Cross the Columbia and three things change: the permit office, the utility and the code date. Inside Vancouver city limits, the City of Vancouver issues and inspects electrical permits; outside the limits it is Washington State Labor & Industries. Clark Public Utilities pulls and resets the meter around any service work and will not restore power until the inspection has passed. Washington adopts the 2026 National Electrical Code on 31 December 2026, while Oregon's 2026 code applies from 1 October 2026.
Which office issues your permit in Clark County
Clark County has two electrical permit authorities, and they do not overlap. Which one you file with depends on whether the house is inside the City of Vancouver.
The Clark Public Utilities meter sequence
- 1
Permit pulled and posted
The electrical permit is issued by the City of Vancouver or L&I, whichever has jurisdiction, and posted at the house.
- 2
CPU pulls the meter
Clark Public Utilities removes the meter and cuts power to the house so the service equipment can be worked on safely.
- 3
The work goes in
The new panel, meter base or service equipment is installed while the house is de-energized.
- 4
Inspection
A City of Vancouver or L&I inspector checks the work. Clark Public Utilities does not inspect; the permit authority does.
- 5
CPU sets the meter and restores power
Only after the inspection passes does Clark Public Utilities Construction Services return to set the meter and reconnect.
What the meter sequence means for your week
Two consequences follow from that order. The first is that the house is without power for the working portion of the job: from the moment Clark Public Utilities pulls the meter until it comes back to set it. Fridges, freezers, medical equipment and home offices need a plan for that window. The second is that the schedule depends on a third party. The inspection has to be booked with the city or L&I, and the reconnect has to be booked with Clark Public Utilities after the inspection passes. Neither is under the electrician's control, so the job is planned around both calendars.
On the Oregon side the shape is the same but the names change: PGE or Pacific Power disconnects, Portland Permitting & Development inspects, and the utility reconnects after the final. In Gresham and the other thirteen Oregon cities we serve, the utility is PGE. In Vancouver it is Clark Public Utilities, and the inspector is the City of Vancouver or L&I.
What does not change across the river is the work itself. A panel is a panel, a dedicated circuit is a dedicated circuit, and the reasons a house needs them are the same in Vancouver as in Portland: a full panel, a heat pump or EV charger on the way, aluminum branch wiring from the 1965 to 1973 years, or knob-and-tube in an older core. You still get a written estimate before any work begins, the permit is still filed for you with the right office, and nothing that will be hidden is covered before the inspector has seen it.
Oregon and Washington code dates
Oregon
Oregon's 2026 Electrical Specialty Code, the state's adoption of the 2026 National Electrical Code, applies to electrical permits from 1 October 2026. Portland, Gresham and every other Oregon city in our service area inspect to it from that date.
Washington
Washington adopts the 2026 National Electrical Code effective 31 December 2026, under a rule adopted on 18 November 2025. Vancouver and the rest of Clark County inspect to the prior edition until then and to the 2026 edition from that date.
For a homeowner the rule is the same in both states: the code in force on the date the permit is issued is the code the job is inspected to. Existing wiring is not required to change because a new edition arrived; new work and permitted alterations follow the new edition. For roughly three months at the end of 2026, a permit pulled in Portland and one pulled in Vancouver will be inspected to different editions.
Vancouver's housing, and the permits it generates
A 1990s city
The 1990s are Vancouver's peak decade at about 21% of the city's roughly 85,421 housing units, and about 27% of homes were built since 2000. The typical permit here is capacity: an EV charger circuit, a heat pump circuit, a subpanel.
A 1970s layer
About 18.1% of Vancouver homes date from the 1970s, roughly 13,705 units by parcel records. Houses from 1965 to 1973 are the years aluminum branch wiring was common, and remediation is permitted work.
An old core
Only about 4.9% of the city predates 1940, but the five census tracts within 2.5 km of downtown are about 34% pre-1940 and hold about 71% of the city's pre-1940 homes. Knob-and-tube replacement is a real downtown story.
Heat pump rebates
Clark Public Utilities offers heat-pump rebates to its customers. The rebate is on the heat pump; we run the dedicated circuit it needs. For panel rebates, ask us what is current when you get your written estimate.
Our Washington license
PWR Pro Electric LLC is licensed in Washington as a Labor & Industries electrical contractor, license PWRPRPE749NP, and in Oregon under CCB #259813. The Washington license is a public record, so you can check the number yourself before you hire anyone.
We are bonded & insured, and the work on the Washington side is the same as on the Oregon side: a written estimate before any work begins, the permit filed with the City of Vancouver or L&I, and a 1-year warranty on our work.
Need a permitted electrical job in Vancouver or Clark County?
PWR Pro Electric files with the City of Vancouver or L&I, books Clark Public Utilities and meets the inspector. Call 503-984-1097. WA L&I PWRPRPE749NP. Oregon CCB #259813.
Book a Vancouver Electrician