Jacksonville’s older river neighborhoods still have Federal Pacific and Zinsco load centers that four-point inspectors fail on sight. Avondale, Springfield, Riverside, and the blocks toward San Marco open those doors. Empire’s own FPE page names Stab-Lok breakers that stay closed during a fault. The insurance letter is usually written somewhere else. The work is governed by the Building Inspection Division inside Duval County and, on almost every Jacksonville bill, by JEA.
Those two systems do not match. The city issues the electrical permit. JEA will not put the service back until its own disconnect rules are followed. A helper with a van is not the person who can print that permit or book the meter pull.
What JEA actually wrote
Start with the 2026 Rules and Regulations for Electric Service. Section 1.14 is one sentence at a time. The customer must request a disconnect or removal through the JEA Customer Experience Center. Only JEA personnel will disconnect the service conductors and remove the meters and metering equipment. Customers are not allowed to remove their service-main facilities until all JEA work is complete. That is not a homeowner meter-pull path.
A like-for-like panel swap still needs that JEA ticket. A service-size change is the same ticket plus a capacity conversation with JEA. Confirm the logo on the bill before anyone prices the job. Some nearby Clay and St. Johns addresses are FPL or a co-op, not JEA.
JEA does not publish a guaranteed power-off hour count. Empire describes lining up the utility visit with the crew. That is a contractor field note.
Permits inside Jacksonville and in the nearby counties
Inside Duval County, start at the Building Inspection Division. The residential-permit page cites Florida Building Code section 105.1. You need a permit to install, alter, repair, or replace an electrical system. A licensed electrical contractor pulls the trade permit.
Who pulls the permit matters. Florida’s owner-builder path is real and narrow. The city’s page says a homeowner may obtain a building permit in their own name only on property for their own use and occupancy that is not for sale or lease. You have to appear in person at 214 N. Hogan Street, Room 280. You sign an Owner’s Affidavit. Improvements to an existing house also need proof of Homestead Exemption. Licensed electricians hired by that owner must obtain their own associated electrical permits. Owning the home does not mean you should pull the permit and then hire someone under your name.
St. Johns, Clay, and Nassau file at their own counters. Pure Energy’s panel page talks about St. Johns County permits even while listing Jacksonville in the service area. A quote that only says “we handle the permit” should name the city on the address.
Price, without inventing one
Empire’s 2026 Jacksonville reference guide publishes installed numbers and does not hide the spread. A typical panel upgrade is printed at $850 to $4,000, including materials and labor. The same page prints $1,949.87 as their area figure for a standard 200-amp job. Those are two lines from one shop. We will not average them. We will not invent a second contractor’s midpoint from Angi or HomeAdvisor copy that the same site also quotes.
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 number. Empire’s Federal Pacific page names Stab-Lok breakers, insurance and four-point language, and EC13004667. Pure Energy’s panel page names Federal Pacific, Zinsco, and Challenger, lists Jacksonville in the service area, and prints EC13010169. Pure Energy is based in St. Augustine. They are listed for the panel letter, not as a St. Johns County directory.
Directory-only shops are omitted. A page that names these brands and does not print an EC number is not a listing. Neither listed shop is affiliated with Panel Letter.
What to hand the carrier
The useful packet is the closed city or county electrical permit, the passed inspection JEA needs before reconnect, an invoice with the EC number that was on the permit, and photos if the letter asks. Florida four-point inspections are often what started the letter. 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 Jacksonville shop publishes a 2026 200-amp band; we do not invent a second midpoint
$850 to $4,000
Typical electrical panel upgrade in Jacksonville, including materials and labor
Their 2026 Jacksonville reference guide. Same page prints $1,949.87 as their area figure for a standard 200-amp upgrade. Complexity and amperage move the number. We quote the published range, not that single figure as a midpoint we invented.
Source: Empire Electric$1,949.87
Empire’s printed 2026 figure for a standard 200-amp upgrade in the area
Same 2026 guide. Printed as their average for a standard 200-amp job, not as a second shop’s band. We will not treat it as a citywide midpoint.
