Federal Pacific panel replacement in Olympia

Downtown Olympia still has 100-amp boxes from before heat pumps were a city talking point. The letter in your hand named Federal Pacific anyway.

The city inspector will not pull a PSE meter. Puget Sound Energy will not print the 4th 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 Olympia bills are Puget Sound Energy. Confirm the logo on the bill before anyone prices the job.

Start with PSE’s meter-tampering page. Meter tampering occurs when there is unauthorized removal of a meter, severing of a meter seal, opening of a meter base, altering an entrance cable in any manner, or self-reconnects that are not done by an authorized PSE employee or representative.

If a non-PSE employee tampers with a meter, disconnects, reconnects, moves, pulls, or de-energizes a PSE meter, they will be subject to full prosecution.

That is not a homeowner meter-pull path.

PSE’s construction FAQ is the work ticket. PSE will disconnect your service, so that your electrical contractor can safely do the work.

There is a cost for the disconnect/reconnect service.

Contact Customer Construction Services at 1-888-321-7779. Do that at least five business days before the work. Puget Sound Energy does not publish a guaranteed power-off hour count.

Permits in Olympia and in Thurston County

Inside Olympia, start at the Permit Center, second floor of City Hall, 601 4th Avenue E. The phone is 360-753-8314. Files go through the city’s online portal.

Who pulls the permit matters. The city’s permit handout wants an electrical permit for all electrical work except lamps, fixtures, or trim. That same handout lets the building owner or a licensed electrical contractor obtain it. Municipal Code 16.24 still wants the permit before an electrical system is altered, repaired, converted, or replaced. Contractors still need a Washington L&I electrical contractor license and a city business license. Owning the home does not mean you should pull the permit and then hire someone under your name.

Lacey, Tumwater, Yelm, and unincorporated Thurston County file at their own counters or at Washington L&I. A quote that only says “we handle the permit” should name the city on the address.

Price, without inventing one

Two Olympia contractor pages publish 200-amp bands and do not agree.

Shocking Difference’s June 29, 2026 cost post prints an Olympia panel upgrade at approximately $4,500 to $12,000. The same post writes that a power-company fee can run upwards of $675. That utility line is not the shop’s panel band.

Le Bros Construction’s Olympia page prints a 100-amp to 200-amp upgrade at $4,000 to $7,500, including permit, utility coordination, and inspection. Those two systems do not match. We will not average them. We are not inventing a South Capitol midpoint from either shop.

Washington L&I lookup is public. Ask for the electrical contractor registration and check it before you sign. One shop advertises this work on their own site and prints a license number. Blues Heating and Air’s Olympia panel-replacement page names Federal Pacific Stab-Lok, Zinsco, and split-bus panels. The shop’s own site prints Electrical Contractor license #BLUESHA751QO. They write daily work across Olympia, Lacey, and Tumwater. They are listed for the panel letter, not as a Thurston directory.

Directory-only shops are omitted. A page that names these brands and does not print a Washington contractor 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 Olympia, Thurston County, or Washington L&I 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.