it up to a learning experience; there have been worse situations.

It's nice that it's getting fixed.

 

[growler]

I am licensed, thank you.

You should change your profile to indicate that you are a licensed electrical contractor. Many of the people that just refer to themselves as an electrician may not have all that much experience or as much at stake financially.

Also you should indicate the correct code cycle. If you are under the 2014 cycle that will be different than the 2011 on some issues.


Welcome to the forum. Many of us are very familair with certain types of work but there are some questions that are asked that I don't have the slightest idea how to answer so we are all learning.

 

[swilsons05]

Will do. Thanks. I'm new to the whole forum thing. I appreciate everyone's thoughts and experience.


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[ceb58]

POCO only deals with the point from power generation to your end of the service drop. They will have blind eyes to everything past that point.

Think about this as if you were an inspector and a guy calls for a service change (which you did; it's not a meter replacement). You show up for inspection and see a fine looking install at a point in time when EC is calling for reconnect. You put your "OK to Connect" sticker on the meter pan. Next week EC calls for final. You find a new subpanel. Inspector scratches his head "well where's the old panel - oh, that's what you did, well then..." These things happen. I don't know what Charleston requires for drawings to get a permit on a single family, or if they review them, or what was drawn up, if anything. But let's agree that you as the EC have a duty to know what's required. Nobody said an education is free. Chalk it up to a learning experience; there have been worse situations.

It's nice that it's getting fixed.

POCO's ignorance (either willful or unintentional) in letting it happen and reconnecting it.

You need to leave them out of it. Their responsibility stops at the service drop and yours begins. If they see the sticker or the sign off sheet then they reconnect and they are gone. That sticker tells them it has been done correctly and inspected as such.

I will say in the OP's behalf when we do a change out like he has done, regular meter base to meter combo, there is only one inspection done.
If I were to do the same change out, and it sounds the same in his area, I would call POCO to disconnect the service drop, install new meter combo and call for inspection. The main thing my inspectors are looking for is that I ran 4 wire, separated the grounds and neutrals in the what is now a sub panel and that I have 2 ground rods. They put inspection sticker on and I call for a reconnect.
On that inspection the problem should have been caught by the inspector and failed until it was corrected.

 

[mgookin]

You need to leave them out of it. Their responsibility stops at the service drop and yours begins. If they see the sticker or the sign off sheet then they reconnect and they are gone. That sticker tells them it has been done correctly and inspected as such.

I will say in the OP's behalf when we do a change out like he has done, regular meter base to meter combo, there is only one inspection done.
If I were to do the same change out, and it sounds the same in his area, I would call POCO to disconnect the service drop, install new meter combo and call for inspection. The main thing my inspectors are looking for is that I ran 4 wire, separated the grounds and neutrals in the what is now a sub panel and that I have 2 ground rods. They put inspection sticker on and I call for a reconnect.
On that inspection the problem should have been caught by the inspector and failed until it was corrected.

I have an issue where I recently needed to change a meter on the outside of the house to allow for a pool installation. The reason for this was because the main panel in the house is on the second story with no attic access to allow for new circuits. It is placed on an interior wall that is directly above the ceiling in a dining room, so to run any wires would involve renovation (sheetrock cuts, painting, etc.)-a proposition that the homeowner refused. My solution was to change the meter for a meter/sub panel combination. The catch is that the meter can on the outside was a meter only with no primary disconnect or main breaker. The inspector initially approved the change, but then later (after the work was done) said that the feed wires to the main panel upstairs (which is now effectively a sub-panel) have to be upgraded to a 4-wire bundle instead of the existing 3-wire bundle. I didn't change the amperage coming into the house, and I didn't change anything existing other than the meter to allow for additional outside circuits. If anything, I feel that the service is safer because it provides protection for the 30+ feet of main feed wire that runs through the walls and attics of the house. Be that as it may, I know that the code requires 4-wire conductors for new installations. But is there not a "grandfather" rule for existing installations?

A simple service change and it would have been a one inspection job. The pool permit is what brings the inspector back multiple times.