A Whatcom County inspection just wrote Federal Pacific on a Lettered Streets house that still has the original 100-amp panel. The Permit Center still wants the electrical file. Puget Sound Energy still owns the disconnect.
The city inspector will not pull a PSE meter. Puget Sound Energy will not print the Lottie Street electrical permit. Those two systems do not match. A helper with a van cannot stand in for either one.
What the utilities actually wrote
Most Bellingham bills are Puget Sound Energy. Confirm the logo on the bill before anyone prices the job.
Start with PSE’s meter-tampering page. Meter tampering occurs when there is unauthorized removal of a meter, severing of a meter seal, opening of a meter base, altering an entrance cable in any manner, or self-reconnects that are not done by an authorized PSE employee or representative.
If a non-PSE employee tampers with a meter, disconnects, reconnects, moves, pulls, or de-energizes a PSE meter, they will be subject to full prosecution.
That is not a homeowner meter-pull path.
PSE’s construction FAQ is the work ticket. PSE will disconnect your service, so that your electrical contractor can safely do the work.
There is a cost for the disconnect/reconnect service.
Contact Customer Construction Services at 1-888-321-7779. Do that at least five business days before the work. Puget Sound Energy does not publish a guaranteed power-off hour count.
Permits in Bellingham and in Whatcom County
Inside Bellingham, start at the Permit Center, first floor of City Hall, 210 Lottie Street. The phone is 360-778-8300. Electrical files go through TRAKiT.
Who pulls the permit matters. The city’s permit handout wants a permit before an electrical system is installed, enlarged, altered, repaired, removed, converted, or replaced. That permit has to exist before work begins. Bellingham Electrical writes the county split the same way. Ferndale, Lynden, Blaine, Birch Bay, and unincorporated Whatcom County file at Washington L&I. The city’s Class B electrical-label program is a contractor path for limited work. It is not a homeowner panel-swap shortcut. Owning the home does not mean you should pull the permit and then hire someone under your name.
A quote that only says “we handle the permit” should name the city on the address.
Price, without inventing one
One Whatcom contractor page publishes a Bellingham panel band and does not invent a second one.
Old Town Electric’s panel-upgrade page prints an electrical panel upgrade in Bellingham at $2,500 to $4,500. They write that band around 200-amp service changes on older houses. They do not print a second dollar band for a same-amperage swap. We will not invent one. We are not inventing a Lettered Streets midpoint from the printed band.
Washington L&I lookup is public. Ask for the contractor registration and check it before you sign. Two shops advertise this work on their own sites and print a license number. Bellingham Electrical’s dedicated page names Federal Pacific Stab-Lok and Zinsco and prints WA L&I contractor registration CASCACH748MH. Old Town Electric’s homepage names Federal Pacific and Zinsco hazards and prints contractor # OLDTOTE794DD. They write daily work across Bellingham, Sudden Valley, and Ferndale. They are listed for the panel letter, not as a Whatcom directory.
Directory-only shops are omitted. A page that names these brands and does not print a Washington contractor number is not a listing. The listed shops are not affiliated with Panel Letter.
What to hand the carrier
The useful packet is the closed City of Bellingham or Washington L&I electrical permit, the passed electrical inspection, an invoice with the license number that was on the permit, and photos if the letter asks. If your electrician produces a load calculation or panel schedule, send that too. We did not find a carrier page that publishes a single statewide sticker form. Ask the agent what they will actually open.
Typical replacement cost
One Whatcom shop publishes a Bellingham panel band. We are not inventing a Lettered Streets midpoint from it
$2,500 to $4,500
Electrical panel upgrade in Bellingham, including 200-amp service changes on older houses
Their service-change and panel-upgrade page. They specialize that band on 200-amp service changes for older homes. They do not print a second dollar band for a same-amperage swap. We will not invent one. We are not inventing a Lettered Streets midpoint from the printed band.
Source: Old Town Electric LLC
Permit
City of Bellingham Permit Center
Who pulls it: The Permit Center sits on the first floor of City Hall, 210 Lottie Street, Bellingham, WA 98225. Phone and email hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at 360-778-8300 or permits@cob.org. Electrical permits inside the city go through the TRAKiT portal. The city’s When Do I Need a Permit handout is blunt. Permits are required to erect, install, enlarge, alter, repair, remove, convert, or replace any electrical system, and they have to be obtained before work begins. Bellingham Electrical writes the same split. Inside Bellingham city limits, permits and inspections run through the City of Bellingham Permit Center. In Ferndale, Lynden, Blaine, Birch Bay, and unincorporated Whatcom County, they run through Washington Labor and Industries. The city’s Class B electrical-label program is a contractor path for limited work, not a homeowner panel-swap shortcut. Washington L&I’s property-owner electrical-work application is the owner path outside a city electrical program, and only if the owner is doing the work.
