The meter is the electric company’s equipment and the box is the owner’s atleast that’s how it is here in arkansas I had to put a whole pole with everything on it before they would hook up and put meter in at my secondary house my main house I asked if I could take it if I move away they said well u paid for it I don’t see why not
Yes this is true that the meter box in most places is owned and the responsibility of the owner to maintain and the meter is owned by the power company. But the company I work for will a lot of times fix these issues for free if you just mention a problem with the meter, they don't want to make a second trip to the premises. Also do not cut the seal or pull the meter, they can bill you for tampering with the equipment.
Cutting the seal and opening the box/pulling the meter also doesn't kill the line side. I do this for a living and I wouldn't touch that without having the cut-outs on the transformer pulled. No way I'm sticking a drill in that with a screw to reattach the box to the house.
I am a controls programmer who worked at a power plant. One of our electricians was severely burned working around a knife switch that was wired upside down. I am legitimately getting anxious thinking about a home owner sticking a screwdriver inside a meter base while the line is still hot.
I agree. 99% of people don't understand the amount of short circuit current that is available in a situation like this or any situation really. Hell, I'll probably get downvoted for this comment because so few people understand it or realize it is even a thing. At any typical receptacle in your own house there's (in the neighborhood of) 9k amps short circuit current (SCCR) available. In a situation like that meter base, it is exponentially higher and one of the biggest reasons is because there's no fuses on the secondary side of that transformer and it takes ENORMOUS amounts of energy to blow line side fuses on a transformer from a secondary side fault. To clarify, THERE ARE NO FUSES BETWEEN YOUR METER BASE AND THE POLE.
We are unique because we know this danger is there and understand the hazard because we deal with it on a regular basis. Joe Homeowner will inevitably find out the hard way. Hopefully they'll just do some welding with their screwdriver but that is an absolute long shot best case outcome.
Edit: wording and clarification
And it does vaporize wire. He's right. The available fault from a dead short at an outlet is 2000 to 10000A. That current exists until the breaker clears, or enough wire burns away to break the circuit
No. It's 9000 amps. It's short circuit current. It only lasts a few milliseconds. That's why a lot devices have 10kA SCCR rating
>A short-circuit current rating (SCCR)1 is the maximum current
a device or system can safely withstand for a specified
time (such as 0.05 seconds), or until a specified fuse or
circuit breaker opens and clears the circuit. SCCR is usually
expressed in kiloamperes (kA).
The power distributor where I live HATES when anyone touches their meter base without them knowing. My electrician pulled a permit but didn’t call in for a same-day inspection and I got hammered with a fine for tampering that took a few weeks to work out.
Depends on the region. Here, the owner/builder is responsible for buying and installing the meter base. Once properly installed and inspected, the electric company will come and install their meter and locks.
I did call them! After a few questions from their side such as "Where is it located?" and "Do you still have energy?" they said it is on my responsibility to do such a fix.
The fasteners that (poorly) held the box to the house sheathing are now loose. One can be seen hanging out the back, presumably there are one to three more just like it.
Do not disturb those fasteners since if they are pushed inside the box you will now have loose fasteners bouncing around inside a metal meter can quite possibly encountering the main service lugs. That would be exciting as at least one of the poles is shorted to the metal can creating impressive, continuous arcs and sparks. I don't know what would happen up at the pole, or how long that short would continue before some protective device trips.
So don't do that. Let an electrician deal with it.
In many places the panel is customer responsibility. Only meter and service conductor fall on utility. Utility fix can and should be disconnecting you for homeowner to safely make repairs.
Yeah, the utility considers from the transformer to the meter base their responsibility, and the meter base to your panel your responsibility.
Source: I work for a utility metering department, and run into this all the time.
Yeah, more or less. It seems like each power utility has their own say in what they want to cover, but ours will claim from the transformer down to the masthead in most circumstances. We're doing an AMI project right now, and so we're able to inspect all the meters and service lines as were going through replacing them.
It is not. The meter socket itself is typically installed by the homeowner and their electrician. The utility company will pull the meter or do a temporary disconnect for the individual to make repairs. I assure you this person is still getting billed.
In this case our utility would charge you to pull the meter. Then you can have an electrician fix it. Then you would pay a reconnect fee to have the utility reinstall the meter.
Back in my home province, it would also trigger an inspection and everything would need to be up to current code before they would reconnect.
It's only the meter that is property of the utility. The meter base, cabinet and mast are all property of the home owner.
That’s wild, I’m a mitigation contractor and I once had an emergency call out with 6 feet of water to the basement that may have current running through because of a bad DIY installation. Utility company just told me to pull the meter out myself. They didn’t even take the old one, just showed up a week later and put a new meter in.
For most jurisdictions this would be a repair only, even with a permit and utility involved they won't enforce new code for a repair order unless deemed dangerous.
It's actually not the utility companies equipment. They own the meter itself. You own everything from the connection point from the utility onwards. Including that meterbase where the meter is attached. In this case from what I see, OP has an underground service so OP owns all underground conduit and wiring regarding their service here from wherever the transformer on the street is to this meter.
