POCO won’t disconnect power so I can swap out FPE panel unless I move my meter.

[Curtis3113]

I have been wanting to swap out the 125 amp Federal Pacific Stab-lok panel in my home for a while now and finally have the time and money to do it. I thought, might as well see what it would take to upgrade my service to 200 amp while I’m at it, so I called the power company to send someone out to look at it. An estimator came out the following week and informed me that because my meter was within 3 feet of a window or door, I would need to move the meter to different location to meet code if I wanted to upgrade to the 200 amp service. I should mention that it’s an underground service and the meter is by our back patio and the conduit is under the concrete slab. He said because the existing meter base is grandfathered in, I could still change out the old panel with a new 125 amp panel, which is what I opted to do. So I contacted the city and paid for a permit and bought the new panel, then called the estimator back to schedule a temporary disconnect. This is where it gets messy, he tells me that he was new to this job and he gave me wrong information at our first encounter and that he couldn’t do a temporary disconnect because the meter location doesn’t meet the new code requirements. I said I’m not touching the meter, I just want to swap out the panel. After a lot of back and forth and not getting anywhere, I called the POCO back to confirm what he was telling me was correct. I basically got the same answer, this time a lady tells me they could disconnect it but won’t turn it back on until the meter is up to the new code for safety reasons. I asked her jokingly, what if I just stopped paying my bill? When they shut it off would I need to move my meter to get it turned back on?
I’m so frustrated, have any of you had this happen before? Should I just pull the meter myself and swap the panel? I just want to get rid of that fire hazard FPE panel and replace it with something safe. What should I do from here?

 

[ActionDave]

I am closing this thread, in accordance with the Forum rules. This Forum is intended to assist professional electricians, inspectors, engineers, and other members of the electrical industry in the performance of their job-related tasks. However, if you are not an electrician or an electrical contractor, then we are not permitted to help you perform your own electrical installation work.


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