The size of the new service, whether your power comes in overhead or underground, whether the meter has to move, and the condition of what is already there. A panel upgrade in Portland also needs a permit from Portland Permitting & Development and a disconnect and reconnect from PGE or Pacific Power, and both are part of the job. Two houses on the same street can land in very different places once those are added up.
Why two panel upgrades on the same street can be priced differently
A panel upgrade is not one product. It is a bundle of decisions about the service coming in from the street, the meter, the panel itself, the grounding system and the circuits that land in it. Each of those can be simple or involved, and the quote follows the work, not the label.
In Portland the housing makes the spread wider than in newer suburbs. About 38.9% of Portland dwellings were built before 1940, so a lot of panels sit in houses that have been through several rounds of electrical work. Some of that work was permitted and some was not. What we find behind the panel cover and at the meter is what sets the price.
This guide lists the things that move the number, in roughly the order we check them during a walk-through. None of them is a dollar figure; the point is that you can read your own quote and know what each line is paying for.
The nine things that move the price
- 1
Service size
Most Portland upgrades go from 100-amp to 200-amp service. Going up in size means a new main breaker and panel, and usually new service conductors and a new meter base, because the wire and the meter have to be rated for the larger service.
- 2
Overhead or underground service
Overhead service comes in on a mast through the roof or the wall to a weatherhead. Underground service comes up out of the ground to the meter. Replacing an overhead mast is one kind of work; digging up and replacing underground conductors is another.
- 3
Meter relocation
If the meter stays put, the utility disconnects and reconnects at the same spot. If it moves, because the panel is moving or the old spot no longer meets clearance rules, the utility has more to do and so do we.
- 4
Whether the utility must disconnect
Any work on the service entrance means the power to the house has to be cut on the utility's side. PGE or Pacific Power does that, depending on your address, and reconnects after the city inspection passes. The scheduling is part of the job.
- 5
Panel location
A panel in a garage with clear space in front of it is the easy case. A panel in a closet, a bathroom or behind a finished wall may have to move to a location the code allows, which adds routing of every circuit.
- 6
Number of circuits
Every existing circuit has to be moved onto the new panel and labeled. A house with a handful of circuits is quicker than a house with a full panel plus a subpanel. New circuits added at the same time, for an EV charger, a heat pump or a range, are separate lines.
- 7
Grounding and bonding
Older houses often have a single ground rod, a ground clamped to a water pipe that has since been replaced with plastic, or no bond to the gas line. A new service has to meet current grounding and bonding rules, so this is corrected at the same time.
- 8
The permit and inspection
Portland Permitting & Development issues the electrical permit and inspects the finished work. In Oregon the person performing the work pulls the permit, so a hired contractor must buy it. The permit and the time to meet the inspector are in the quote.
- 9
What the old panel is
Federal Pacific Stab-Lok and Zinsco panels are the two brands home inspectors flag. We replace them rather than repair them. A fuse box, or a panel with scorching or corrosion, may also mean the conductors landing in it need attention.
Overhead service and underground service
Overhead
The service drop runs from the pole to a weatherhead on a mast at the roofline or high on the wall, then down to the meter. Replacing the mast, the weatherhead and the conductors down to the meter is the common upgrade path. The utility disconnects at the drop. Tree limbs, a mast through the roof and a low point of attachment are the things that add work.
Underground
The service lateral runs from the utility's box or transformer to the meter through conduit in the ground. Often the lateral stays and only the meter base and panel change, which keeps the job smaller. When the conduit or the conductors have to be replaced there is trenching, and the utility's share of the work grows.
We tell you at the walk-through which one you have and what it means for the scope. Neither is automatically the more expensive one; it depends on what has to be replaced.
What a written quote should include
You get a written estimate before any work begins. Read it against this list.
How long our panel upgrades usually take
Most of our panel upgrades take 1–2 days. The power to the house is off for about 8 hours of that, while the old panel comes out and the new one goes in. We give you the date ahead of time, so the fridge, the freezer and any work from home can be planned around it.
A panel upgrade usually starts within a few days of approving the written estimate, sometimes sooner. Before it starts we pull the permit and book the disconnect with PGE or Pacific Power.
The Portland part: permit, inspection and reconnect
The sequence is the same at every Portland address; only the utility changes.
Oregon's 2026 Electrical Specialty Code is in effect from 1 October 2026. Your upgrade is inspected to the code in force on the permit date.
Get a written estimate for your panel
PWR Pro Electric upgrades panels across Portland and the greater Portland metro. Most upgrades take 1–2 days, with the power off for about 8 hours. We pull the permit and schedule PGE or Pacific Power. Call 503-984-1097. Oregon CCB #259813.
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