Running electric from the meter

[the fishkiller]

I have been lurking for several months now, and since i just closed on my future homestead last friday, i have many questions.

I am having electric installed on the property, which is now just an unused alfalfa field. Since i want to have as small as an easement as neccessary, i was thinking of placing the meter very close to the edge of the property where the main electrical line comes in. This would minimize a ten foot easement on either side of the line and make it possible to read my meter without having to set foot on MY property.

My question is how far away can the meter be placed from the house without it causing problems? The only problem i can think of is that it will lose power the farther from the house, but i have no electrical knowledge. Is there any other concerns i need to be aware of? I am thinking that i would like to have the meter about 200 feet from my house and just about 5 feet from the property line. Thank you.

[Jim S.]

200 feet is fine. Run your supply line underground in 3" PVC conduit from the pole to your house, and you'll never have a problem with that segment again. You can actually run much farther than that, you just increase the size of the wires. Be sure you get a permit and get it inspected before you cover the trench.

Also, you might want to check with your utility. Many utilities are installing remote-read meters now, so the guy can basically pull up on the road, aim a scanner at your place, and read your meter. No matter where it is located.

On the other hand, the advantage to running your own underground from a pole near the edge of your place is that you can DIY or have it done cheaper than the electric company can do it for you. I did my shop feed that way. It would have been much higher to have the utility do it.

[Michael W. Smith]

The biggest problem I see is the electric company installs the wires up to the meter. They pay for it, etc. And if there is a problem - it's THEIR problem, not yours.

I really don't think they will let you put the meter on the edge of your property and run a wire to where you need it. Besides, I really don't think you want to be responsible for the wire and care of it anyway.

[hunter63]

Depending on where you are and local codes, and the electric supplier will most likely dictate what it is that you can do.
I would first get in contact with them and discuss it.
They will tell what they will do and you can go from there.
When I first inquired about power, I was told that they wouldn't connect you up until I had a building, driveway, permits, well etc.,etc.,etc.

I ask them how the place down the road had a pole and power to it, meter and plug in.
They said, "Oh thats a seasonal hook up, and you need to make a desposit and pay the 1-st years bill in advance".
So I said go ahead, I had power.

It seems that there is the way they tell you and then there is the "other way", a lot depending on who you are.

[Jim S.]

Originally Posted by hunter63

It seems that there is the way they tell you and then there is the "other way", a lot depending on who you are.

You got that right!

Here, they'll be happy to install it for you on your land, but they are going to charge you for the privilege.

Great advice to ask them first. Also, talk with the inspector first. Ask him exactly how he wants it done and what he wants to see when he inspects. Then make it so. Saves a lot of money. BE SURE to ask wheter the portion of the PVC above ground should be SCH. 80 or SCH. 40. Some allow the thinner conduit aboveground; some don't.

In my case, doing it myself I could go underground with 2" plastic conduit. But if the utility did it, it would have had to be 3" cuz that's the smallest they use. Just one example.

[uncle Will in In.]

I'm on a rural electric coop. They read my meter from 18 miles away in their office. We used to have a meter reader come around and carry our little dog around while he tried to get her to eat one of those little hard cookies shaped like a bone. She loved the guy but would go bury the treat as soon as he left. When your provider gets up to date, you won't have a meter reader.

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

Stand by for SERIOUS STICKER SHOCK when you go to buy the gauge wire necessary for 4 runs of wire (2 hots, 1 neutral and 1 ground) from your meter to your house. Good buddy is a master electrician and he and I were talking about a job of his the other day. He was running a service about 250 feet and the cost of the wire, etc at his cost was OVER $5K.

I would have the electric company get the meter as close to where I am building as possible. My rural electric coop had a certain distance they wold run the wire and install the poles. I had them run enough power for 3 ea 200 amp services of which I have used 2 to date. Cost was the same to me for 1, 2, or 3 so I chose 3.

[hunter63]

Our Co-Op will give you, (or use to) 100 ft of the road, I bought the pole.

[fishhead]

It isn't necessary to have a meter reader come on the property anymore It can be read from the electric suppliers facility. One of our local entrepenaurs invented a "turtle" that sends the reading back via the electric line to the supplier so it isn't necessay to send a reader to drive around the countryside reading meters.

Our co-op provides wire for free up to a certain distance from the main line. I would take advantage of that for several reasons.

[BTO]

Originally Posted by the fishkiller

I have been lurking for several months now, and since i just closed on my future homestead last friday, i have many questions.