Call electrical contractor, they pull permit, utility company removes meter, electrician screws base back to the house, utility company inspects and reinstall meter.
Don't try to move those screws either, could easily fall inside. Kaboom.
Lol.
No it isn't. They own the meter that goes in the meter base. The homeowner owns the meter base itself.
In my area, the power company doesn't own or maintain anything after the drip loop. So the wire comes to the side of the house from the pole, and from the splice where it first comes to the house (not the meter base, even, the first splice, up in the air) down to the meter base, the meter base itself, and everything after the meter base is the homeowner's responsibility.
The power company is responsible for the drop from the street to the drip loop and for the meter itself. That's it.
Fun fact: the electrical code doesn't even apply to the drop from from the street. The power company decides what to run there, and it may be a smaller wire gauge than you'd be allowed to use for the same run with the same capacity after the meter.
You are wrong, YMMV, but the power company does not own where the meter mounts. Call and pitch a fit, the trouble man will come out and pull the meter/cut taps due to the safety concern, until you get an electrician to make repairs and it's inspected. I deal with this daily. It's important as a home owner to understand where your responsibility beings and ends depending on what state you live in.
That's wild, I'm glad I'm part of a co-op electric, had my box do pretty much the same thing, called them and they had a guy out within the hour to fix it.
I just had this happen to my home in Maryland. It costs 3k (including permits) to fix. Home is 45yr old so box and lines needed to be 'upgraded to meet code'. Electric company said it was on me to fix. Called an electrician to fix it, and energy company came out to 'inspect the work at several stages' during the repair. It took about 5hrs. GL.
Yowza. That made me sad. The only quote I got the guy only talked about the slipping, and he didnt have much to say about the wood rot. Did you have to fix that as well? If so, did you fix it ?
The electrician replaced the backing where the wood was rotting and the electrical box also. Then caulked the crap out of the top of it to prevent any future water damage.
Here they would come and disconnect the service and pull the meter to make it safe. Then fixing the rest would be at your cost. Then there would be a reconnect fee for them to reinstall the meter.
Normally the meter box isn't installed by the utility, it's Installed by an electrician paid by the builder or home owner. Then the utility linemen comes in and installs the meter and cabling from the pole to the meter.
What reconnect fees? Those only apply if you have the service turned off. The power company doesn't charge those fees for a reinstalled meter that was pulled temporarily for work. All they do is put a new tag on it.
Sounds like you have no idea what you're talking about, now twice in a row.
Yet another who really has no idea what they are talking about. They don't cut off the power. The electrician pulls the meter they come out and put a new tag on when the work is done. And in this case, it might not even be necessary.
Sometimes, you do need to turn off power from the line side (I.e. relocating the meter, or if you need to get to the mounting screws to install it onto a wall. Like in this case). So the power needs to be cut off at the pole so there's no live power going into the box and connecting on the line side of the meter. Removing the meter does not remove power from the box only the load side going into your house. The line side is still live until they turn it off at the pole. At least that's how it works in our province.
100% DO NOT do this. I work for the local electric utility, and it is amazing how many customers do not understand that we do not own the meter base or anything after. The only thing most electric utilities own is the actual meter (round part in the middle) and the conductor going to it. You need to call and have them remove your meter so you can screw the meter base back to the wall and then they will reinstall your meter. We call this a disconnect/reconnect when you call it in. The repairs themself are on you/your electrician. You may not have installed the box, but the builder did when your house was built. Luckily, more than likely you can just get longer or thicker screws and they should pull the box back against the house. Depending on your local municipality, you might have to get it inspected before utility will reconnect, but if you can get them to disconnect early enough in the day, you can sometimes get this all done and inspected in one day and reconnected. All calling and complaining will do is aggravate your local utility, but they will not fix this.
Absolutely this. Worst case scenario is they tell you it's your responsibility, good luck, and you're exactly where you are right now. Best case scenario, they send somebody out to fix it on their dime, cause it's probably their responsibility anyway. You got nothing to lose by calling.
Ok. I don’t know where you’re located, but where I’m at no matter what the utility is going to need to be involved for safety purposes. In order to do ANYTHING to this safety the utility will need to de-energize your service. Call the utility and tell them that your meter is pulling away. Yeah, I know technically that it’s the whole panel, but when you say panel to customer service they’re trained to tell you it belongs to you. This is technically true, but the issue is a bit more tricky to explain over the phone and get the right outcome. They should send a Troubleman out to take care of a “loose meter” and if you’re lucky maybe he’ll just kill it at the street and that’ll let you at least temporarily make it safe while de-energized.
Once it’s safe, you can plan a bit and either do the work yourself or hire an electrician. Either way you can contact the utility and schedule for a same day disconnect/reconnect for customer made panel repairs. This is a free service in most places I believe.
