Service Change

[Power Tech]

Went to change a service in So Cal. Got the permit, called the Edison service planner. He will send a man to unlock the meter. I tell him it's an underground feed. If he could disconnect at the xfmr ao hand hole, and reconnect the same day. He says he will need inspection and a power release to reconnect if he disconnects. He says it will be about 3 days to get the paperwork and generate a work order. I asked him what are my options? He says contractors usuly get a lot of tape or you can get a generator (ha ha). The public gets GFCI's, AFCI's.

This process needs to be streamlined so the customer is not out of power and the contractor is not forced to work hot. What do you guys do on underground services?

Terry

 

[Minuteman]

We either recommend a motel or use lots of tape.

 

[Power Tech]

We either recommend a motel or use lots of tape.

I went the tape rout.

Terry

 

[satcom]

If I ever seen any of my men trying to work a meter socket hot, they would be fired on the spot, I can live with a guy that may be slow, or lacking some knowladge, but a dummy, I can't make any expections for. You just have to plan the underground service changes, and do whatever it takes to make it a safe change, try doing the meter socket on one day and schedule the loadcenter for another day, that keeps most customers happy, and takes the stress off the job. Using tape is outright dumb, and anyone with a utility should have more sense, if the socket flashes, the avaiable current is way up there, so plan for the cost of a grave site too.

 

[Power Tech]

I ever seen any of my men trying to work a meter socket hot, they would be fired on the spot, I can live with a guy that may be slow, or lacking some knowladge, but a dummy, I can't make any expections for. You just have to plan the underground service changes, and do whatever it takes to make it a safe change, try doing the meter socket on one day and schedule the loadcenter for another day, that keeps most customers happy, and takes the stress off the job. Using tape is outright dumb, and anyone with a utility should have more sense, if the socket flashes, the avaiable current is way up there, so plan for the cost of a grave site too.

I agreee, it is not for someone who in not trained to work hot.

 

[480sparky]

Call the POCO with an 'emergency' service call. When they get there, tell them they need to disconnect at the transformer so you can change out the panel because it's arcing. Tell them you should be done in 2 or 3 hours, and have them come back.

 

[quogueelectric]

I always use just the right amount of tape. Pull the rusted old emt off the feeder with my eyes closed and praying very nervously.

 

[480sparky]

I always use just the right amount of tape. Pull the rusted old emt off the feeder with my eyes closed and praying very nervously.

Cows pray?

 

[satcom]

I ever seen any of my men trying to work a meter socket hot, they would be fired on the spot, I can live with a guy that may be slow, or lacking some knowladge, but a dummy, I can't make any expections for. You just have to plan the underground service changes, and do whatever it takes to make it a safe change, try doing the meter socket on one day and schedule the loadcenter for another day, that keeps most customers happy, and takes the stress off the job. Using tape is outright dumb, and anyone with a utility should have more sense, if the socket flashes, the avaiable current is way up there, so plan for the cost of a grave site too.

I agreee, it is not for someone who in not trained to work hot.[/QUOTE]

I worked plenty of hot lines, High Voltage pole line work, proper protection, and equipment, but in a meter socket, with tight space, not a good idea!

Here in my town we had 2 guys get hit, they spent 6 months in a burn unit, it could of been worse, it;s not that they are hot, it;s they are in tight spaces.

 

[Power Tech]

It had a big underground service enterence, I could dance in there. I do not like doing that though. I have a HV background and know what I am comfortable with.

Good idea about the emergency.

Terry

 

[Fulthrotl]

It had a big underground service enterence, I could dance in there. I do not like doing that though. I have a HV background and know what I am comfortable with.

Good idea about the emergency.

Terry

when i have to work with something i'd rather not work with, i have found
a roll of disposable 1kv liner to be my friend. cut to fit, discard when done.
i believe it is called duraliner. available from burlington safety:

http://burlingtonsafety.thomasnet.com/item/blankets/roll-blanket/rlb0?&seo=110

last roll i bought was $300 for 3' x 30'. reuseable. good stuff. thrown it
over service conductors, tie wrapped it in place, etc.

there is currently no justification for doing services hot, according to
current safety standards. directing an employee to do something hot
is criminally negligent in this situation, and depending on what the
outcome of the activity is, can be classified as a felony.

the last 480 breaker i had to put in a piece of 2000 amp gear, my
tool buddy wanted to do it hot, and i said nope, we are gonna have
to down this one... and halfway thru it, i asked him if he still wanted to
do it hot...... at first glance, it looked like a piece of cake, but i shure
wouldn't have wanted my hands inside of it once i got a good look.

honestly, my attitude towards hot work was changed largely by the
safety forum here, and i thank y'all for that, particularly zog. i've been
barehanding up to 35kvdc @ 2 amp since the mid '70's, as i used to
work in high voltage capacitors, and by barehanded i mean exactly that,
standing on a dielectric mat, no gloves whatsoever. probably got
honestly 3 or 4 thousand hours doing that kind of work, since i was
19 years old. i know how to do it, and do it well, and these days, i have
a nice little genset to power up the worklights when i shut the building off.

the only legitimate reason to work something hot is when it is more
dangerous to work it off. that doesn't happen often.

