Electrical work still needs a Melbourne permit even when a cheap remodel does not. FPL still owns the seal. A Palm Bay shop names Federal Pacific and Zinsco on its own site and prints an EC number.
The city inspector will not own the FPL seal. FPL will not print the Strawbridge Avenue electrical permit. Those two systems do not match. A helper with a van cannot stand in for either one.
What the utilities actually wrote
Most Melbourne and Palm Bay bills are FPL. Confirm the logo on the bill before anyone prices the job.
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 services 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 so same-day reconnect is possible.
The Electric Service Standards add a second path. 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 stays intact, no FPL locking device is on the socket, and a reconnect appointment is already scheduled. That exception is not a homeowner meter-pull path.
FPL does not publish a guaranteed power-off hour count.
Permits in Melbourne and in Brevard County
Inside the city, start at Building Section, City Hall, 900 East Strawbridge Avenue. The phone is 321-608-7900.
Who pulls the permit matters. Electrical work still requires a permit regardless of value. The cheap-remodel exemption does not cover a panel swap. Owning the home does not mean you should pull the permit and then hire someone under your name.
Palm Bay and unincorporated Brevard County 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
Two Florida contractor pages publish panel bands and do not hide the split.
Stevenson’s Palm Coast page prints FPE, Zinsco, or Challenger replacement at $2,200 to $3,000. Vetcon’s Ocala blog prints a 200-amp upgrade at $2,400 to $4,500. Neither shop lists Brevard in its service area. Use the two bands to see what Florida shops charge elsewhere, and get a Melbourne quote in writing. Those two systems do not match. We will not average them. We are not inventing a Strawbridge Avenue midpoint from either system.
Florida license lookup is public. Ask for the EC number and check it before you sign. One shop advertises this work on their own site and prints a license number. South Brevard’s panel page names Federal Pacific and Zinsco replacements. The shop’s own site prints EC13002392. They write daily work from Palm Bay. They are listed for the panel letter, not as a Brevard County 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 shop is not affiliated with Panel Letter.
What to hand the carrier
The useful packet is the closed City of Melbourne, Palm Bay, or Brevard County 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.
Typical replacement cost
One Palm Coast shop and one Ocala shop publish Florida panel bands that do not match. We are not inventing a Strawbridge Avenue midpoint from them
$2,200 to $3,000
FPE, Zinsco, or Challenger replacement printed by a Palm Coast shop
Their Palm Coast panel-upgrade page. An Ocala shop prints a 200-amp upgrade at $2,400 to $4,500. Those two systems do not match. We will not average them. We are not inventing a Strawbridge Avenue midpoint from either system.
Source: Stevenson's Electric Service Co.$2,400 to $4,500
200-amp upgrade printed by an Ocala shop
Their Ocala Federal Pacific and Zinsco blog. This is not Stevenson’s $2,200 to $3,000 FPE line. Those two systems do not match. We will not average them.
Source: Vetcon Electricians
Permit
City of Melbourne Building Section
Who pulls it: The Building Section sits at City Hall, 900 East Strawbridge Avenue, Melbourne, FL 32901. The published phone is 321-608-7900. Plan-review questions go to BLDplanreview@mlbfl.org. Hours on the Building Section page are 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. weekdays. Palm Bay and unincorporated Brevard County are not the Strawbridge Avenue file.
The Building Section page is blunt. Electrical, plumbing, mechanical, gas, or structural work still requires a permit regardless of value. The HB 803 / F.S. 553.79 exemption does not cover electrical work. Florida Statute 489.103 still makes the owner-builder path an in-person file. A quote that only says we handle the permit should name Melbourne, Palm Bay, or Brevard County on the address. Florida electrical-contractor advertising is the EC number. Ask for the EC they will put on the Building Section file.
Utility coordination
FPL on most Melbourne and Palm Bay bills
Who disconnects: FPL’s Project Portal job aid is blunt. Only FPL is authorized to disconnect service conductors going to the home. 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 so same-day reconnect is possible. The Electric Service Standards add a second path. 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 stays intact, no FPL locking device is on the socket, and a reconnect appointment is already scheduled. That exception is not a homeowner meter-pull path.
Outage window: FPL does not publish a guaranteed power-off hour count for a residential panel swap.
Confirm the logo on the bill before anyone prices the job. Most Melbourne and Palm Bay addresses are FPL. A like-for-like panel swap still needs the city or county inspection and that FPL ticket. A service-size change is still the company’s disconnect and reconnect, not a helper cutting the seal.
What to hand the insurer
- Closed City of Melbourne, Palm Bay, or Brevard County electrical permit
- Passed electrical inspection
- FPL reconnect record if the job needed one
- Invoice showing the Florida EC number 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.
South Brevard Electric
Palm Bay, FL
Published license: EC13002392 (Florida DBPR Electrical Contractors Licensing Board)
Own Brevard panel-replacement page that names Federal Pacific and Zinsco replacements, backed by EC13002392 printed on the shop’s own site.
How this page was built
Compiled by Panel Letter on 2026-10-09 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.
- South Brevard Electric, Electrical panel replacement in Melbourne, Palm Bay and Brevard County
Names Federal Pacific Electric and Zinsco panel replacements. Phone 321-775-5741. PO Box 60118, Palm Bay, FL 32906.
- South Brevard Electric, Home
Names Federal Pacific Electric and Zinsco panel replacements. Prints licence # EC13002392.
- Stevenson's Electric, Electrical panel upgrades in Palm Coast
Prints FPE / Zinsco / Challenger replacement at $2,200 to $3,000. Cost source only here.
- Vetcon Electricians, The buyer’s guide to Federal Pacific Zinsco panels in Ocala homes
Prints a 200-amp upgrade at $2,400 to $4,500. Cost source only here.
- City of Melbourne, Building Section
City Hall, 900 East Strawbridge Avenue. Building Section 321-608-7900. BLDplanreview@mlbfl.org. Electrical work still requires a permit regardless of value.
- Brevard County, Residential electrical permit
Covers installation or replacement of electrical wiring, meter can, or breaker panel. 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera. Phone (321) 633-2187.
- FPL, Project Portal scheduling disconnect and reconnect appointments
Only FPL is authorized to disconnect service conductors going to the home. Meter-enclosure electrical work needs an inspecting-authority inspection before FPL re-energizes.
- FPL, Electric Service Standards
FPL normally performs both disconnect and reconnect. A licensed contractor may disconnect some overhead single-phase services of 300 amps or less only when FPL approves it and a reconnect appointment is already scheduled.
- Florida DBPR, License search
Official Florida contractor license lookup.