Federal Pacific panel replacement in St. Augustine

St. Augustine's $7,500 single-family permit exemption began July 1, 2026, and electrical work stays outside it whatever the job costs. FPL works differently. On a single-phase home under 320 amps, the customer can book the disconnect and reconnect appointments. Those two systems do not match.

Pure Energy's own panel page says its panel work is done under a St. Johns County permit. For the carrier, that permit has to close, and FPL's reconnect record goes with it if the meter came off.

What the utilities actually wrote

Confirm the logo on the bill before anyone prices the job. Everything quoted below comes from FPL.

Start with the Project Portal job aid. 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.

For a same-day reconnect, FPL needs the inspection in by 1 p.m. Eastern.

The Electric Service Standards add a contractor exception. 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 St. Augustine and in St. Johns County

City permits start at Planning and Building, 75 King Street, Lobby B, 4th Floor. The phone is (904) 825-1065.

Who pulls the permit matters. The city’s $7,500 single-family exemption, beginning July 1, 2026, still requires a permit for electrical work no matter the cost. Applications go through the Permit Portal.

The building code section the county quotes below lets an owner apply. When an electrician is doing the work, that electrician's EC number belongs on the application.

For a county permit, the Building Department is at 4040 Lewis Speedway. The county desk answers at (904) 827-6800. The county page quotes Florida Building Code 105.1. An owner or authorized agent who intends to replace an electrical system shall first make application to the building official. The same page wants contractors licensed and registered with St. Johns County to obtain a permit. Electrical contractors can file with the county online.

A quote that only says “we handle the permit” should name the city on the address.

Price, without inventing one

Pure Energy's St. Augustine panel page has no price on it. Both bands quoted here were written for homes in other Florida counties, Palm Coast in Flagler and Ocala in Marion. No one is pricing a St. Johns County house in them.

Stevenson's Palm Coast band runs $2,200 to $3,000 when an FPE, Zinsco, or Challenger panel comes out. Vetcon's buyer's guide for Ocala homes gives $2,400 to $4,500 for a 200-amp upgrade. Before the carrier sees any figure, get a St. Johns County shop to price your own panel on paper. Those two systems do not match. We will not average them. We are not inventing a King Street midpoint from either system.

Whatever EC number a bidder writes on the quote, the Florida DBPR license search will pull up the record behind it. Pure Energy’s panel page names Federal Pacific, Zinsco, and Challenger. LICENSE # EC13010169 is printed on its panel, home, and contact pages. In DBPR's electrical-contractor extract, that number belongs to Pure Energy Electrical Services LLC on Crescent Technical Court, Active until 08/31/2028. That match is the whole reason Pure Energy is named. The page does not rank St. Augustine electricians.

Directory-only shops are omitted. Some sites name these panels and print no EC number. None of them made the page. The listed shop is not affiliated with Panel Letter.

What to hand the carrier

The useful packet is the closed City of St. Augustine or St. Johns 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.