Federal Pacific panel replacement in Fort Myers

The letter named Federal Pacific. Salt air is not the rule that closes the file. The city or Lee County still issues the electrical permit. FPL still owns the service conductors going to the house.

The city or Lee County issues the electrical permit. Book FPL’s disconnect and reconnect before anyone opens the meter enclosure. Those two systems do not match. A helper with a van cannot print that permit or book that FPL appointment.

What FPL actually wrote

Start with the Project Portal job aid. Only FPL is authorized to disconnect service conductors going to the home.

Customers can self-schedule a residential disconnect and reconnect for single-phase service at or under 320 amps.

All electrical work involving a meter enclosure requires an electrical inspection by the inspecting authority before FPL re-energizes the service.

Inspections must be submitted to FPL by 1 p.m. Eastern if you want same-day reconnect.

The Electric Service Standards repeat the order. When a service change requires disconnection of FPL’s service, the customer shall request a disconnect and reconnect and establish an advance appointment. FPL normally performs both the disconnect and the reconnect.

A licensed and qualified electrical contractor may disconnect an overhead single-phase service of 300 amps or less only when FPL approves it. The attachment point has to stay intact. No FPL locking device can be on the socket. The reconnect appointment has to already exist. That exception is not a homeowner meter-pull path.

Confirm the logo on the bill. Most Fort Myers and Cape Coral addresses are FPL.

FPL does not publish a guaranteed power-off hour count. Coharbor describes most panel replacements as a single day, with a window where the power is out. That is a contractor field note.

Permits inside Fort Myers and in Lee County

Inside the city, start at Building, Permitting and Inspections, 1825 Hendry Street. Apply through EnerGov. Phone is 239-321-7925.

Who pulls the permit matters. The city’s electrical-trade checklist is blunt. The permit must be pulled by a properly licensed contractor or an owner-builder. If the owner is acting as contractor, Florida Statute 489.103(7) requires the owner to personally appear to sign the application. The same BPI page tells you to require that the contractor pull the permit in his name, not yours. Owning the home does not mean you should pull the permit and then hire someone under your name.

Unincorporated Lee County files at the county. An electric trade permit is required when service is changed. The Service Change inspection is scheduled for the day the power company disconnects. If that inspection is approved, the Lee County Inspections Office contacts the power company for reconnection.

Cape Coral, Bonita Springs, Estero, and Sanibel file at their own counters. A quote that only says “we handle the permit” should name the city on the address.

Price, without inventing one

Coharbor’s Fort Myers FAQ publishes an installed band and does not hide the spread. A full panel upgrade is printed at $2,500 to $4,500, depending on size, location, wiring, and permitting.

That is one shop’s table. We are not inventing a Lee County midpoint from it.

Florida license lookup is public. Ask for the EC number and check it on DBPR before you sign. Two shops advertise this work on their own sites and print a license number. Coharbor’s panels page names Federal Pacific and Zinsco and prints EC13012422. Franco’s panel-replacement page names Federal Pacific Electric, Zinsco, and Challenger and prints EC13004451. They write daily work across Fort Myers, Cape Coral, and Estero. They are listed for the panel letter, not as a Southwest Florida directory.

Directory-only shops are omitted. A page that names these brands and does not print a Florida EC 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 or county electrical permit, the passed Service Change or final inspection, an invoice with the EC 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.