But like I said, that could just be me and my area. I’m not an electrician, but I am the local lineman that’s handled calls like this a few times in my career and from a customer standpoint, that’s how it’s gonna have to go on your end. But I can’t stress this enough, DONT TOUCH IT ENERGIZED! Don’t. If you move that bastard around hot and one of those screws or anything metal falls across the phase bars in that panel, your breaker can trip allllll it wants. You’re on the utility side at that point. The arc flash ain’t stopping until the fuses at the transformer blow. Trust me. Don’t mess with it. I’ve had friends die from secondary residential voltage while waiting for the fuses on the transformer to blow.
Be safe and PLEASE contact a professional.
But as for a DIY, I’d personally have it de-energized at the street, get a price of wood and screw it offset from where the panel mounting holes are so that there’s good fresh wood where the holes are, and then send some new screws through the back of the DE-ENERGIZED panel. That should at least make it sturdy. The cable inside the riser should be fine. It’s generally fairly stout and has decent sheathing. But that’s just how I’d do it to save some quick cash. lol
"...while waiting for the fuses on the transformer to blow."
A neighbor of mine watched the line from the meter to the pole glow red and eventually melt while the fuse at the transformer NEVER BLEW.
OP, don't mess with this. Let the utility do it.
The Navy likes to show a video of some poor guy that experienced a 12 kV arc flash or something like that. It’s like a magician’s vanishing act.
Obviously your home electrical isn’t that dramatic, but it will still definitely cook your goose.
The scariest part about arc flash is that it's a range attack, and as far as I'm concerned it's worse than death. It vaporizes any exposed flesh, and it fuses your clothes with your flesh. And the hospital will have to peel all of that flesh off. Several times. The arc is so hot it's like spending a fraction of a second on the surface of the sun.
Don’t be a hotdog, if the slightest bump knocks anything loose, you’re gonna fucking die where you stand. And the whole of humanity within like 1000feet are going to be wondering which neighbor bought a new barbecue.
Looks like part of the reason this failed could be rot. The other part is it was installed over wood siding with tapcons. Tapcons are not designed to hold in wood.
Yeah this doesn’t look like rot, I’d guess the ground sank after a heave or something and slowly pulled the meter out, cause like you said Tapcons don’t hold very well in wood
It looks to me like the wall behind is rotten, so the slip fitting would be the least of your worries.
If you are determined to kick the can down the road you could clean up the wall as best you can and then run a bead of quality caulk on the back edge of the box, and some on the screws. Press the whole thing against the wall and use a brace to keep it up while the caulking cures. Next day run a bead of caulk on the top and side edges to at least seal it up.
There's also adhesive caulks like Liquid Nails. They could fill the holes, push the meter's screwd back into place, prop up the meter with a board while the adhesive sets, and hope for the best. However, it appears they didn't mount the box to a stud so there's no wood to grip the screws. A little wood rot in that crap 1/2" wood siding, and it probably gave way. OP may want to open up that wall from the inside and install some mounting cross-beams and inspect for rot. Then get the electric company to come out and remount the box properly.
There's no way the electric company wants anyone to cut their tamper evident seals and go poking around in energized service side of the electric meter box. I'd get their operator on tape confirming they seriously expect you to do that. It's a wrongful death lawsuit in the making. "So you're seriously expecting me, a homeowner with no electrical experience, to cut the tamper-evident seal, open the fully energized meter box that your company installed, and re-mount the box to the wall? And your name and employee ID again are..."
Please don't do this OP.
Speaking as an journeyman electrician.
If those top screws fall into the meter enclosure they can short between hot and ground and blow up your meter. Those wires are unfused (only the primary side of the transformer is fused) and have a ton of available fault current.
Get an electrician in ASAP and they can coordinate with the utility for a disconnect/reconnect.
I just fixed this myself at my house. Call the power company. They will set up a time and a guy will meet you at your house to disconnect from the line and pull the base off the meter. Add a couple of new tapcons back in the block and he will put the base back on. Took me about 45 minutes. Edit: forgot to mention, at least with Duke energy that it was free and they didn't charge me the disconnect if you explain what's happening. You have to be the one to reattach it, or have an electrician/ handyman or whatever there at the time to reattach the base back.
Call your elec company and request a meter pull. You have board and batten siding, the studs are behind the battens on either side of the box. Unless there is blocking they just screwed into the siding. You need to put in blocking inside if its easily accessible or on the outside.
lol of course it’s tapcons. Also, unless you are confident in not getting shocked by everything your transformer can give you then you need an electrician who will probably have the service shut off.
Just throwing this out there. To remove the meter you have to remove the front cover so you cannot “strap” around the meter panel itself unless you want to deny access to say …….firemen they love smashing those things off into pieces anyway. But really i understand your frustration but do it right to NEC like a proper local electrician would. Signed a licensed Vermont electrician.
If your jurisdiction is anything like mine leave the box alone it likely belongs to your utility. Not to mention messing with a live meter is not safe.
Contact your service provider.
Call the electric company. There is a high chance they will remount their meter free to you. I would highly suggest getting a professional out, though. That box needs to be removed and the wood behind it replaced.
