The carrier circled Stab-Lok on a salt-side panel that has been in the same wall since the plantation-era addition. DPP still wants a licensed electrician on the permit. Hawaiian Electric still says the homeowner does not file the service request.
DPP will not pull a Hawaiian Electric meter. Hawaiian Electric will not print the HNL Build electrical permit. Those two systems do not match. A helper with a van cannot stand in for either one.
What Hawaiian Electric actually wrote
Start with the Customer Installation Division newsletter. Homeowners should not submit applications.
Licensed electricians should submit service request applications on behalf of homeowners.
The Trouble group can only reconnect the service if the equipment is installed exactly as it was. If codes, different equipment, or other improvements force a reconfiguration, that is a planned De-energize/Re-energize or Disconnect/Reconnect request. Hawaiian Electric tells contractors to submit that request about two months before the outage.
On Oahu the electrical service application also needs the DPP permit in the inspection phase and a clear E2 or E-Electrical Meter designation. Missing that screenshot gets the Hawaiian Electric application rejected.
Sparky & Sons writes that the HECO disconnect runs one to two weeks out. Hawaiian Electric’s own disconnect guidance for work that is not a one-for-one replacement is about two months. Those two systems do not match.
Hawaiian Electric does not publish a guaranteed power-off hour count.
Permits on Oahu
Start at the Department of Planning and Permitting. The FAQ is the hard line. All electrical and plumbing work must be performed by contractors licensed by the State of Hawaii per HRS Chapter 444 and 448E.
Who pulls the permit matters. Revised Ordinances of Honolulu section 18-3.1 requires a building permit for electrical work. The small-repair exception for licensed electrical contractors does not apply when the work involves service entrance equipment. HRS section 444-9.1 repeats the same specialty rule on the owner-builder disclosure. Electrical work still has to be done by a contractor licensed under chapters 448E and 444. Owning the home does not mean you should pull the permit and then hire someone under your name.
The electrical contractor requests inspection with the Building Division Electrical Code Inspection Section at least 48 hours ahead. Honolulu fax is 808-768-6007. Change-of-contractor paperwork is filed at 650 South King Street.
DPP’s FAQ also describes an Instant Online Permit for some single-family meter upgrades when the property has no warning and is not in a flood zone. A panel replacement that is not that narrow meter job is still the electrical permit.
Kailua, Kaneohe, Aiea, and Kapolei still file with the City and County. Neighbor-island addresses are not this DPP file.
Price, without inventing one
Knoles Electric’s 2026 Oahu cost guide publishes two job bands and does not hide the split. A same-amperage panel swap is printed at $2,500 to $4,500. A 100-amp to 200-amp heavy-up is printed at $4,500 to $7,500+. They say meter relocation and underground service are separate adders. Those two lines do not match. We will not average them. We are not inventing a harbor midpoint from either band.
Hawaii license lookup is public. Ask for the C- number and check it before you sign. One shop advertises this work on their own site and prints a license number. PRO Electrician Honolulu’s Federal Pacific page names Stab-Lok, Zinsco, and Pushmatic and prints C-36451 and EJ-11267. They write that they have upgraded panels in houses and in Waikiki condo buildings. They are listed for the panel letter, not as an Oahu directory.
Directory-only shops are omitted. A page that names these brands and does not print a Hawaii 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 and County electrical permit, the passed DPP 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 Oahu shop publishes two job bands. We are not inventing a harbor midpoint from them
$2,500 to $4,500
Same-amperage panel swap on Oahu, including a Zinsco or corroded panel that stays at the existing service size
Their 2026 Oahu cost guide. They say this band is for replacing a rusty or unsafe panel without adding capacity.
Source: Knoles Electric$4,500 to $7,500+
100-amp to 200-amp heavy-up on Oahu
Same 2026 guide. They say EV chargers, central AC, and ohana units push jobs into this band. Meter relocation and underground service are printed as separate adders. We will not average these two bands.
Source: Knoles Electric
Permit
City and County of Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting
Who pulls it: DPP’s published FAQ is blunt. All electrical and plumbing work must be performed by contractors licensed by the State of Hawaii per HRS Chapter 444 and 448E. Revised Ordinances of Honolulu section 18-3.1 requires a building permit for electrical work. The small-repair exception for licensed electrical contractors, valued at $2,500 or less in a 12-month period, does not apply when the work involves service entrance equipment. HRS section 444-9.1 repeats the same specialty rule on the owner-builder disclosure. Electrical or plumbing work must be performed by contractors licensed under chapters 448E and 444. The electrical contractor requests inspection with the Building Division Electrical Code Inspection Section at least 48 hours ahead. Honolulu fax is 808-768-6007. Change-of-contractor paperwork is filed at the Permit Issuance Branch, first floor of the Fasi Municipal Building, 650 South King Street. DPP’s FAQ also says single-family dwellings can use an Instant Online Permit for a meter upgrade if the property has no warning and is not in a flood zone. A panel replacement that is not that narrow meter job is still the electrical permit.
