What should it cost to replace meter?

10 years ago

I received a letter from my building inspector & electric company telling me I need to fix my electric service entrance. (It does look ready to fall off the wall.)

Specifically, it says I must:

"The complete meter socket/breaker combination must be replaced. Two ground rods must be installed to ground the new system. An expansion joint must be installed in the PVC conduit coming from the ground for thermal expansion."

This is a weird setup in my experience: On the outside there is a box with the meter (locked), and anther attached to it (unlocked) that has a single master breaker in it. From there another PVC conduit runs through a crawl space and up to a breaker box in the garage. (It is a sub-panel - it has no master breaker.)

I don't know anything about this sort of work but I spoke to one electrician today. It doesn't sound that complex or time consuming. His quote for the job was $1400. That was *way* more than I was expecting to hear.

The *meter* looks fine. I would think it would be reused. But the order says it must be replaced. If so, doesn't the electric company supply the replacement? (That is how it works for gas.)

I'm in the process of trying to get additional quotes. But meanwhile, what is reasonable for such a job? (This is in the remote Boston suburbs.)

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paul_ma
Original Author

10 years ago

This is not a new *panel*. It has the external feed coming in, a meter, a single master breaker, and one cable out to the "subpanel" elsewhere. That subpanel is effectively the main panel except for the lack of a master breaker. I guess it has grounding too. That subpanel is unaffected by this work.

This is not something I know about, but I am having difficulty understanding what all the money goes to. It seems like the parts are just a replacement for this simple box, perhaps a new master breaker, and a bit of 2" plastic conduit.

Perhaps I don't understand, but I don't see how this should take more than a couple of hours to do the work. (Though maybe more time to wait while the power company shuts off the power, turns it back on, and an inspector checks the work.)

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Comments (9)

randy427
10 years ago
The meter itself belongs (usually) to the power company. The panel on which it is mounted, including the socket that the meter plugs into, is (again, usually) yours. For what you've indicated, the $1,400 price does not seem unreasonable for parts and labor.
Vith
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Not unreasonable, actually very reasonable. I had new panel done about 5 years ago with new meter and wires from meter to panel it was between $2000-$2500. And that was before the AFCI breaker requirements.
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Vith
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Ah sorry I misread. You need the new ground rods and those have to be run to that sub panel and to the main disconnect switch outside. Does that panel have a ground bus? Probably not, so that will need to be added. You also need modification to your conduit which means unhooking various wire, pulling them out, doing the modification, rerunning the wire. Then the meter needs replaced also. Then there is the overhead for running the company, driving out there, insurance, etc. Then its about 100 bucks an hour labor.

Does this help any? Probably an all day job, around 10 hrs plus overhead costs.

Does not hurt to get multiple quotes btw! That is the tried and true way to test the market.
paul_ma
Original Author
10 years ago
Today an electrician team came and did the identical repair for one of my neighbors. So I watched, and asked them for a quote.

Things were as I expected. They replaced the box that houses the meter and that contains the master breaker. The new one is bigger, and has a new feature - a switch to bypass the meter. (Apparently this feature is required now. It is in the sealed part of the box so not accessible to the homeowner.)

They did reuse the existing meter.

Total time on site was no more than three hours.

I was told that they would get me an accurate estimate based on how much this one cost, but estimated $1500-$1800! I don't see where all the cost is, unless it is the permit fee, and maybe a fee to the electric company to shut off the power while they work.
paul_ma
Original Author
10 years ago
I forgot: they also added another ground and connected it in the box.

I tried to find the box online. I can't find one that matches exactly, but it is similar to a Milbank U5168-XTL-200.
toxcrusadr
10 years ago
Ask your neighbor to see the invoice, it should have costs for all the parts and labor.

I agree (as a homeowner not an electrician) it seems like a lot. I just spoke with a friend of a friend who is an electrician and his co. charges $90/hr labor. That's in relatively low-cost-of-living MO. I feel your pain.
paul_ma
Original Author
10 years ago
I received another estimate, this time for $1250. He told me the box costs ~$500. I only got this on the phone, but I think he said total parts and permits were $800-$900. That starts to explain the number.
Monica
10 years ago
I work for the power company where I live in MD on these kinds of orders. Basically, there is a fee the utility charges, which is for disconnecting power at the source in order for the electrician to work safely, then reconnection later...around $500. And this kind of work requires a permit from your local authority also, maybe $100. Meter socket here for a 200Amp is around $200. Your quote is reasonable considering near Wash, DC suburbs it would be about $2k.