Carmichael ramblers and Arden-Arcade apartments still carry Federal Pacific Stab-Lok and Zinsco panels that were ordinary when those streets were new. The insurance letter is usually about a closed permit. The work is governed by whichever city sits on the parcel and by SMUD’s meter-and-service calendar.
Those two systems do not match. Inside Sacramento city limits a panel changeout is a Community Development minor permit. SMUD’s published meter-and-service steps put a SMUD crew on the meter after the city inspects. Roseville Electric and PG&E pockets are not that paragraph.
What SMUD actually wrote
SMUD’s Meter and Service process is a sequence, not a DIY seal cut. You apply. The electrician installs the customer equipment. You ask the local building department to inspect the electrical panel. SMUD says local agencies typically notify the utility one business day after they approve. Then a SMUD service crew installs the new meter, connects or installs service wire, and energizes. SMUD says that crew work is typically done within seven business days of the meter-panel inspection approval.
The electric-service requirements say the same thing in contractor language: notify SMUD of planned changes in load or service (smud.org/projectapplication), the meter and service stay with SMUD, and SMUD cannot connect until the inspection authority approves the customer’s facilities.
That is not a homeowner meter pull. Peach describes power off for hours during the install. Under The Sun describes two to five business days of SMUD coordination. Treat those as contractor notes. The published SMUD number is the seven-business-day reconnect after inspection, not an hour count for the cutover.
Read the bill. Roseville Electric is a different logo.
Permits inside the city and in the county
The city’s Minor Permits page names main and sub service panels as residential electrical minor work. California licensed contractors can get those on the Public Permit Portal. Homeowners are listed for online re-roof, HVAC, and water-heater permits — not for electrical panels. The Electronic Plan Check chart lists an electrical panel changeout as a minor permit with no plans required.
A SMUD or PG&E Safety Inspection Request is a different record. The city says it does not authorize work. If that inspection fails because the electrical system is not up to code, you need a separate building permit before repairs.
Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Folsom, and unincorporated Sacramento County are not the city portal.
Price, without inventing one
Two Sacramento contractor pages publish installed 2026 bands. Under The Sun’s cost article says a 100A-to-200A upgrade is $1,800–$3,500, with a same-size 200A swap at $1,500–$2,800 and 200A-to-400A at $3,500–$6,500+. Peach’s panel-upgrade page widens Sacramento-area panel work from about $2,500 for a sub-panel to $10,000 for a full main-panel replacement, and says a 200-amp main usually lands in the upper half of that band. Those are two printed ranges, not an average. TNT’s FPE/Zinsco article does not print a dollar band.
California license lookup is public. TNT Electric Co. has a dedicated Sacramento Federal Pacific and Zinsco replacement page, prints CSLB #1099241 on the company homepage, and matched a current-and-active C-10 record in Citrus Heights. Their contact page prints tntelectric91@gmail.com. Peach prints #1105424 and Under The Sun prints #1141678, but those cost pages do not name Federal Pacific or Zinsco, so they are cost sources only. Grid Plus names Zinsco, Federal Pacific, Pushmatic, and fuse boxes on a panel-replacement page but does not print a license number there. Directory-only listings are omitted. TNT is not affiliated with Panel Letter.
What to hand the carrier
The useful packet is the closed city or county electrical permit, the passed inspection SMUD waits on, an invoice with the C-10 number on it, and photos if the letter asks. If your electrician produces a load calculation or a labeled panel schedule, send that too. We did not find a California carrier page that publishes a single statewide “sticker” form. Ask the agent what they will actually open.
Typical replacement cost
$1,800–$3,500 is the published Sacramento 100A-to-200A band on one 2026 contractor page
$1,800–$3,500
100-amp to 200-amp panel upgrade in Sacramento
Their 2026 Sacramento cost page. Same table lists a same-size 100A swap at $1,000–$1,800, a same-size 200A swap at $1,500–$2,800, and 200A-to-400A at $3,500–$6,500+. They also print City of Sacramento permit fees at $150–$625. Cost source only — they did not name Federal Pacific or Zinsco on that page.
