Federal Pacific panel replacement in Tuscaloosa

Alabama Power tells homeowners never to remove the meter. The letter still starts at Gary Fitts Street. Two Tuscaloosa shops name Federal Pacific on their own sites and print electrical license numbers.

The city inspector will not own the Alabama Power meter. Alabama Power will not print the Gary Fitts Street 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 Tuscaloosa and Northport bills are Alabama Power. Confirm the logo on the bill before anyone prices the job.

Start with the generator-safety brochure. Never attempt to remove your home’s electric meter.

The after-the-storm page adds a second rule. The meter box belongs to the customer, not Alabama Power. If the meter box is damaged, a licensed electrician has to make the repairs before Alabama Power is allowed to restore power. That is not a homeowner meter-pull path.

Alabama Power does not publish a guaranteed power-off hour count. Premier writes that in Tuscaloosa the utility has to disconnect and reconnect your power. The same page writes power is typically off 4 to 8 hours. Those are contractor field notes.

Permits in Tuscaloosa and in Northport

Inside the city, start at Building and Inspections, 2230 Gary Fitts Street. The phone is 205-248-5110.

Who pulls the permit matters. The city page says a permit is required when work adds, replaces, or relocates electrical systems that affect health and safety. Electrical service upgrades are listed as yes. Owning the home does not mean you should pull the permit and then hire someone under your name.

Northport and unincorporated Tuscaloosa 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 Tuscaloosa contractor pages publish panel bands and do not hide the split.

Premier’s page prints a 200-amp service upgrade at $2,500 to $5,000. Banks Quarles prints a 100-amp to 200-amp upgrade at $2,500 to $4,000. Both shops are in Tuscaloosa, so these are local numbers. They still disagree. Those two systems do not match. We will not average them. We are not inventing a Gary Fitts Street midpoint from either system.

Alabama license lookup is public. Ask for the board number and check it before you sign. Two shops advertise this work on their own sites and print a license number. Premier’s page names Federal Pacific and Zinsco. That site prints 29015. Banks Quarles names Federal Pacific, Zinsco, Pushmatic, and Challenger. That site prints 01728. They are listed for the panel letter, not as a West Alabama directory.

Directory-only shops are omitted. A page that names these brands and does not print an Alabama electrical license number is not a listing. The listed shops are not affiliated with Panel Letter.

What to hand the carrier

The useful packet is the closed City of Tuscaloosa, City of Northport, or Tuscaloosa 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.