Federal Pacific panel replacement in Bend

The carrier circled Federal Pacific on a Deschutes ranch that still has the 100-amp box from the last time the street got power. Building Safety still wants the electrical permit. The logo on the bill is Pacific Power or Central Electric Cooperative.

The city inspector will not pull a Pacific Power or CEC meter. Those utilities will not print the Wall 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

Central Oregon is not one utility. Confirm the logo on the bill before anyone prices the job.

If the bill says Pacific Power, start with the Electric Service Requirements. All physical disconnects shall be done by Power Company personnel.

Customers or their agents shall not physically disconnect their service.

Oregon Rule 6 is just as blunt on the seal. The Consumer shall not break the Company’s seal or seals.

If the bill says Central Electric Cooperative, that is a different company. Only qualified CEC personnel are allowed to de-energize and re-energize the service.

CEC will not reconnect until an inspection and approval are green tagged. Tampering with equipment may result in a $200 meter tampering fee charged to the member. CEC’s wiring specifications prohibit breaking Cooperative seals by unauthorized persons, or tampering with meters, or with any wiring equipment ahead of the meter. Engineering questions go to 541-312-7778 or esr@cec.coop.

Alker Family Electric names Pacific Power for service upgrades. CEC’s own pages cover other Deschutes bills. Those two systems do not match.

Neither utility publishes a guaranteed power-off hour count. Alker describes 4 to 8 hours of power-off on a like-for-like swap. That is a contractor field note.

Permits in Bend and in Deschutes County

Inside Bend, start at Building Safety, 710 NW Wall Street. The Permit Center is 541-388-5580. Files go through the Online Permit Center.

Who pulls the permit matters. The city’s electrical-permit handout wants a permit before a service or feeder is installed, altered, or relocated. A reconnection permit is required if the power company already cut the service. If the property is for sale, rent, lease, or exchange, only an electrical contractor may do the installations under ORS 479.540(1). Owning the home does not mean you should pull the permit and then hire someone under your name.

Redmond, Sisters, La Pine, and unincorporated Deschutes County file at their own counters. A quote that only says “we handle the permit” should name the city or county on the address.

Price, without inventing one

One Central Oregon contractor page publishes a 200-amp floor and does not hide the caveats.

Manzanita Electric’s Bend homepage prints a 200-amp panel upgrade from $4,500. Subpanel installation is printed from $1,700. They say the number moves with existing wiring, panel location, permits, and utility coordination. We will not average them. We are not inventing a Deschutes midpoint from this floor.

Oregon CCB lookup is public. Ask for the CCB number and check it before you sign. One shop advertises this work on their own site and prints a license number. Alker Family Electric’s panel-replacement page names Federal Pacific Stab-Lok and Zinsco and prints Oregon CCB #242826 plus Supervisor License C173S. They write daily work across Bend and Central Oregon. They are listed for the panel letter, not as a Deschutes directory.

Directory-only shops are omitted. A page that names these brands and does not print an Oregon CCB number is not a listing. The listed shop is not affiliated with Panel Letter.

What to hand the carrier

The useful packet is the closed City of Bend or Deschutes County 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.