Source: Under The Sun Electric$2,500–$10,000
Sacramento-area panel work from a sub-panel to a full main-panel replacement
Their panel-upgrade page. The FAQ says a 200-amp main-panel replacement usually lands in the upper half of that band. They print C-10
Source: Peach Electric
Permit
Who pulls it: The city’s Minor Permits page lists “Main and sub service panels” under residential electrical minor work. California licensed contractors can pull those minor permits on the Public Permit Portal; homeowners are not on the online list for electrical panel work (they are listed for re-roof, HVAC, and water-heater changeouts). The city’s Electronic Plan Check chart flags an electrical panel changeout as a minor permit with no plans required. A separate SMUD/PG&E Safety Inspection Request is not a work permit — if that inspection fails because the system is not up to code, the city says a separate building permit is required before repairs.
Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Folsom, Rancho Cordova, and unincorporated Sacramento County are different building departments. Roseville is a different city and, for many addresses, Roseville Electric rather than SMUD. A quote that only says “we handle the permit” should name the city on the address.
Utility coordination
Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) for most of the City of Sacramento and much of the county; PG&E or Roseville Electric on some edges
Who disconnects: SMUD’s Meter and Service process says you apply with SMUD, the electrician installs the customer equipment, you seek local-agency inspection of the electrical panel, and the local agency typically notifies SMUD one business day after approval. A SMUD service crew then installs the new meter, connects or installs service wire, and energizes. SMUD says that work is typically completed within seven business days of the meter-panel inspection approval. SMUD’s electric-service requirements also say customers must notify SMUD of planned changes in load or service, that the meter and service are SMUD’s, and that SMUD cannot connect until the inspection authority approves the customer’s facilities. Apply at smud.org/projectapplication for replacement, rewire, or upgrade work.
Outage window: SMUD publishes a reconnect window measured in business days after inspection approval (typically within seven), not a same-day hour count for the cutover. Under The Sun describes 2–5 business days of SMUD coordination and Peach describes power off for hours, not days — contractor language, not a SMUD SLA for the install window.
Confirm the logo on the bill. SMUD’s Design & Construction page splits “meter and service only” jobs from upgrades that need SMUD infrastructure. PG&E pockets and Roseville Electric are not this paragraph. A 100A-to-200A upgrade is a SMUD project application as well as a city permit.
What to hand the insurer
- Closed City of Sacramento or other AHJ electrical permit
- Passed inspection / AHJ sign-off (the notice SMUD waits on)
- Invoice showing the California C-10 license
- 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.
TNT Electric Co.
Citrus Heights, CA
Published license: C-10 #1099241 (CSLB)
Sacramento FPE Stab-Lok and Zinsco replacement guide aimed at insurance non-renewal, with CSLB
How this page was built
Compiled by Panel Letter on 2026-09-01 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.
- TNT Electric, Zinsco and Federal Pacific panel replacement in Sacramento
FPE/Zinsco insurance-driven replacement copy for Sacramento-area properties.
- TNT Electric, homepage
Prints CSLB #1099241.
- TNT Electric, contact
Public mailbox tntelectric91@gmail.com on the shop’s own site.
- CSLB, License 1099241
TNT Electric Co., C10 Electrical, current and active, Citrus Heights.
- Under The Sun Electric, Electrical panel upgrade cost in Sacramento
2026 $1,800–$3,500 100A-to-200A band and related table. Prints CA Lic. #1141678. Cost source only.
- Peach Electric, Electrical panel upgrades
$2,500–$10,000 Sacramento panel band and C-10 #1105424. Cost source only.
- CSLB, License 1105424
Peach Electric Inc., C10 Electrical, current and active (cost-source verification).
- CSLB, Check a License
Official California contractor lookup.
- City of Sacramento, Minor Permits
Main and sub service panels are residential electrical minor work; contractors pull them on the Public Permit Portal.
- City of Sacramento, Electronic Plan Check
Electrical panel changeout listed as minor permit, plans not required.
- City of Sacramento, SMUD and PG&E Safety Inspection Requests
Safety inspection is not a work permit; failed electrical systems need a separate building permit.
- SMUD, Meter and Service
Local agency inspects the panel; SMUD crew installs the meter and energizes, typically within seven business days of inspection approval.
- SMUD, Design and Construction Services
Meter-and-service-only vs infrastructure upgrade split; links to electric service requirements.
- SMUD, Electric service requirements (customer-owned poles / general)
Notify SMUD of load or service changes; apply at smud.org/projectapplication; meter and service are SMUD’s; no connect until the inspection authority approves.