Carlsbad tracts and Fallbrook ranch houses still carry Federal Pacific Stab-Lok and Zinsco equipment that was ordinary in the 1960s and 1970s. The insurance letter is usually about a closed permit, not a same-week emergency. The work is governed by whichever city sits on the parcel and by SDG&E’s rewire calendar.
Those two systems do not match. Inside the City of San Diego, Development Services issues the electrical permit. Oceanside, Vista, and the county are different counters. SDG&E’s published rewire sheet is a crew disconnect, not a helper pulling a seal.
What SDG&E actually wrote
The August 2026 Electric Rewire fact sheet splits the job into same-location versus relocated panels. If the meter stays put, you (or the electrician) apply at sdge.com/apply-service, get a work order with an approved meter location, pull the city or county electrical permit, then ask the SDG&E Project Manager to send a crew to disconnect the meter and service. Book the AHJ inspection for that same day. SDG&E arrives in the morning. The city or county has to inspect the new metering equipment and internal wiring and notify SDG&E by 2:00 p.m. so a crew can reconnect. The sheet says you schedule disconnect and reconnect on the same day.
If the panel moves, you install at the approved new location first. The city or county inspects and notifies SDG&E within two business days. Then an SDG&E crew disconnects the old location and reconnects the new one.
That is not a homeowner meter pull. RCH’s North County page describes four to six hours without power. Wheyland describes six to eight. Those are contractor notes. SDG&E did not publish an hour SLA.
Permits inside the city and in the rest of the county
The city’s electrical-permit page forbids installing or replacing wiring, devices, or equipment without a permit, with a short exemption list (same-size breaker swaps, lamps, low-voltage, and similar). Some meter resets and added circuits on non-historic one- and two-family properties can use a Simple “No-Plan” record. A panel upgrade that does not fit that list, or work on a historic or potentially historic property, is a plan-required electrical permit. The plan-permit page says that permit can only be issued to a California contractor licensed for electrical installations, or to the owner or lessee.
Information Bulletin 103 is the fee bulletin. Confirm the current path on the Development Services site — we are summarizing their public pages, not issuing a permit.
Carlsbad, Oceanside, Encinitas, and the County of San Diego are not the City of San Diego portal.
Price, without inventing one
Two North County contractor pages publish installed bands. RCH’s electrical page says a 100A-to-200A service upgrade, insurance-compliance swap, or remodel panel is from $5,500, a detached-garage subpanel is from $2,500, and a SPAN 200A smart panel is from $8,000. Landers’ panel-upgrade article prices overhead service at $3,500–$5,500 and underground at $7,000–$20,000. Those are three printed bands, not an average. Wheyland lists pricing factors and does not print a dollar range on that page.
California license lookup is public. Three shops advertise this job on their own sites, print a license, and matched current-and-active C-10 records on cslb.ca.gov: RCH #1108682 (Raster Electric LLC dba RCH Renewables, Fallbrook), Wheyland #940291 (Carlsbad), and Landers #1089091 (Landers Electrical Contracting Inc., Bonsall). Each of those three also prints a public shop mailbox on its own site. Directory-only listings and shops that name Zinsco without a license number are omitted. None of the listed shops is affiliated with Panel Letter.
What to hand the carrier
The useful packet is the closed city or county electrical permit, the passed inspection, an invoice with the C-10 number on it, and photos if the letter asks. On a same-location SDG&E rewire, the 2:00 p.m. inspection notice is part of how the lights come back on — keep that paperwork. 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
From $5,500 is the published North County 100A-to-200A floor on one contractor page
From $5,500
Service upgrade 100A to 200A in North County San Diego
Their electrical page prices a 100A-to-200A service upgrade, insurance-compliance swaps, and remodel work “from $5,500,” a detached-garage subpanel “from $2,500,” and a SPAN 200A smart panel “from $8,000.” They call these estimates for North County, not a citywide bid.
Source: RCH Renewables$3,500–$5,500
Overhead-service panel upgrade in San Diego County
Their panel-upgrade page prices overhead work at $3,500–$5,500 and underground-fed work at $7,000–$20,000. Printed as two separate bands on purpose.
Source: Landers Electric$7,000–$20,000
Underground-service panel upgrade in San Diego County
Same page as the overhead band. Underground is not a typo for the $3,500 line.
