Federal Pacific panel replacement in Columbia

A Midlands carrier put Federal Pacific on the non-renewal list. Columbia still wants the electrical permit on the third floor of 1401 Main Street. Dominion Energy still owns the seal on the meter.

Planning and Development will not cut Dominion's seal. Dominion will not issue the city electrical permit. Those two systems do not match. A helper with a van cannot stand in for either one.

What Dominion Energy actually wrote

Start with the South Carolina Electric Service and Meter Installations Manual. The Company will make all final connections between the Company’s mains and the customer’s wiring and it will not permit unauthorized connections.

Tampering with meters or with conductors carrying unmetered current and unauthorized breaking of the utility’s seals is prohibited by law and will not be tolerated by the Company.

The Company may discontinue service if the meter, conductors, or seals have been tampered with.

South Carolina state law provides for fines of up to $10,000 and/or imprisonment up to 10 years for metering tampering or fraudulent use of electricity.

Where law requires inspection, the customer must have the wiring inspected and approved by an authorized electrical inspector. The installation has to be released for connection before Dominion can reconnect.

The Development Center issues the electrical permit. Dominion will not treat a cut seal as ordinary maintenance. Those two systems do not match.

Confirm the logo on the bill. Most Columbia, Forest Acres, and Shandon addresses are Dominion Energy. Some Lexington, Irmo, and Chapin addresses may be Mid-Carolina Electric Co-op.

Dominion does not publish a guaranteed power-off hour count. Fogle describes most Columbia swaps as four to six hours on job day. That is a contractor field note.

Permits inside Columbia and in the Midlands

Inside the city, start at Planning and Development, 1401 Main Street, 3rd Floor. Enter from Washington Street. Electrical files go through the Access Portal, or by email to DevelopmentCenter@columbiasc.gov. The Development Center phone is 803-545-3483. Permit questions go to 803-545-3420.

Who pulls the permit matters. The Electrical Permit Application asks for a company SC-LLR license number and a contractor signature. The city’s Homeowner Affidavit lets an owner-occupant act as builder on a one-family or two-family residence for their own use and occupancy. You must supervise the construction yourself. You may not hire an unlicensed person as your builder. Owning the home does not mean you should pull the permit and then hire someone under your name.

Rytec writes that homeowners cannot pull electrical permits for work over $250 in South Carolina. The city’s Homeowner Affidavit still exists. Those two systems do not match.

Unincorporated Richland County files in person at Building Permitting and Inspections. Online application is not available there. Owner/Builders file a Statement of Disclosure. The phone is 803-576-2140. Lexington County files at 212 South Lake Drive. Forest Acres, Cayce, West Columbia, and Irmo may use their own counters. A quote that only says “we handle the permit” should name the city on the address.

Price, without inventing one

Fogle’s Columbia Federal Pacific page publishes two job bands and does not hide the spread. A straight swap that keeps the same amperage is printed at $2,500 to $3,500. Pairing that swap with a 100-amp to 200-amp upgrade is printed at $3,500 to $5,500.

The same shop’s May 20, 2026 blog prints a typical Columbia FPE-to-modern-200A replacement at $1,800 to $3,500. Those two lines do not match. We will not average them.

Rytec’s insurance-flagged page prints a same-amperage Columbia swap at $1,800 to $3,500 and a 200-amp service upgrade at $2,500 to $6,500. Fogle’s swap band and Rytec’s swap band do not describe one number. Those two systems do not match. We are not inventing a Midlands midpoint from either shop.

South Carolina license lookup is public. Ask for the LLR number and check it before you sign. One shop advertises this work on their own site and prints a license number. Fogle’s Columbia Federal Pacific page names FPE Stab-Lok, Zinsco, Pushmatic, Challenger, and Bulldog and prints License #CLM111551. They write daily work across Forest Acres, Shandon, Lexington, and Cayce. They are listed for the panel letter, not as a Midlands directory.

Directory-only shops are omitted. A page that names these brands and does not print a South Carolina license 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 or county electrical permit, the passed final 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.