Panel upgrade in Anaheim

Two offices, one job

The sequence in the box above has two inspections and two offices, which is where Anaheim jobs lose time. The permit and the building inspection sit with the city. The meter spot report and the meter shop inspection sit with the utility. Do not assume one office books the other’s visit. Ask the electrician to write down who requests each one and to tell you the date of both inspections before the old panel comes off, since the house has no power between the disconnect and the reconnect. The permit and inspection page and the utility coordination guide give the generic order.

Fees and incentives, handled carefully

The city’s fee amounts for a service upgrade should be confirmed with the Building Division by phone before you budget. The utility’s incentive for a panel upgrade has strings attached, covered in the questions below and in the rebate table. Compare the whole job against the typical SoCal range on the panel cost page, which is dated October 2026.

What is behind the wall

About four in ten Anaheim homes were built before 1970, and about two in three before 1980. The flatland tracts from that era often have undersized service and overhead drops. Older panels from the 1960s and 1970s sometimes carry brands with a poor record. Look at the label inside the door, and if it reads Zinsco or Federal Pacific, read the guide to those brands before the electrician quotes a simple swap. A newer Platinum Triangle condo or an Anaheim Hills home from the 1970s to 1990s is a different job, usually about added load, not age.

Streets with extra review

Inside the Colony and the three other historic districts, exterior changes can pick up design review. Moving a meter or adding a mast on the front of a bungalow is the kind of change to raise early. On the hillside, strong Santa Ana wind days are the reason APU keeps a shutoff procedure on file. The rest of the local picture is on the Anaheim city page.