Source: Landers Electric
Permit
Who pulls it: The city’s electrical-permit page says no wiring, device, or equipment shall be installed or replaced unless an electrical permit has been obtained, except for listed exemptions. A Simple “No-Plan” permit covers some meter resets, added circuits, and miscellaneous wiring on non-historic properties. Work that does not qualify, or work on designated or potentially designated historic properties, needs a plan (required) electrical permit. That plan permit “can only be issued to a licensed California State Contractor authorized to perform electrical installations or to the property owner or lessee.” Information Bulletin 103 is the city’s fee and scope bulletin for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing permits.
Oceanside, Vista, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Escondido, San Marcos, and unincorporated county each have their own building department. A North County crew quoting “we pull the permit” should name the city on the address. California licensing is CSLB C-10 for this work.
Utility coordination
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E)
Who disconnects: SDG&E’s August 2026 Electric Rewire fact sheet is a utility-scheduled meter disconnect, not a contractor meter pull. For a same-location upgrade, the customer or electrician contacts the SDG&E Project Manager to schedule an SDG&E crew to disconnect the meter and service, then books the city or county inspection for that same day. The SDG&E crew disconnects in the morning. The city or county inspects the new metering equipment and internal wiring and must notify SDG&E of completion by 2:00 p.m. the same day so an SDG&E crew can reconnect. Moving the panel to a new location is a different sequence — install first, city/county inspects, SDG&E is notified within two business days, then an SDG&E crew disconnects the old location and reconnects the new one.
Outage window: SDG&E’s same-location rewire sheet says the disconnect and reconnect are scheduled on the same day. It does not publish a guaranteed hour count. RCH describes 4–6 hours without power during cutover; Wheyland describes 6–8 hours for most residential swaps — contractor field notes, not an SDG&E SLA.
Apply for the SDG&E service request at sdge.com/apply-service. The fact sheet tells you to confirm the city permit number matches the SDG&E work order and address. Coronado, Chula Vista, and the rest of the county are still SDG&E in most cases, but the permit office is not.
What to hand the insurer
- Closed City of San Diego or other AHJ electrical permit
- Passed inspection / AHJ sign-off (the 2:00 p.m. same-day notice to SDG&E on a same-location rewire)
- 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.
RCH Renewables
Fallbrook / North County, CA
Published license: C-10 #1108682 (CSLB)
North County electrical page that names Federal Pacific Stab-Lok and Zinsco replacements, insurance non-renewal, and prints C-10
Wheyland Electric
Carlsbad, CA
Published license: C-10 #940291 (CSLB)
San Diego County panel-upgrade page that names Federal Pacific, Zinsco, and Pushmatic as fire-risk panels insurers flag, and prints CA License
Landers Electric
Bonsall / Oceanside, CA
Published license: C-10 #1089091 (CSLB)
San Diego County panel-upgrade page that names Zinsco and Federal Pacific breaker-box replacements and prints CSLB License
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.
- RCH Renewables, Electrical panel upgrades
FPE/Zinsco insurance language, C-10 #1108682, from-$5,500 / $2,500 / $8,000 bands, public mailbox INFO@rchrenewables.com.
- CSLB, License 1108682
Raster Electric LLC dba RCH Renewables, C10 Electrical, current and active, Fallbrook.
- Wheyland Electric, Electrical panel upgrades
FPE/Zinsco/Pushmatic insurance language and CA License #940291.
- Wheyland Electric, Terms
Public mailbox info@wheylandelectric.com on the shop’s own site.
- CSLB, License 940291
Wheyland Electric, C10 Electrical, current and active, Carlsbad.
- Landers Electric, Electrical panel upgrade
Zinsco/FPE replacement copy, $3,500–$5,500 overhead and $7,000–$20,000 underground, CSLB #1089091. Footer mailbox info@landerselectric.net.
- CSLB, License 1089091
Landers Electrical Contracting Inc. dba Landers Electric, C10 Electrical, current and active, Bonsall.
- CSLB, Check a License
Official California contractor lookup.
- City of San Diego, Electrical Permit
Permit required except listed exemptions; Simple No-Plan vs plan-required paths.
- City of San Diego, Plan (required) Electrical Permit
Issued only to a CA contractor licensed for electrical work, or the owner/lessee.
- SDG&E, Electric rewire overhead and underground (August 2026)
SDG&E crew disconnects meter/service; same-day city inspection by 2 p.m.; SDG&E reconnects.
- SDG&E, Apply for service
Online service-request application named on the rewire fact sheet.