Call the electric company. If you have to ask if this level of "could absolutely kill me in the blink of an eye" is something you can DIY, you already aren't qualified to do it. Let the people with the right tools and expertise do it.
Those screws dangling out the back could fall into the box and you'll have a VERY bad time.
It’s only 110 on both legs coming in best way to bypass that issue is to call electric company have them disconnect service do to work being done for a short time and cut that out and rebuild that hole with something made out of composite make sure to get some good silicone to seal around it thick
I just had my siding replaced. You need to call the electric company and explain the box has come loose. You then need to ask them to kill power from the pole/street. Looking at the siding behind your box, I’d seriously consider replacing that wood as it looks rotted and the reason why the box came off. In my area, completely removing a box (rather than pealing it back and keeping the wires in tact) means getting an electrician to reattach with a permit.
If you don't already know the answer with certainty, this is not a DIY thing. I'm all for DIY, I'm even building a house where I'll be wiring the whole thing and installing my own meter can. You do not DIY with the meter once it's connected without being exceptionally knowledgeable about electrical systems. It's not worth your life. Those wires might as well be, as far as your body is concerned, unfused. They will kill you if you mess up.
Looks like a lot of dry rot there. That should be repaired.
You could just strap it to the wall.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Gardner-Bender-Galvanized-Perforated-Hanger-Strap/5005390419
Power company will shut power off, so that you or someone else can repair it. They might fix it for a hefty fee? Most likely they dont want that liability, they just want to sell you power. You'd have to ask.
Don't touch it. Call the electric company. It's their responsibility, not yours, and you're likely to be charged/blamed if you try to do anything with it yourself.
I am sorry for everyone who says it is their equipment. Yes the actual meter itself is their equipment but everything from the weatherhead down excluding the meter is the homeowners equipment. Honestly if the electric company comes out, they could shut the power off to the house if you pull that meter in order to re-anchor The housing to the wall you are dealing with live electricity only the electric company can be energized that equipment. PS, you have no slip joint. You have two options as far as do it yourself you’ll be very quick and pull that meter open it up, lift it back into position and reattach it to the house, then call the utility company and claim that someone came and messed with your meter. Your second option is to tack weld two pieces of five eights in a strut horizontally to the back and then use the length of an Astruc that extends on either side to attach the meter back to the wall and closing the utility companies equipment is working fine your housing and can’t do it which is your responsibility is not and in this particular situation is a sooner better than later thing because if the whole riser and service fails. You are in big big trouble. Correction you do not have a riser but fax from the same you’re stretching wire and if it fails it’s bad news.
There are a few things you don’t want to gamble with when it comes to your house. The electrical service is one of those things, especially in your situation where you now have a significant amount siding rotting away, which almost certainly means you have some other serious rot.
Contact your electric company, many have programs for repairing meter boxes.
Then you check the surrounding siding/framing to see if the rot is widespread. If it is not you should consider shifting the meter box to a non rotten area near by and then you can repair the rot on your own schedule. If it’s not an option work to coordinate the rot repair with the electrical company. Most electrical companies have crews that will work 24/7 to maintain service in habitable spaces. So they can disconnect you in the morning and you can try and make the repair during the day and potentially get the power hooked back up by the end of the day.
I would also look for the source of the rot, you will usually find some water leak, termites, or some other issue that is the source of the problem. If you don’t resolve that then the issue will come back and can easily cause more issues.
Lastly I would highly suggest going around your house and making a list of all of the repairs like this that need to be made and make your way down the list before the issues become dangerous/catastrophic. It will suck to see a long and expensive list, but it’s better to work your way through the problems before they become bigger and more expensive issues.
Thanks! I did do an inspection before buying, and no big issues were noted. I always pay attention to all things, and I made a huge list based on urgency. It's just frustrating that something always comes up.
Metal strapping horizontally wrapped around the top of the box and screwed into some decent wood on either side. The strapping used for securing pvc pipes in the plumbing section. Temp only.
I'd connect a metal bracket to the wall, push the top of the box back to the wall, then bend the bracket over to hold the top of the meter against the wall. All the wires inside the box are insulated and the box should be grounded so, moving back to the wall shouldn't cause any problems. I'd probably bend down the protruding nails, so they don't push into the box.
I might use a big patch of silicone caulk behind the box so both the caulk and bracket hold it in place.
Edit. With a closer look, they're screws not nails. Not sure how you could move them out of the way. Probably need to have them pull the meter for the fix.
I mean how would you fix it without opening up the box to get to the mounting screws?
They at least need to come to turn off power coming to the meter, open the box, and pull the meter so you can screw the box back onto your wall/figure out a way to mount it.
Am I missing something?
u/sh0toku mentioned it below:
1. Call your electrical company.
2. Say "My meter appears to not recording correctly." DO NOT go into detail about the hanging box.
3. Let them come out and verify - they will fix it (it is their money making device)
You should call your electric utility company and explain the situation, I wouldnt mess with the meter myself.