I am having electric installed on the property, which is now just an unused alfalfa field. Since i want to have as small as an easement as neccessary, i was thinking of placing the meter very close to the edge of the property where the main electrical line comes in. This would minimize a ten foot easement on either side of the line and make it possible to read my meter without having to set foot on MY property.

My question is how far away can the meter be placed from the house without it causing problems? The only problem i can think of is that it will lose power the farther from the house, but i have no electrical knowledge. Is there any other concerns i need to be aware of? I am thinking that i would like to have the meter about 200 feet from my house and just about 5 feet from the property line. Thank you.

Many meters aren't actually read anymore the way they used to be. They can be read over the power lines now. Mine is one.

[BTO]

Originally Posted by fishhead

It isn't necessary to have a meter reader come on the property anymore It can be read from the electric suppliers facility. One of our local entrepenaurs invented a "turtle" that sends the reading back via the electric line to the supplier so it isn't necessay to send a reader to drive around the countryside reading meters.

Our co-op provides wire for free up to a certain distance from the main line. I would take advantage of that for several reasons.

I should read all posts before I respond, sorry.

Originally Posted by Jim S.

You got that right!

Here, they'll be happy to install it for you on your land, but they are going to charge you for the privilege.

Great advice to ask them first. Also, talk with the inspector first. Ask him exactly how he wants it done and what he wants to see when he inspects. Then make it so. Saves a lot of money. BE SURE to ask wheter the portion of the PVC above ground should be SCH. 80 or SCH. 40. Some allow the thinner conduit aboveground; some don't.

In my case, doing it myself I could go underground with 2" plastic conduit. But if the utility did it, it would have had to be 3" cuz that's the smallest they use. Just one example.

National Electrical Code now is that it has to be Rigid Metal conduit from the meter entering the ground with a Rigid metal 90 degree ell and then it can be converted to Schedule 40 PVC the rest of the way to the house.

Lately I've been giving $2.47 per foot of 200 amp URD cable and $5.16 per 10 foot joint of Schedule 40 PVC conduit. The Rigid conduit with a 90 degree elbow wil run you about $40 bucks. Another $10 - 15 for fittings. Plus Tax!

If you do it yourself that should give you an ideal of about how much the material will cost. However, if you don't have much experience in electrical, please have a professional do it for you.

[Rowdy]

It really just depends on where you are at. My coop will do above ground up to about 1200 ft for free for new installs. I had them put the meter up on the road, then I ran underground into the property myself, putting a dogleg in the run so that I could keep the house hidden.
That was about three years ago, and the cost of the wire for about 200-250ft was just under $1000 for just the wire. After I rented the backhoe for about $200, bought the meterbase and the two subpanels I put in, I spent some money! I did put in the waterline the same day, since I had the hoe there though.

The main reason I did the underground myself instead of having them run it overhead was to keep the house hidden from the road, and to keep from giving the coop right of way over the entire place. Sometimes I wish I would have had them put the line in 1200 feet though.

[rambler]

(rhinokla, never heard of the metal conduit and so forth being required. Was that put in place in the last 2 years?)



The longer a run of electric wire after the meter, the larger the wires need to be. It becomes pretty expensive at 300 feet, and really staggering at 500 feet. Remember your house may not be the end of the line, you will need a well & perhaps a shop or barn, you need to figure from the meter to wherever those will be for total length of wire.

There are always line losses. On your side of the meter, you will be paying for that electricity that is 'lost' as heat basically. Not a staggering amount, but over 20 years it will amount to something.

Should you sell the property some day, that meter so far from the place could be a negative. Will you be running a 100 amp service to your house from the meter (cheaper) or a full 200 service (much bigger wires at that distance)? Add a shop with a welder & fun tools in a few years & the 100 amp might not be enough, will have to redo your own wiring.

Your local power company will hold all the cards, they callt he shots on what they do or don't do. Mine will run overhead wires in for free to the meter wherever I want the meter; or will charge 50 cents a foot to run them in underground. _Far_ cheaper than any type of wire I could run myself - would be real difficult to pass up their deal & put the meter centrally located on the building site! Sounds like other utilities go the other way, & gouge the heck out of customers to run the service wire to the meter.

Just some random thoughts to sleep on, which I think you are looking for? Not telling you what to do.

I had my farm, 11 buildings, rewired from 1950's overhead wiring to all underground, so kinda dealt with these issues not too long ago. From the meter in the midle of the yard, I have 3 runs of wire to all the buildings, 80 feet to house, 300 feet to 6 buildings, and 400 feet to 4 buildings. Mostly 200 amp wire all the way. The long runs the wire (not counting insulation) is as thick as a finger. Not cheap.

