who supplies the meter??

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So lemme get this straight, you take the power companys line side where it joins the tenants weatherhead and tap onto the poco's line for temp power?

Never heard of that being done, around here everyone has a generator.
 
JohnME said:
So lemme get this straight, you take the power companys line side where it joins the tenants weatherhead and tap onto the poco's line for temp power?

Never heard of that being done, around here everyone has a generator.
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Thats right! The POCO doesn't like to see it done but they know every EC does it.
 
77401 said:
Wow... y'all sure do make it complicated.
Service change outs I disconnect the service drop first. Wire nut on a 15 foot piece if 14-2 with a handy box & duplex receptacle on the end. Never kept a count of how many times I've used this but its been in use since at least 1990 with out a problem.
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I wouldn't feel very comfortable using something that didn't have an OCPD between my power tools and the utility transformer.

So lemme get this straight, you take the power companys line side where it joins the tenants weatherhead and tap onto the poco's line for temp power?

Never heard of that being done, around here everyone has a generator.
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Yup, it's done around here all of the time. Twenty years ago when no one had a generator where do you think that got the temp power from?
 
I just did one, old was 60 amp fuse panel. I just jumper from the load side of the old panel to a 60 amp 2-Pole breaker. Clip in into the bottom slots on the new panel. Waiting on POCO to do the switch over(lines and meter), then turn on the new main and remove jumper. Install panel cover. The only time the customer is with out power is when I change individual cicuits from old box to the new, couple hours max.
 
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I took a 10' set of #6 car jumper cables and cut it in half. Connected them into a "bell" WP box and installed a GFCI. Now we have 2 ready boxes that we can tap onto poco for power, while we do a service upgrade.
 
infinity said:
I wouldn't feel very comfortable using something that didn't have an OCPD between my power tools and the utility transformer.
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The Transformer has fuses on the load side.
Whats the worst that can happen? I have 15' of 14/2 melt into a ball of solder? 14awg melts at 175 amps.
K.I.S.S.
Cut the old off, put the new in & reconnect it. I won't leave my customers without power to wait on the POCO for a reconnect.
 
77401 said:
The Transformer has fuses on the load side.
Cut the old off, put the new in & reconnect it. I won't leave my customers without power to wait on the POCO for a reconnect.
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We have to do it like that here, too. PoCo takes weeks to months to come out and put on a permanent splice. Since they know we are going to be tapping into their lines, it's a low priority for them.
 
jeff43222 said:
We have to do it like that here, too. PoCo takes weeks to months to come out and put on a permanent splice. Since they know we are going to be tapping into their lines, it's a low priority for them.
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Same here. Disconnect, rip out old service, install new service, reconnect, leave and wait for local inspection. Inspector sends cut-in card to POCO. POCO sends out their inspector. Wait 30-90 days POCO linemen finally gets there to make finally connections and install a new meter.
 
jeff43222 said:
So then you have to make a second trip to demo the old stuff after the PoCo comes out? The way I do them, I'm totally finished before the inspector or PoCo sees my work.
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No, we don't go back (unless we left a jumper worth picking back up). The POCO finishes up and removes the old meter base and cables.
 
LarryFine said:
No, we don't go back (unless we left a jumper worth picking back up). The POCO finishes up and removes the old meter base and cables.
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I'm surprised. I can't imagine the local POCO removing anything past the connection to the weatherhead.
 
Here, except for co-ops, the POCO is responsible for everything on the line-side of the meter, from the lugs up. We're responsible for everything from the load lugs down.

They supply meter bases free, we install them as part of the upgrade. The POCO does their work free, figuring they'll recover by selling more power.
 