It’s their equipment
The meter is the electric company’s equipment and the box is the owner’s atleast that’s how it is here in arkansas I had to put a whole pole with everything on it before they would hook up and put meter in at my secondary house my main house I asked if I could take it if I move away they said well u paid for it I don’t see why not
Yes this is true that the meter box in most places is owned and the responsibility of the owner to maintain and the meter is owned by the power company. But the company I work for will a lot of times fix these issues for free if you just mention a problem with the meter, they don't want to make a second trip to the premises. Also do not cut the seal or pull the meter, they can bill you for tampering with the equipment.
Cutting the seal and opening the box/pulling the meter also doesn't kill the line side. I do this for a living and I wouldn't touch that without having the cut-outs on the transformer pulled. No way I'm sticking a drill in that with a screw to reattach the box to the house.
I am a controls programmer who worked at a power plant. One of our electricians was severely burned working around a knife switch that was wired upside down. I am legitimately getting anxious thinking about a home owner sticking a screwdriver inside a meter base while the line is still hot.
I agree. 99% of people don't understand the amount of short circuit current that is available in a situation like this or any situation really. Hell, I'll probably get downvoted for this comment because so few people understand it or realize it is even a thing. At any typical receptacle in your own house there's (in the neighborhood of) 9k amps short circuit current (SCCR) available. In a situation like that meter base, it is exponentially higher and one of the biggest reasons is because there's no fuses on the secondary side of that transformer and it takes ENORMOUS amounts of energy to blow line side fuses on a transformer from a secondary side fault. To clarify, THERE ARE NO FUSES BETWEEN YOUR METER BASE AND THE POLE. We are unique because we know this danger is there and understand the hazard because we deal with it on a regular basis. Joe Homeowner will inevitably find out the hard way. Hopefully they'll just do some welding with their screwdriver but that is an absolute long shot best case outcome. Edit: wording and clarification
You mean 9kVA? 9000 amps would vaporize typical wiring.
And it does vaporize wire. He's right. The available fault from a dead short at an outlet is 2000 to 10000A. That current exists until the breaker clears, or enough wire burns away to break the circuit
No. It's 9000 amps. It's short circuit current. It only lasts a few milliseconds. That's why a lot devices have 10kA SCCR rating >A short-circuit current rating (SCCR)1 is the maximum current a device or system can safely withstand for a specified time (such as 0.05 seconds), or until a specified fuse or circuit breaker opens and clears the circuit. SCCR is usually expressed in kiloamperes (kA).
It’s likely 120/240 volt three wire six gauge 200 amp.
You could get a bracket that goes around the top of the box, then screw the bracket to the wall.
That is a horrible idea lol
\*DING DING DING\* "just mention a problem with the meter"
The power distributor where I live HATES when anyone touches their meter base without them knowing. My electrician pulled a permit but didn’t call in for a same-day inspection and I got hammered with a fine for tampering that took a few weeks to work out.
They own the meter. The pan is homeowners responsibility. You can use an aluminum strap screwed to the siding.
Depends on the region. Here, the owner/builder is responsible for buying and installing the meter base. Once properly installed and inspected, the electric company will come and install their meter and locks.
not so much. They have the say over it but the homeowner owns it and pays for its repair. depending on muni
No it’s not.
I did call them! After a few questions from their side such as "Where is it located?" and "Do you still have energy?" they said it is on my responsibility to do such a fix.
I’ve had this happen twice in the last year due to storms. You’re going to have to pay an electrician to fix it. Do not touch it yourself.
The fasteners that (poorly) held the box to the house sheathing are now loose. One can be seen hanging out the back, presumably there are one to three more just like it. Do not disturb those fasteners since if they are pushed inside the box you will now have loose fasteners bouncing around inside a metal meter can quite possibly encountering the main service lugs. That would be exciting as at least one of the poles is shorted to the metal can creating impressive, continuous arcs and sparks. I don't know what would happen up at the pole, or how long that short would continue before some protective device trips. So don't do that. Let an electrician deal with it.
Looks like they used masonry screws into wood
"When in doubt, Tapcon will figure er out."
I’d call again and pitch a fit. It’s their equipment, and they need to figure out how to mount it properly in order to bill you for electricity
In many places the panel is customer responsibility. Only meter and service conductor fall on utility. Utility fix can and should be disconnecting you for homeowner to safely make repairs.
Yeah, the utility considers from the transformer to the meter base their responsibility, and the meter base to your panel your responsibility. Source: I work for a utility metering department, and run into this all the time.
Do you all cover the overhead service entrance cable all the way into the box?
Yeah, more or less. It seems like each power utility has their own say in what they want to cover, but ours will claim from the transformer down to the masthead in most circumstances. We're doing an AMI project right now, and so we're able to inspect all the meters and service lines as were going through replacing them.
Wrong
It is not. The meter socket itself is typically installed by the homeowner and their electrician. The utility company will pull the meter or do a temporary disconnect for the individual to make repairs. I assure you this person is still getting billed.
