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HerHusband HerHusband is offline
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Default Residential electricity

I had overhead service from a pole on the edge of my yard to the
weatherhead on my last house.
Having lost the overhead line twice in storms, I asked the electric
utility if they could put it underground.
They said sure, they would install it, but I would pay the cost, which
was pretty steep. So I offered to dig the trench for them and get
everything ready, all they had to do was connect the wire, they said
that would cost double. Something about Contribution In Aid to
Construction tax liability. I gave up.


I have installed several underground service entrances, at my home in the
country, and at my in-laws in the city. In both cases I had to take care of
all the wiring on the property, the power company just made the final
connection and installed the meter.

My home is on rural property out in the country. Our meter is mounted on a
pole out at the road, then a cable runs down to an in-ground junction box.
From there we have separate underground feeds running to the breaker panels
in each of our separate buildings (pumphouse, detached garage, house). It
was our responsibility to dig the trenches, purchase the cable and install
it in the trench, connect the cable to the breaker panel on our end, and
leave enough slack at the junction box for the power company to make the
connection. Once the electrical inspector approved the installation, we
backfilled the trench and the power company came out and made the
connection.

The power company supplied the pole at the road, the in-ground junction
boxes, and the transformer/cable that comes overhead across the road. We
had to supply the meter base, conduit to run up and down the pole, the rain
cap at the top, and all wiring on our property.

The installation at my in-laws house was similar except their meter base
mounted to the side of their house. We still had to install the base, dig
the trench, run the cable out to the in-ground transformer, and get it all
inspected. Once we buried the trench, the power company connected the cable
to the transformer and installed the meter.

It's important to note that the power company won't connect the power until
the inspector approves the installation and the breaker panel is covered.

Anthony Watson
www.watsondiy.com
www.mountainsoftware.com