Source: Empire Electric
Permit
Who pulls it: The city’s residential-permit page says any owner, authorized agent, or contractor who wants to install, alter, repair, or replace an electrical system must first apply to the building official and obtain the required permit. A licensed electrical contractor pulls that trade permit. A homeowner may elect to obtain a building permit in their own name on property that is for their own use and occupancy and is not for sale or lease. The homeowner must appear in person at 214 N. Hogan St., Room 280, sign an Owner’s Affidavit, and bring proof of Homestead Exemption for improvements to an existing structure. Licensed contractors hired by that owner for electrical work must also obtain their own permits associated to the owner’s file. Starting work without a permit is listed as unlawful.
St. Johns County, Clay County, and Nassau County are different counters. A quote that only says we handle the permit should name the city on the address. Florida electrical-contractor licensing is DBPR. Ask for the EC number they will put on the Jacksonville (or county) permit.
Utility coordination
JEA for most Jacksonville and Duval County addresses; some nearby bills are FPL or a co-op
Who disconnects: JEA’s Rules and Regulations for Electric Service (2026), section 1.14, says the customer must request a disconnect or removal through the JEA Customer Experience Center. Only JEA personnel will perform the disconnection and removal of the service conductors and the removal of all meters and metering equipment. Customers are not allowed to remove their service-main facilities until all JEA work is complete. Company-owned meters are not for homeowners to pull.
Outage window: JEA does not publish a guaranteed power-off hour count for a residential panel swap. Empire describes synchronizing the utility visit with the crew so the house is not left dark overnight. That is a contractor field note, not a JEA SLA.
Confirm the logo on the bill. Almost all City of Jacksonville addresses are JEA. A like-for-like panel swap still needs the JEA disconnect and the city inspection before reconnect. A service-size change is a JEA coordination job as well as the Building Inspection Division permit.
What to hand the insurer
- Closed City of Jacksonville or suburban electrical permit
- Passed inspection / AHJ sign-off (the paper JEA needs before reconnect)
- Invoice showing the Florida electrical contractor license (EC)
- 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.
Empire Electric
Jacksonville, FL
Published license: EC13004667 (Florida DBPR)
Dedicated Federal Pacific panel-replacement page for Jacksonville that names Stab-Lok breakers, insurance and four-point inspection language, Zinsco as a separate hazard, and Florida State Certified Master Electrician License EC13004667.
Pure Energy Electrical Services
St. Augustine / Jacksonville, FL
Published license: EC13010169 (Florida DBPR)
Own-site panel page that names Federal Pacific, Zinsco, and Challenger replacements under permit, lists Jacksonville in the service area, and prints License #EC13010169.
How this page was built
Compiled by Panel Letter on 2026-09-09 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.
- Empire Electric, Federal Pacific panel replacement in Jacksonville
Dedicated FPE page. Names Stab-Lok, insurance and four-point language, and EC13004667 on the president bio.
- Empire Electric, Electrical panel replacements in Jacksonville, 2026 reference guide
$850 to $4,000 published range and $1,949.87 printed 200-amp figure. Names Federal Pacific, Zinsco, and Challenger.
- Empire Electric, Contact
Jacksonville shop address on Macy Avenue. Public shop email is on this page only.
- Pure Energy Electrical Services, Circuit breaker panels
FPE/Zinsco/Challenger advertising, Jacksonville in the service area, EC13010169.
- City of Jacksonville, Residential Permits
Building Inspection Division issues permits. Owner-builder path requires in-person affidavit and homestead proof. Licensed electrical contractors hired by an owner must pull their own associated permits.
- JEA, Rules and Regulations for Electric Service 2026
Section 1.14. Only JEA personnel disconnect service conductors and remove meters. Customers may not remove service-main facilities until JEA work is complete.
- Florida DBPR, Verify a Licensee
Official Florida electrical-contractor lookup.