Federal Pacific panel replacement in Gainesville

The letter names Federal Pacific. The Building Division still wants its own file at the Thomas Center. 352 Electric’s own Gainesville guide says Zinsco, Federal Pacific, and some older Pushmatic panels should be replaced regardless of age. Its homepage prints the shop’s Florida EC number.

In Gainesville the seal and the permit answer to different rules. Chapter 27 governs the seal, and the Building Division issues the permit. Those two systems do not match. City code puts that notice on the electrician doing the work, so ask your quote to say who will give it.

What the utilities actually wrote

Check whether the bill says GRU. Confirm the logo on the bill before anyone prices the job.

Start with Chapter 27 of the city code. When it is necessary to break a meter or meter-pan seal, the electrician performing such work shall notify the designated city official.

A service fee is charged to the electrician when that notice is not provided.

Where a meter-pan seal is discovered broken, the meter shall be inspected. The customer is then advised in writing that it is unlawful to break a meter-pan seal without notifying the appropriate city official. That is not a homeowner meter-pull path.

GRU’s storm page adds the restore sequence. An inspection to certify the repairs is required before GRU can restore power.

GRU does not publish a guaranteed power-off hour count. The listed shop writes that a standard residential panel upgrade typically takes one full day. That is a contractor field note.

If the bill names a company other than GRU, call that company before the work is booked.

Permits in Gainesville and in Alachua County

Inside the city, start at the Building Division, Thomas Center Building B, 306 NE 6th Avenue. The phone is 352-334-5050.

Who pulls the permit matters. Applications go through PermitGNV, by email, by mail, or in person. An owner who applies online must still appear in person to sign the application and owner affidavits. When an electrician does the job, their EC number goes on the PermitGNV application, not your owner affidavit.

Unincorporated Alachua County files at 10 SW 2nd Avenue. County E-Permits and that inspection desk do not use this page’s city of Gainesville rules. A quote that only says “we handle the permit” should name the city on the address.

Price, without inventing one

352 Electric prints no dollar figure, so neither band below comes from an Alachua County shop.

Out in the Panhandle, Advantage puts Federal Pacific or Zinsco replacement at $2,000 to $4,500 on its Destin panel page. On the Atlantic side, Stevenson’s lists FPE, Zinsco, or Challenger at $2,200 to $3,000 for Palm Coast. Both pages were written for other Florida markets, so read them as statewide reference, not a Gainesville quote. Those two systems do not match. We will not average them. We are not inventing a Sixth Avenue midpoint from either system.

Type the EC number from your Gainesville quote into the DBPR search and match the business name before you sign. 352 Electric’s guide names Zinsco, Federal Pacific, and Pushmatic. The shop’s own site prints License #EC13006528. The homepage lists Archer, Newberry, and Alachua beside Gainesville. This page names one shop because it passed the license check, not because it is the only choice in town.

Directory-only shops are omitted. Shops that name these panels without printing an EC number were left off. The listed shop is not affiliated with Panel Letter.

What to hand the carrier

The useful packet is the closed City of Gainesville 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.