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Electrical Panel Upgrade Cost: Who Charges for a 200-Amp Service?

Published By Utility Cost Guide editor

For an existing single-family home, a main service panel replacement has a $3,500 survey median, according to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), surveyed in summer 2025 and reported in August 2026. The electrician prices the customer-owned work, the city or county charges for the permit, and the utility may pass on costs for its part of a service upgrade. The $3,500 figure covers panel replacement, not every part of an increase to 200 amps. In the same survey, the single-family median was $2,800 for customer-side service-rating work and $3,500 for utility-side costs passed to customers. These are separate respondent-reported measures, not charges to add into a typical total.

For comparison, the 200 A service: panel + meter base (new or upgrade) benchmark lists $1,800 / $3,000 / $6,000. Its scope differs from LBNL’s panel-replacement measure. The existing equipment, service wires, meter location and work required by the utility determine what a local upgrade quote covers.

Budget by cost item and evidence

Survey results and a published permit fee are shown separately. Ask for written amounts for the work at your house.

Cost item What the figure covers Published figure Source and date
Customer-side panel work Main service panel replacement; single-family survey median $3,500 LBNL, summer 2025 survey; August 2026 report
Customer-side service work Equipment for a service rating increase; single-family survey median $2,800 LBNL, summer 2025 survey; August 2026 report
Utility-side costs Service rating increase costs passed to the customer; single-family survey median, not a tariff $3,500 LBNL, summer 2025 survey; August 2026 report
Permit Seattle new or altered 150-200-amp service, plus administrative fee $292.00 + $55.48 Seattle SDCI, effective January 2026

The LBNL costs were reported by building-industry respondents, not taken from matched invoices for one house. The single-family panel-replacement result has a $2,100-$5,000 interquartile range; the utility-side result has a $1,650-$7,000 interquartile range and fewer responses. Those ranges show the variation within each measure, not a combined price for a 200-amp upgrade. Source: LBNL, summer 2025 survey; August 2026 report.

What the utility may charge

Ownership of the service drop or lateral and customer equipment depends on the serving utility. Outside network-service areas, Oncor’s tariff, effective June 1, 2026, says it provides and maintains the overhead service drop while the customer supplies the attachment point. Its residential clearance request charge is “as calculated,” rather than a flat disconnect/reconnect price. The Con Edison specifications, revised May 2026, assign the standpipe, weather head and service entrance conductors on the building to the customer. A requested change to its service termination is at the requesting customer’s expense. Ask whether a panel quote includes the service-wire and meter work required by your utility.

Meter-base responsibility also varies. ComEd’s 2025 service requirements make the customer responsible for furnishing, installing and maintaining the meter connection device and specified conductors in the covered overhead installation. FPL’s May 2023 standards make an upgrade of an existing metering installation the customer’s work and place certain resulting FPL facility costs on the customer. There is an exception for an FPL-owned direct-buried conductor: FPL says it will replace it at no cost if the customer installs FPL-issued conduit to the existing service point. A new service point instead brings actual-cost charges under the applicable tariff. Ask which side of the service point each proposed line item covers.

A utility allowance does not establish what the utility will pay for your job. A CalMAC/NV5 California study dated May 27, 2022 reported PG&E and SDG&E service-upgrade allowances of $2,154 and $3,241, respectively. Utility contractors in that study reported customers paying $300 to $16,000 or more above an allowance. Those historical allowances were subject to change; Confirm with utility before budgeting one. In the LBNL summer 2025 survey, reported August 2026, nearly all utility respondents who supplied allowance data reported no allowance for service rating increases. Neither study establishes an allowance for every utility.

Overhead to underground is its own utility project

An overhead-to-underground conversion is a separate scope from a panel replacement. For Xcel Energy’s Northern States Power territory in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, the sheet effective January 1, 2023 lists a $700 base charge plus $28 per foot of wire from pole to meter socket. It also lists a $2,000 winter construction deposit for the stated October-to-April construction period and $200 per utility pole removed, when applicable. Xcel’s Michigan/Wisconsin brochure, 2024, instead lists $625 plus $9.30 per trench foot and $265 per utility pole removed, when applicable. The territories and ways of measuring footage differ. Both documents say prices can change annually; request the current local conversion quote and a separate price for customer-owned meter work.

What the city or county may charge

Permit fees depend on the jurisdiction and the work described in the application. Seattle’s schedule effective January 2026 lists $292.00 for a new or altered 150-200-amp service and adds a $55.48 administrative fee. A mast-and-meter-base-only repair has a different $146.00 service-repair line. Portland’s schedule effective July 1, 2025 lists $201.00 for installing, altering or relocating a 200-amp service or feeder and $181.00 for “reconnect only.” San Diego’s May 2026 bulletin lists $176.57 for a qualifying panel replacement or upgrade up to 200 amps. These are different permit categories in different jurisdictions, not a national permit-price range.

Ask the permit office whether its fee includes administrative charges, plan review and inspection for your scope. In Saint Paul’s schedule, last edited July 2023, the service fee is $85.00, with $15.00 per new or altered circuit and a minimum $1.00 state surcharge. The city’s July 2023 service-upgrade guide says the service fee already includes existing circuits reconnected to replacement overcurrent devices. Describe those circuits accurately so they are not counted twice.