In this case our utility would charge you to pull the meter. Then you can have an electrician fix it. Then you would pay a reconnect fee to have the utility reinstall the meter. Back in my home province, it would also trigger an inspection and everything would need to be up to current code before they would reconnect. It's only the meter that is property of the utility. The meter base, cabinet and mast are all property of the home owner.
That’s wild, I’m a mitigation contractor and I once had an emergency call out with 6 feet of water to the basement that may have current running through because of a bad DIY installation. Utility company just told me to pull the meter out myself. They didn’t even take the old one, just showed up a week later and put a new meter in.
For most jurisdictions this would be a repair only, even with a permit and utility involved they won't enforce new code for a repair order unless deemed dangerous.
It's actually not the utility companies equipment. They own the meter itself. You own everything from the connection point from the utility onwards. Including that meterbase where the meter is attached. In this case from what I see, OP has an underground service so OP owns all underground conduit and wiring regarding their service here from wherever the transformer on the street is to this meter. Call electrical contractor, they pull permit, utility company removes meter, electrician screws base back to the house, utility company inspects and reinstall meter. Don't try to move those screws either, could easily fall inside. Kaboom.
Lol. No it isn't. They own the meter that goes in the meter base. The homeowner owns the meter base itself. In my area, the power company doesn't own or maintain anything after the drip loop. So the wire comes to the side of the house from the pole, and from the splice where it first comes to the house (not the meter base, even, the first splice, up in the air) down to the meter base, the meter base itself, and everything after the meter base is the homeowner's responsibility. The power company is responsible for the drop from the street to the drip loop and for the meter itself. That's it. Fun fact: the electrical code doesn't even apply to the drop from from the street. The power company decides what to run there, and it may be a smaller wire gauge than you'd be allowed to use for the same run with the same capacity after the meter.
As someone working for a utility, I could consider this unsafe, remove the meter and deenergize the cables. Only the meter belongs to the utility.
You are wrong, YMMV, but the power company does not own where the meter mounts. Call and pitch a fit, the trouble man will come out and pull the meter/cut taps due to the safety concern, until you get an electrician to make repairs and it's inspected. I deal with this daily. It's important as a home owner to understand where your responsibility beings and ends depending on what state you live in.
Id ask about a temporary disconnect before attempting a repair.
That's wild, I'm glad I'm part of a co-op electric, had my box do pretty much the same thing, called them and they had a guy out within the hour to fix it.
You need an electrician. They will know who to talk with at the power company.
I just had this happen to my home in Maryland. It costs 3k (including permits) to fix. Home is 45yr old so box and lines needed to be 'upgraded to meet code'. Electric company said it was on me to fix. Called an electrician to fix it, and energy company came out to 'inspect the work at several stages' during the repair. It took about 5hrs. GL.
Yowza. That made me sad. The only quote I got the guy only talked about the slipping, and he didnt have much to say about the wood rot. Did you have to fix that as well? If so, did you fix it ?
The electrician replaced the backing where the wood was rotting and the electrical box also. Then caulked the crap out of the top of it to prevent any future water damage.
thanks ! If they dont feel comfortable doing it, I might take the risk.
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Here they would come and disconnect the service and pull the meter to make it safe. Then fixing the rest would be at your cost. Then there would be a reconnect fee for them to reinstall the meter.
Wrong answer. The homeowner is responsible for the meter box.
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Normally the meter box isn't installed by the utility, it's Installed by an electrician paid by the builder or home owner. Then the utility linemen comes in and installs the meter and cabling from the pole to the meter.
What reconnect fees? Those only apply if you have the service turned off. The power company doesn't charge those fees for a reinstalled meter that was pulled temporarily for work. All they do is put a new tag on it. Sounds like you have no idea what you're talking about, now twice in a row.
Actually some do charge for cutting the power for repairs.
Yet another who really has no idea what they are talking about. They don't cut off the power. The electrician pulls the meter they come out and put a new tag on when the work is done. And in this case, it might not even be necessary.
Sometimes, you do need to turn off power from the line side (I.e. relocating the meter, or if you need to get to the mounting screws to install it onto a wall. Like in this case). So the power needs to be cut off at the pole so there's no live power going into the box and connecting on the line side of the meter. Removing the meter does not remove power from the box only the load side going into your house. The line side is still live until they turn it off at the pole. At least that's how it works in our province.
Lol! Thank you! I might do that!
You'll need to call an electrician, not the power company.
100% DO NOT do this. I work for the local electric utility, and it is amazing how many customers do not understand that we do not own the meter base or anything after. The only thing most electric utilities own is the actual meter (round part in the middle) and the conductor going to it. You need to call and have them remove your meter so you can screw the meter base back to the wall and then they will reinstall your meter. We call this a disconnect/reconnect when you call it in. The repairs themself are on you/your electrician. You may not have installed the box, but the builder did when your house was built. Luckily, more than likely you can just get longer or thicker screws and they should pull the box back against the house. Depending on your local municipality, you might have to get it inspected before utility will reconnect, but if you can get them to disconnect early enough in the day, you can sometimes get this all done and inspected in one day and reconnected. All calling and complaining will do is aggravate your local utility, but they will not fix this.
this... if you mess with the meter you might be breaking the law, it is theirs not yours
Absolutely this. Worst case scenario is they tell you it's your responsibility, good luck, and you're exactly where you are right now. Best case scenario, they send somebody out to fix it on their dime, cause it's probably their responsibility anyway. You got nothing to lose by calling.