Kailua, Kaneohe, Aiea, and Kapolei still file with the City and County of Honolulu. Neighbor-island addresses are not this DPP file. Hawaii contractor licensing is DCCA. Ask for the C- number they will put on the HNL Build file.
Utility coordination
Hawaiian Electric on Oahu bills
Who disconnects: Hawaiian Electric’s Customer Installation Division newsletter is blunt. Homeowners should not submit applications. Licensed electricians should submit service request applications on behalf of homeowners. Disconnect and reconnect requests that are not a one-for-one replacement should be submitted about two months before the outage. The Trouble group can only reconnect the service if the equipment is installed exactly as it was. If codes, different equipment, or other improvements force a reconfiguration, the job is a planned De-energize/Re-energize or Disconnect/Reconnect request, not a same-day Trouble flip. Oahu applications also need the DPP permit in the inspection phase and a clear E2 or E-Electrical Meter designation, or Hawaiian Electric rejects the electrical service application. That is not a homeowner meter-pull path.
Outage window: Hawaiian Electric does not publish a guaranteed power-off hour count for a residential panel swap. It does tell contractors to file non-identical disconnect and reconnect work about two months ahead.
Confirm the logo on the bill before anyone prices the job. Oahu addresses are Hawaiian Electric. A like-for-like panel swap still needs the DPP inspection and the Hawaiian Electric ticket. A service-size change is still the utility’s planned disconnect and reconnect, not a helper cutting the seal. Sparky & Sons writes that the HECO disconnect runs one to two weeks out. Hawaiian Electric’s own disconnect guidance for work that is not a one-for-one replacement is about two months. Those two systems do not match.
What to hand the insurer
- Closed City and County of Honolulu electrical permit
- Passed DPP electrical inspection
- Invoice showing the Hawaii contractor or electrician license 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.
PRO Electrician Honolulu
Honolulu, HI
Published license: C-36451 / EJ-11267 (Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs)
Own Federal Pacific page that names Stab-Lok, Zinsco, and Pushmatic replacement and prints Licences C-36451 and EJ-11267.
How this page was built
Compiled by Panel Letter on 2026-09-24 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.
- PRO Electrician Honolulu, Are Federal Pacific breaker panels safe
Names Federal Pacific Stab-Lok, Zinsco, and Pushmatic. Says the shop has upgraded panels in houses and Waikiki condo buildings. Prints Licences C-36451 and EJ-11267.
- PRO Electrician Honolulu, Contact
Repeats C-36451 and EJ-11267. Phone 808-460-6336. Honolulu 96817.
- Knoles Electric, Cost to upgrade electrical panel Oahu (2026)
Prints $2,500 to $4,500 for a same-amp swap and $4,500 to $7,500+ for a 100A to 200A heavy-up. Names HECO coordination and DPP inspection.
- Knoles Electric, Main electric panel upgrades
Names Federal Pacific and Zinsco on older plantation homes. Describes HECO disconnect and reconnect as contractor-handled.
- City and County of Honolulu DPP, FAQ
All electrical and plumbing work must be performed by contractors licensed under HRS 444 and 448E. Electrical contractor files the inspection request 48 hours ahead. Instant Online Permit language is limited to certain single-family meter upgrades.
- Revised Ordinances of Honolulu, section 18-3.1
Building permit required for electrical work. Small licensed-contractor repair exception does not cover service entrance equipment.
- Hawaii Revised Statutes section 444-9.1
Owner-builder disclosure. Electrical or plumbing work must be performed by contractors licensed under chapters 448E and 444.
- Sparky & Sons, Panel replacement
Names Federal Pacific Stab-Lok and Zinsco. Writes that the HECO disconnect runs one to two weeks out. Does not print a license number on the fetched pages.
- Hawaiian Electric, Newsletter updates
Homeowners should not submit applications. Licensed electricians file service requests. Non-identical disconnect and reconnect work should be submitted about two months ahead. Oahu needs the DPP permit in inspection phase with E2 or E-Electrical Meter.
- Hawaiian Electric, Upgrade, modify, or install service
Customer Interconnection Tool for service upgrades, de-energize requests, and disconnect and reconnect of Hawaiian Electric facilities.
- Hawaii DCCA, Public license search
Official Hawaii contractor and electrician license lookup.