Ferndale, Lynden, Blaine, and unincorporated Whatcom County file at L&I, not Lottie Street. A quote that only says we handle the permit should name the city on the address. Washington electrical-contractor advertising is the L&I number. Ask for the contractor registration they will put on the Bellingham or L&I file.
Utility coordination
Puget Sound Energy on most Bellingham bills
Who disconnects: Puget Sound Energy’s meter-tampering page is blunt. Meter tampering occurs when there is unauthorized removal of a meter, severing of a meter seal, opening of a meter base, altering an entrance cable in any manner, or self-reconnects that are not done by an authorized PSE employee or representative. If a non-PSE employee tampers with a meter, disconnects, reconnects, moves, pulls, or de-energizes a PSE meter, they will be subject to full prosecution. That is not a homeowner meter-pull path. PSE’s construction FAQ is just as blunt on the work ticket. PSE will disconnect your service so that your electrical contractor can safely do the work. There is a cost for the disconnect and reconnect service. Contact Customer Construction Services at 1-888-321-7779 at least five business days before you plan to start the work.
Outage window: Puget Sound Energy does not publish a guaranteed power-off hour count for a residential panel swap. It does publish a five-business-day lead time before a scheduled disconnect.
Confirm the logo on the bill before anyone prices the job. Most City of Bellingham addresses are Puget Sound Energy. A like-for-like panel swap still needs the city or L&I inspection and that PSE disconnect. A service-size change is still that disconnect and reconnect, not a helper cutting the seal. Bellingham Electrical writes that the house is without power for a good part of the working day. That is a contractor field note.
What to hand the insurer
- Closed City of Bellingham or Washington L&I electrical permit
- Passed electrical inspection
- Invoice showing the Washington contractor registration used on the permit
- Photos of the old and new panel if the carrier’s letter asks for them
- Load calculation or panel schedule if the electrician produced one
Ask your agent for the exact list. Carriers do not publish a single national checklist.
Electricians who advertise this job
A shop is listed only if it advertises Federal Pacific, Zinsco, or insurance-driven panel replacement on its own site and prints a license number there. Trade-association locators already exist. We will not pad this list. Verify the license before you hire.
To get introduced, use the quote form on this page. We do not send you to the shop from here.
Bellingham Electrical
Bellingham / Blaine, WA
Published license: CASCACH748MH (Washington State Department of Labor and Industries)
Own Zinsco and Federal Pacific replacement page that names Stab-Lok and Zinsco, backed by WA L&I contractor registration CASCACH748MH printed on that page and the homepage.
Old Town Electric LLC
Bellingham, WA
Published license: OLDTOTE794DD (Washington State Department of Labor and Industries)
Own homepage Sudden Valley section that names 1970s-era Federal Pacific and Zinsco panel hazards, backed by contractor # OLDTOTE794DD printed on that page and the panel-upgrade page.
How this page was built
Compiled by Panel Letter on 2026-09-27 from the public pages below. If a fact was not on a cited page, it is marked as unverified in the copy. This is a research guide, not a bid.
- Bellingham Electrical, Zinsco and Federal Pacific panel replacement
Names Federal Pacific Stab-Lok and Zinsco. Prints WA L&I contractor registration CASCACH748MH.
- Bellingham Electrical, Electrical panel upgrade
Names Federal Pacific and Zinsco. Says inside-city permits run through the City of Bellingham Permit Center and outside-city permits run through L&I. Prints CASCACH748MH.
- Old Town Electric, Homepage
Names 1970s-era Federal Pacific and Zinsco panel hazards in Sudden Valley. Prints contractor # OLDTOTE794DD.
- Old Town Electric, Service changes and panel upgrades
Prints $2,500 to $4,500 for an electrical panel upgrade in Bellingham. Prints contractor # OLDTOTE794DD.
- City of Bellingham, Building applications and forms
Electrical permits through TRAKiT. Permit Center 360-778-8300. permits@cob.org.
- City of Bellingham, When do I need a permit
Permits required to install, enlarge, alter, repair, remove, convert, or replace an electrical system, obtained before work begins. 210 Lottie Street.
- City of Bellingham, Permit Center FAQs
Permit Center on the first floor of City Hall, 210 Lottie Street.
- Puget Sound Energy, Meter tampering and diversion
Unauthorized meter removal, seal severing, meter-base opening, or self-reconnects that are not done by an authorized PSE employee are tampering.
- Puget Sound Energy, Construction tips and FAQs
PSE disconnects service so the electrical contractor can work. Cost for disconnect and reconnect. Call 1-888-321-7779 at least five business days ahead.
- Washington L&I, Verify a contractor
Official Washington contractor-license lookup.