77401 said:
LarryFine said:
Here, except for co-ops, the POCO is responsible for everything on the line-side of the meter, from the lugs up. We're responsible for everything from the load lugs down.
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Wow!
So they'll Install a thru the roof mast on an upgrade?
So does one put a 2/0 onto a 100amp meter socket?
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I'm guessing the PoCo in Larry's area is responsible for the wiring on the line side of the meter. I have a hard time believing the PoCo is going to install a through-the-roof mast. Probably the EC installs the meter socket, mast, and weather head, but only installs wiring on the load side. Then I bet the PoCo comes in and puts their wires through the weather head, down the mast, and connects to the line side of the meter.

Is this how it works, Larry?
 
infinity said:
I'm surprised. I can't imagine the local POCO removing anything past the connection to the weatherhead.
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They'll only remove stuff that's easy to yank, basically my temp wiring and the clamps. They aren't going to spend any time on demo.

Last time I did a 200A overhead-to-underground conversion, I had to temp into the overhead drop until the PoCo came out. It occurred to me that my temp SER and the clamps were not something I wanted the PoCo to toss out, so I had the HO make sure the PoCo crew left that stuff behind. It was about $100 worth of materials I can easily reuse.
 
Here the POCO gives us the meter pan to install, but we are responsible to wire to the weatherhead, or to the pole and give them enough to connect to. Actually they are usually pretty good about showing up when we need them to connect. They don't want us touching their wires.
 
In the San Francisco Bay Area, PG&E (the most common POCO, though some cities have their own power companies), the contractor supplies a combination meter base and panel. Though some contractors do their own disconnecting/re-connecting, I no longer do so.

I had an electrical service torn off a home by a felled tree. I called PG&E, reported the situation, pulled a permit, and installed a new service. I re-connected the incoming overhead lines, called for inspection (which passed), and called PG&E for a re-connection. The employee that came out for PG&E reported the customer for power theft. The customer was fined $500 (which I split with the customer). Ever since, I don't touch PG&E's meter or overhead lines. Unfortunately, it can take up to 5 days from disconnection to re-connection, but I can usually hook up a 2 pole 20amp w/ 12/3 romex to a neighbor for temporary power.
 
For those of you who are clipping on battery jumper leads or wire nutting # 12's to the triplex, here is a safer way I found to get temp power. However, (and just so we're all on the same page with this) even though many of us electrical contractors do this, this is technally theft of service (even though they know we're doing it) and POCO's will condone using this or any other method of tapping temp power. The green # 12 hanging out of the back of the meter adapter clips onto the metal enclosure and is used when your meter socket doesn't have a 5th jaw.

Meter adapter pics :

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k130/goldstar13397/DSCN00080001.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k130/goldstar13397/DSCN00070001.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k130/goldstar13397/DSCN00060001.jpg



BTW, this wasn't an original idea. I pirated this from a friend of mine

Also, this is my first attempt at posting digital photos so if I created a big mess I apologize up front
 
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andycook said:
In the San Francisco Bay Area, PG&E (the most common POCO, though some cities have their own power companies), the contractor supplies a combination meter base and panel. Though some contractors do their own disconnecting/re-connecting, I no longer do so.

I had an electrical service torn off a home by a felled tree. I called PG&E, reported the situation, pulled a permit, and installed a new service. I re-connected the incoming overhead lines, called for inspection (which passed), and called PG&E for a re-connection. The employee that came out for PG&E reported the customer for power theft. The customer was fined $500 (which I split with the customer). Ever since, I don't touch PG&E's meter or overhead lines. Unfortunately, it can take up to 5 days from disconnection to re-connection, but I can usually hook up a 2 pole 20amp w/ 12/3 romex to a neighbor for temporary power.
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Sounds like a crappy POCO to me. Borrowing power from a neighbor? Five days for a reconnect? They're only in business because they are a monopoly.
 
Jersey: Disconnect, rip out old service, install new service, reconnect with permanent connection, leave, and wait for local inspection. Inspector then sends a cut-in card to the Utility. Utility sends out their inspector. Don't wait for Utility linemen to make finally connections. they may never change your connection, but they will install a new meter.
 
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