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Electrical Panel Upgrade · Arizona
A panel upgrade replaces your breaker panel, and often the service entrance, so the home can safely carry more load: an EV charger, heat pump, induction range or addition. It always needs a permit, and usually needs the utility to disconnect and reconnect power.
Summer heat puts air conditioners under heavy, constant load, and monsoon storms bring lightning and outages.
Across the Southwest, homes deal with extreme summer heat and monsoon storms. Permit offices, utilities and housing stock differ by city, which affects how electrical panel upgrade is planned and scheduled. These local guides cover the Arizona cities where we have written specific notes.
In Phoenix, rooftop solar, home batteries and EV chargers are the usual reasons a panel upgrade comes up. Many 1960s–1980s homes still have the original panel, and the bus rating limits how much solar can be backfed without an upgrade or a main-breaker derate.
Utility: APS or SRP, depending on address
Many Tucson homes were built for evaporative coolers, and switching to refrigerated air or a heat pump adds a large new load that an older 60 or 100 amp panel may not handle. Rooftop solar adds another consideration, since the panel's bus rating limits how much solar can be connected without an upgrade or a main-breaker derate.
Utility: Tucson Electric Power (TEP)
1. Load calculation
The electrician sizes the service from your existing and planned loads.
2. Permit and utility coordination
The permit is pulled and the utility schedules disconnect and reconnect.
3. Install the panel and service parts
New panel, breakers, grounding and bonding, and service conductors or meter base if needed.
4. Inspection
The local inspector checks the work before or after power is restored, depending on the jurisdiction.
Electricians set their own prices; local permit fees and utility requirements add to these factors.
Permits come from the city or county where the home is. For example: Phoenix: The City of Phoenix issues electrical permits through its Planning and Development Department; Scottsdale, Mesa, Tempe and other cities run their own. Tucson: Inside city limits, electrical permits come from the City of Tucson's Planning and Development Services; unincorporated areas are permitted by Pima County.
Phoenix: APS or SRP, depending on address. Tucson: Tucson Electric Power (TEP).
If you have 100 amps or less and are adding an EV charger, heat pump or electric range, or your panel is a Federal Pacific, Zinsco or fuse box, ask an electrician for a load calculation.
Usually most of one working day, depending on the scope and how quickly the utility reconnects.
Yes, in essentially every US jurisdiction. The electrician pulls it and schedules the inspection.
Call now, or send a request and a licensed electrician who serves your ZIP code will contact you.
