Finished jobs from our crew.
+4 photosNorth Portland
October 2026
Walking into an older North Portland home, the first thing we saw was a 150-amp service that was running out of room for the way people use power today. We swapped it for a 200-amp service, which included a new meter base and a fresh panel. Bigger service means more room for appliances, EV charging, and future additions without overloading the system.
Alameda, Portland
October 2026
This Alameda home needed more power than its old service could give. We upgraded the service on the outside wall with a new meter base and main disconnect, and the work was inspected. A service upgrade like this is often the first step before a new panel, an EV charger or a heat pump.
★★★★★Andrew N.“Igor has done work for me multiple times and always does an excellent job. I highly recommend him.”
Signs you need an electrical service upgrade or a new meter base
An electrical service upgrade to 200 amps, a new meter base, or a mast put right after a storm. The power company's visits booked by us, across Portland, Beaverton, Milwaukie, and surrounding communities.
Your electrical service is everything between the power company's wires and your main panel: the mast and weatherhead on an overhead service, or the conduit on an underground one, then the service wires, the meter base and the main breaker. An electrical service upgrade replaces those parts with larger ones, so the house can draw more power at once. In Portland the new service is most often 200 amps.
It is not the same job as a new panel. A panel upgrade renews the box inside the house; the service work changes what feeds that box from outside. Plenty of houses need both, and then we do them as one job, with one written estimate and one date.
The service cannot be replaced while it is live, so the utility is part of every service job. Whether yours is PGE or Pacific Power depends on the street you live on; much of north-east Portland is Pacific Power, and our guide to PGE and Pacific Power reconnects shows where the line falls. They cut the power before we start and restore it after the new equipment passes inspection. We pull the permit and set up both visits, so you do not have to sit on hold.
The meter base — also called a meter socket or a meter can — is the box on the outside wall that the power company's meter plugs into. The service wires from the street land inside it, and from there the power runs on to your main panel.
Ownership is split, and that surprises people. In Portland the meter belongs to your power company. The meter base belongs to you, and replacing it is electrician's work, not the utility's. So when yours rusts through or cracks, the call goes to an electrician; we arrange the meter pull and reset as part of the job.
Sockets also wear out on their own. The jaws that grip the meter can loosen and run hot over the years. Burn marks, a melted look or a hot smell at the meter are a reason to call now, not to wait for the next storm.
An old 60-amp service is not dead weight. It can still power the washer and dryer, an air conditioner, even a subpanel or an EV charger, depending on what else is running at the same time. Today's usual minimum is 100 amps, though, so on a 60-amp home we work out the loads before anyone picks a size.
The age of the meter base matters. When a 60-amp house still has its original one, our quote is a 200-amp electrical service upgrade. On a 100-amp house, the step we make is 100 to 200. The load figures come with the written estimate, so the size we recommend is never a guess.
A falling limb or a hard wind can pull on the service wires until the mast bends, the weatherhead cracks, or the socket pulls away from the wall. If a wire is down, stay well clear of it and call the power company first; they make the line safe. Then call us. Urgent problem after hours? Call anyway — we take urgent calls outside our regular hours.
Storm damage is a repair, not automatically an upgrade. We replace the bent mast, the cracked weatherhead or the torn-off socket at the size you have now. If you were already planning to go to 200 amps, it can be done in the same job, so the power only goes off once.
The first visit is a walk-through, usually on the day you call, and a written estimate follows. Service work is a big job, so we give you a start date with your written estimate, set around the power company's disconnect.
A full electrical service upgrade takes 8 to 10 hours. The utility disconnects the house, the old mast, socket and service wires come out, and the new ones go in with the grounding brought up to date. The house is without power while the service is open. Once the work passes inspection, the power company sets its meter in the new base and the lights come back on. We switch every circuit on and check it before we leave.
Mast, socket, wires and panel checked
Repair or upgrade, before any work begins
Booked with the utility; given with your estimate
8 to 10 hours; the new service goes in
The utility sets its meter in the new base
Service work is quoted after we look at the outside of the house, and these are the things that change the size of the job.
Going from 60 or 100 amps to 200 needs larger service wires, a bigger main and a new socket.
An overhead mast and weatherhead is a different job from an underground service run in conduit.
A rusted, cracked or heat-marked meter socket is replaced, with the meter pulled and reset by the utility.
Where the mast sits is planned with you, and longer conduit runs take more material and time.
If the panel needs replacing too, both are done as one job on one date, with the power off once.
Fixing a bent mast or a torn-off socket at the size you have now is a smaller job than raising the size.
We pull the permit and set up the disconnect and reconnect with your power company.
Every job gets a written estimate before any work starts.
Utility disconnect and reconnect arranged too
Ask about financing when you get it
Licensed Oregon contractor, CCB #259813
From the weatherhead down to the main breaker
Rose City Park, Portland
October 2026
At this Rose City Park house, the meter and service equipment on the back wall were overdue for replacement. We upgraded the service and cleaned up the equipment on the outside wall so it's safe and up to code. We're a long-time electrician for this homeowner, and we're glad to keep earning that trust.
★★★★★David H.“PWR does an amazing job. Used them for years.”
Written estimate before any work begins.