What the electrician’s quote should cover

Ask the electrician to identify the panel, service entrance conductors, mast or weather head, meter socket or base, inspection coordination and customer-side wiring as separate lines. Check the serving utility’s equipment requirements before accepting the meter line. Con Edison, revised May 2026, and ComEd, 2025 edition, describe customer responsibility for specified service entrance or meter equipment. Under Georgia Power’s 2023 BlueBook, some company-furnished meter sockets remain utility property even though the customer installs them.

Published estimates for customer-side work disagree. The CalMAC/NV5 California study, May 2022, reported $2,000-$4,500 for customer-owned panels, with a $2,780 average. NYSERDA’s undated New York consumer page gives $1,000-$2,500 for a panel upgrade and says a utility service upgrade may cost extra. A market estimate from This Old House, updated March 31, 2026, gives $800-$4,000 for panel upgrades and says most homeowners pay $1,300-$3,000 to upgrade to a 200-amp system. LBNL’s $3,500 single-family main-panel median exceeds that publisher’s “most pay” range. The sources measure different work and use different methods; request a local quote that states its scope.

One worked permit example

Seattle permit arithmetic, not a project quote: For a new or altered 150-200-amp service, $292.00 + $55.48 = $347.48 under Seattle’s schedule effective January 2026. Add these as separate quote lines when budgeting the whole job:

The $347.48 calculation covers the cited permit and administrative lines. Confirm the applicable permit category and any other local charges for the proposed work.

Rebates and credits to check before signing

The federal High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebates program lists load service center upgrades among eligible work. The ENERGY STAR table, undated and accessed October 2, 2026, shows up to $4,000 for an electric load service center upgrade. The program is for households with income below 150% of area median income: the table allows up to 100% of cost below 80% of area median income and no more than 50% of cost at 80-150%. The $4,000 figure is a ceiling, not an automatic payment.

Rebates are offered only in states that have launched programs, and states may narrow eligibility. The DOE program page, accessed October 2, 2026, directs households to their state or territory energy office. DOE Program Notice 26-2, effective May 29, 2026, changed program rules and does not expressly name panel upgrades. Whether a state currently funds panel work under those rules requires confirmation with that state’s program before subtracting a rebate from a bid.

The federal 25C energy efficient home improvement credit is unavailable for expenditures or property placed in service after December 31, 2025, according to the IRS 2025 Form 5695 instructions. Its former $600 panel sublimit should not be included in a 2026 upgrade budget.

Before you approve the job

  1. Tell the electrician whether you need a panel replacement, a service rating increase or an overhead-to-underground conversion. Request separate prices for the equipment and work in the proposed scope.
  2. Ask the serving utility who owns the existing drop or lateral and meter equipment, what work its service requirements call for, and what disconnect, reconnect or relocation request is needed. Oncor’s tariff, effective June 2026, illustrates why a utility may calculate a clearance charge for the particular request.
  3. Give the permit office the same scope and ask which fee category applies. Arrange inspection and connection in the order required locally; Georgia Power’s 2023 BlueBook requires inspection approval before connection where electrical inspection is provided.

If the project also needs a longer line to the property, read the cost to run power to property and utility free-footage rules. A required transformer is a separate question covered in who pays for a new home’s transformer; those new-home policies do not price this existing-home panel job.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to upgrade an electrical panel to 200 amps?

The LBNL summer 2025 survey, reported August 2026, gives a $3,500 median for main service panel replacement at a single-family home. That sample was not limited to 200-amp upgrades and does not establish an all-in service-upgrade price. Get an itemized electrician quote, the applicable permit fee and the utility’s job-specific amount.

Will the power company pay for new service wires?

It depends on the utility and service point. FPL’s May 2023 standards describe a no-cost replacement of an FPL-owned direct-buried conductor when the customer installs FPL-issued conduit to the existing service point. A new point brings actual-cost charges under the applicable tariff. Ask the serving utility for its written scope.

Who pays for the meter base during a panel upgrade?

ComEd’s 2025 requirements assign the meter connection device to the customer for the covered installation. Georgia Power’s 2023 BlueBook says company-furnished sockets remain utility property even though the customer installs them. Ask which approved socket the electrician should include.

Do I need a permit to replace a panel, and how much is it?

The permit category depends on the proposed work and location. San Diego’s May 2026 bulletin lists $176.57 for a qualifying panel replacement or upgrade up to 200 amps. Seattle’s schedule effective January 2026 lists $292.00 plus a $55.48 administrative fee for a new or altered 150-200-amp service. Ask the local permit office which category and additional charges apply.

Does moving overhead service underground change the cost?

Yes. Xcel Northern States Power’s sheet effective January 2023 lists $700 plus $28 per foot of wire from pole to meter socket, before applicable deposits, pole removal and customer-side meter work. Request the current conversion quote for your utility’s territory.

Is there a panel rebate or federal tax credit in 2026?

The ENERGY STAR table, accessed October 2, 2026, lists a HEEHR load service center ceiling of $4,000 for households below 150% of area median income. It allows up to 100% of cost below 80% of area median income and no more than 50% at 80-150%. Rebates depend on a launched state program and current panel eligibility following DOE’s change effective May 29, 2026. The IRS 2025 instructions say the 25C credit ended for work after December 31, 2025.

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