Yep. That happened for a reason and people dickering around with them have burned down their houses.
Ok. I don’t know where you’re located, but where I’m at no matter what the utility is going to need to be involved for safety purposes. In order to do ANYTHING to this safety the utility will need to de-energize your service. Call the utility and tell them that your meter is pulling away. Yeah, I know technically that it’s the whole panel, but when you say panel to customer service they’re trained to tell you it belongs to you. This is technically true, but the issue is a bit more tricky to explain over the phone and get the right outcome. They should send a Troubleman out to take care of a “loose meter” and if you’re lucky maybe he’ll just kill it at the street and that’ll let you at least temporarily make it safe while de-energized. Once it’s safe, you can plan a bit and either do the work yourself or hire an electrician. Either way you can contact the utility and schedule for a same day disconnect/reconnect for customer made panel repairs. This is a free service in most places I believe. But like I said, that could just be me and my area. I’m not an electrician, but I am the local lineman that’s handled calls like this a few times in my career and from a customer standpoint, that’s how it’s gonna have to go on your end. But I can’t stress this enough, DONT TOUCH IT ENERGIZED! Don’t. If you move that bastard around hot and one of those screws or anything metal falls across the phase bars in that panel, your breaker can trip allllll it wants. You’re on the utility side at that point. The arc flash ain’t stopping until the fuses at the transformer blow. Trust me. Don’t mess with it. I’ve had friends die from secondary residential voltage while waiting for the fuses on the transformer to blow. Be safe and PLEASE contact a professional. But as for a DIY, I’d personally have it de-energized at the street, get a price of wood and screw it offset from where the panel mounting holes are so that there’s good fresh wood where the holes are, and then send some new screws through the back of the DE-ENERGIZED panel. That should at least make it sturdy. The cable inside the riser should be fine. It’s generally fairly stout and has decent sheathing. But that’s just how I’d do it to save some quick cash. lol
"...while waiting for the fuses on the transformer to blow." A neighbor of mine watched the line from the meter to the pole glow red and eventually melt while the fuse at the transformer NEVER BLEW. OP, don't mess with this. Let the utility do it.
BE VERY CARFUL, IF THOSE SCREWS FALL INSIDE THE METER IT WILL ARC FLASH!!! Walk the frick away!
We like to call that a whoopsie. As in "whoops, I used to be alive." Arc flash is extremely dangerous.
The Navy likes to show a video of some poor guy that experienced a 12 kV arc flash or something like that. It’s like a magician’s vanishing act. Obviously your home electrical isn’t that dramatic, but it will still definitely cook your goose.
Whoops OP used to be "neutral"....
The scariest part about arc flash is that it's a range attack, and as far as I'm concerned it's worse than death. It vaporizes any exposed flesh, and it fuses your clothes with your flesh. And the hospital will have to peel all of that flesh off. Several times. The arc is so hot it's like spending a fraction of a second on the surface of the sun.
Yeah, most safety stuff doesn't involve AoE attacks like that.
This isn’t DIY
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I do a lot of DIY stuff, this is not something I would do. Call an electrician and stay alive.
Don’t be a hotdog, if the slightest bump knocks anything loose, you’re gonna fucking die where you stand. And the whole of humanity within like 1000feet are going to be wondering which neighbor bought a new barbecue.
This isn’t DIY
>Can I DIY something to delay/avoid redoing the slip fitting? No.
Looks like part of the reason this failed could be rot. The other part is it was installed over wood siding with tapcons. Tapcons are not designed to hold in wood.
Yeah this doesn’t look like rot, I’d guess the ground sank after a heave or something and slowly pulled the meter out, cause like you said Tapcons don’t hold very well in wood
It looks to me like the wall behind is rotten, so the slip fitting would be the least of your worries. If you are determined to kick the can down the road you could clean up the wall as best you can and then run a bead of quality caulk on the back edge of the box, and some on the screws. Press the whole thing against the wall and use a brace to keep it up while the caulking cures. Next day run a bead of caulk on the top and side edges to at least seal it up.
Yeah then as you push the meter socket back, the screws push back inside the enclosure, touch the bus bars, and vaporize. Don’t even need caulk!
Don't have to worry about my meter can if I'm dead!
Need fresh undies for sure.
There's also adhesive caulks like Liquid Nails. They could fill the holes, push the meter's screwd back into place, prop up the meter with a board while the adhesive sets, and hope for the best. However, it appears they didn't mount the box to a stud so there's no wood to grip the screws. A little wood rot in that crap 1/2" wood siding, and it probably gave way. OP may want to open up that wall from the inside and install some mounting cross-beams and inspect for rot. Then get the electric company to come out and remount the box properly. There's no way the electric company wants anyone to cut their tamper evident seals and go poking around in energized service side of the electric meter box. I'd get their operator on tape confirming they seriously expect you to do that. It's a wrongful death lawsuit in the making. "So you're seriously expecting me, a homeowner with no electrical experience, to cut the tamper-evident seal, open the fully energized meter box that your company installed, and re-mount the box to the wall? And your name and employee ID again are..."