--->Paul

[Windy in Kansas]

While I didn't proceed with an installation several years ago I did inquire as to buried service line.

My local rural supplier would provide 1,000 of cable for burying but I had to supply the trench. The building site I had chosen was about 1,100 feet from the roadway and I really didn't want a transformer or whatever setting in my front yard.

I didn't discuss details of a contract but it was tied into several years of service in order to have the 1,000 foot line bury gratis.

My main objections were allowing a meter reader onto my property. So glad to learn that that is no longer the case.

As to restricting the size of easement I don't think the size of easement will be stated, but instead will allow the company full access to their lines as needed.

[buffalocreek]

I never heard of reading a meter through the line. My rural co-op power company here in Nebraska must still be operating in the dark ages. They have their customers read their meters and figure the charge every month. They send each customer a monthly form to fill out, then customers mail it back with payment. Must be costly to do this.

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

When installing electrical services "bite the bullet" and install 200 amp services - you will need them eventually and since the wire is larger for 200 amp, you won't be able to use the smaller 100 amp sized wire. The labor of pulling new wire to upgrade the service is nuts.

I tend to over build anyway - that makes me ready for whatever I might need in the future with no additional expense or at least my expense is lessened. Remember with electricity - bigger wire is always better.

[Rowdy]

Originally Posted by YuccaFlatsRanch

When installing electrical services "bite the bullet" and install 200 amp services - you will need them eventually and since the wire is larger for 200 amp, you won't be able to use the smaller 100 amp sized wire. The labor of pulling new wire to upgrade the service is nuts.

I tend to over build anyway - that makes me ready for whatever I might need in the future with no additional expense or at least my expense is lessened. Remember with electricity - bigger wire is always better.

Yes, for a new home, esp with possibly a barn or shop or anything else in the futute I would not consider anything under 200A... Though it is more money up front.

[Beeman]

Here's how it works here, your electric experience may differ.

First they send an engineer out to show you what to do. I've never heard of metal conduit being used and I've just spoken to them about running mine underground and have the engineers specs here. You then dig the trench and put in the conduit,wire,meter base, etc. You them call them BEFORE covering everything and they either say yay or nay. They will then hook up the power to the meter base and install a meter. Everything past the meter base is yours. Here they still come out to read the meter, maybe not where you are.
People said install a 200 amp meter base, if you plan at all on powering another building put in a 400amp and you can just install the conduit when you want it. Here a seperate building is charged at a higher commercial rate no matter what it's used for, your results may vary.
Before starting all of this measure the distance and price the wire. You may want the meter installed on the side of your house once you price the wire, and don't even think about copper.

[farminghandyman]

I read my own meter, jsut like

My rural co-op power company here in Nebraska must still be operating in the dark ages. They have their customers read their meters and figure the charge every month. They send each customer a monthly form to fill out, then customers mail it back with payment.

they may run an under ground line up to your place, the closer they place it the less wire your going to have to buy and the less voltage drop one will have. depending on how you set up. On farms/ranches/ homesteads the there is the meter, and or the "distribution pole" and then each building can have it own "main entrance". (unless the 2008 code changes it) currently running a ground to each build is not necessary, as they are not sub panels they are main panels in each building.

(such as each house in a town has its own main panel, the transformer is not the main panel and there is not a "ground" wire coming into the house, as the house in town is not a sub panel to the towns distribution system.)

so you may have a savings of not having to run a ground wire, (or 4 wires from the meter to the buildings only three is necessary if the meter is considered the distribution point or part of the distribution system).

but if all you do is pull in a trailer house or build a house, (no out buildings) it may jsut get set up as a residential house, and not as a distribution system. so have a lay out of the buildings (present and future) you will want and an idea of where you may want them so the power meter/distribution system can be set properly and so you have an efficiently system.

the only use of the easement will be for your own needs, and if your want to refuse the electrical company to come on and keep up there distribution system for your use, I think your missing something. (the only way I can see any problems is if some one is building behind you and it may save the power, to extend the line on through your property). but remember the line is currently crossing some one's else's property to bring power to you,

I have over 1,1/2 miles of power lines on my ground, and have never had any problems with the power company, there normally as good as gold, in respecting my property and avoiding doing any damage to any thing if they have to work on any thing or to do an inspection.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(my power company will would only put in a 100 amp set up on the pole, now I have had them up grade it to three phase for the shop and the coolers in the meat room) but have never had any power problems, or ever snapped a breaker on the pole). (even tho my meter and distribution pole is in the center of the farm, I still have runs of over 300' of wire to some of the buildings,