 

[kbsparky]

We call the poco, and they cut it off at the service head, or transformer. I call them back on their cell when completed, and they have us sign a 15-day card, which allows them to re-energize that same day, before inspection.

Inspector comes out at his leisure, and sends in the final card within that 15 day window.

Customer has power restored same day, under this procedure.

 

[iwire]

Call the POCO with an 'emergency' service call. When they get there, tell them they need to disconnect at the transformer so you can change out the panel because it's arcing. Tell them you should be done in 2 or 3 hours, and have them come back.

Here like the OP if the POCO kills a service for an EC for any reason an EI will be required for a reconnect.

 

[electricalperson]

a few years ago the guy i worked with had to pull apart a live meter socket. he was standing on a fiberglass ladder and using allen keys with his bare hands undoing wires and pulling it all apart. luckily he didnt get hurt.

im not sure why he done it live because a few days later we had to have nstar kill the power anyway

 

[Dennis Alwon]

Here is what I use to do.
I get my permit and make the inspection company and the power company aware of the situation. I can usually finish the install by noon and get the inspection done right away. The poco usually comes by the days end.

Here is what I now do.
I get the permit and start by pulling the meter. I then disconnect everything including the meter base. I swing the meter base off to the side and install everything new. I then take a piece of old SE cable and run it from the old meter to the new meter. I have meter jumpers that I bought to jump the terminals on the new meter. Once everything is connected and protected I install the old meter into the old can. The inspector comes and the poco can come in a day or so but the ho has power.

 

[jaylectricity]

I then take a piece of old SE cable and run it from the old meter to the new meter. I have meter jumpers that I bought to jump the terminals on the new meter.

How do those work and what do they look like? An image search on Google isn't helping me.

 

[growler]

What do you guys do on underground services?

Here an underground service change calls for a bit more scheduling. Probably have to schedule the power shut down with the POCO about 5 days in advance ( that will make sure it's taken down around 9 in the morning after customer has gone to work, earlier if it's a house but 9 works well for apartments). Then a permit is pulled and a temporary power request is also pulled. The temporary power request is used so that the job doesn't have to be completely finished before the inspector will OK the power to be restored ( normally they will look at what's been completed and take to you about what you are planning to do and if satisfied he will authorise power restoration). This allows the EC to take full responsibility for anything that could go wrong. This allows you to get the power back on the same day. Then you call for a final on the job and they will inspect within a couple of days.

It sounds easier than it really is. It's important to call the inspector the morning that you intend to do the work. You come up with a time when a significant amount of work will be completed and he arranges an inspection. Often there won't be that much completed by the time he gets there and it ends up being more of an explanation of what you are going to do.

It's still better and safer than working live, for a large service such as an apartment complex or business it's much better.

I would talk to your inspection department and see what can be worked out without having to work things live. I see no reason to take chances.

 

[bradleyelectric]

Here we do not work inside the meter can. Pull the meter and bug the old load side tail to the new load side tail and plug the meter back in. Underground the PC will pull the line side wires off the meter and tape them, replace the meter can and reland the wires. Overhead we just hang the service head on the wall. PC cuts old service head hot, drops it, mounts and lands new meter and connects new head. All done hot about 3 weeks after we do the service. The PC just north of us we are responsible for the meter they disconnect and reconnect same day with a temporary cut in card. Inspector inspects later and sends in permenant card.

 

[jeremysterling]

Here is what I now do.
I get the permit and start by pulling the meter. I then disconnect everything including the meter base. I swing the meter base off to the side and install everything new. I then take a piece of old SE cable and run it from the old meter to the new meter. I have meter jumpers that I bought to jump the terminals on the new meter. Once everything is connected and protected I install the old meter into the old can. The inspector comes and the poco can come in a day or so but the ho has power.

I'm doing a resi service drop upgrade tomorrow. Thanks for the tip about pulling the meter, unscrewing the existing meter enclosure from the house, and swinging it out of the way. That way I can get started mounting the new meter enclosure before the POCO shows up to disconnect the drop. Perfect.

Meter jumpers, you say? How does that work?

 

[romeo]

Service Change

Here on overhead services,the EC disconnects the service drop then reconnects it to the new service.

On a service laterals The EC makes arrangements for a disconnect reconnect with the POCO and myself so the inspection and reconnect can be done on the same day.