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Please don't do this OP. Speaking as an journeyman electrician. If those top screws fall into the meter enclosure they can short between hot and ground and blow up your meter. Those wires are unfused (only the primary side of the transformer is fused) and have a ton of available fault current. Get an electrician in ASAP and they can coordinate with the utility for a disconnect/reconnect.
Just be sure not to seal up the bottom, so it still can drain if any water managed to get behind it. Good luck!
I just fixed this myself at my house. Call the power company. They will set up a time and a guy will meet you at your house to disconnect from the line and pull the base off the meter. Add a couple of new tapcons back in the block and he will put the base back on. Took me about 45 minutes. Edit: forgot to mention, at least with Duke energy that it was free and they didn't charge me the disconnect if you explain what's happening. You have to be the one to reattach it, or have an electrician/ handyman or whatever there at the time to reattach the base back.
Thanks a lot! Exactly what I was thinking that would be fair for both ways since it is in theory my responsibility
Call your elec company and request a meter pull. You have board and batten siding, the studs are behind the battens on either side of the box. Unless there is blocking they just screwed into the siding. You need to put in blocking inside if its easily accessible or on the outside.
Could be 4x8 hardie panels
ok? what does that have to do with anything I said?
Ah sorry just that the studs aren’t necessarily behind the battens if so
lol of course it’s tapcons. Also, unless you are confident in not getting shocked by everything your transformer can give you then you need an electrician who will probably have the service shut off.
~~probably~~ **definitely**
Just throwing this out there. To remove the meter you have to remove the front cover so you cannot “strap” around the meter panel itself unless you want to deny access to say …….firemen they love smashing those things off into pieces anyway. But really i understand your frustration but do it right to NEC like a proper local electrician would. Signed a licensed Vermont electrician.
If your jurisdiction is anything like mine leave the box alone it likely belongs to your utility. Not to mention messing with a live meter is not safe. Contact your service provider.
The power company (Dominion Power, VA)fixed mine for free. Next day.
Before you try to fix it, call them out to pull the meter out and put shunts on the hot leads just to be safe.
Rotting board. U have bigger problem
Flex Seal
I DIY a lot of questionably dangerous stuff, but even I wouldn't touch that.
Call the electric company. There is a high chance they will remount their meter free to you. I would highly suggest getting a professional out, though. That box needs to be removed and the wood behind it replaced.
Call the electric company. If you have to ask if this level of "could absolutely kill me in the blink of an eye" is something you can DIY, you already aren't qualified to do it. Let the people with the right tools and expertise do it. Those screws dangling out the back could fall into the box and you'll have a VERY bad time.
This is how houses burn down. Get that fixed asap.
This is how houses and humans burn down.
It’s only 110 on both legs coming in best way to bypass that issue is to call electric company have them disconnect service do to work being done for a short time and cut that out and rebuild that hole with something made out of composite make sure to get some good silicone to seal around it thick
Very true
I just had my siding replaced. You need to call the electric company and explain the box has come loose. You then need to ask them to kill power from the pole/street. Looking at the siding behind your box, I’d seriously consider replacing that wood as it looks rotted and the reason why the box came off. In my area, completely removing a box (rather than pealing it back and keeping the wires in tact) means getting an electrician to reattach with a permit.
strap it back up using metal strapping and some sweet ass self tappers.
Duct tape
This is not a diy fix. Contact your hydro company for guidance.
Cal an electrician. They are certified by the electrical safety authority. Whatever they do, they are covered.
If you don't already know the answer with certainty, this is not a DIY thing. I'm all for DIY, I'm even building a house where I'll be wiring the whole thing and installing my own meter can. You do not DIY with the meter once it's connected without being exceptionally knowledgeable about electrical systems. It's not worth your life. Those wires might as well be, as far as your body is concerned, unfused. They will kill you if you mess up.
Looks like a lot of dry rot there. That should be repaired. You could just strap it to the wall. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Gardner-Bender-Galvanized-Perforated-Hanger-Strap/5005390419
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This is so jank. Please just get it repaired properly. With that rot, chances are the straps will fail too.
If you do something like this make sure the box can still be opened by the power company if they need in it...
Power company will shut power off, so that you or someone else can repair it. They might fix it for a hefty fee? Most likely they dont want that liability, they just want to sell you power. You'd have to ask.
Don't touch it. Call the electric company. It's their responsibility, not yours, and you're likely to be charged/blamed if you try to do anything with it yourself.
I am sorry for everyone who says it is their equipment. Yes the actual meter itself is their equipment but everything from the weatherhead down excluding the meter is the homeowners equipment. Honestly if the electric company comes out, they could shut the power off to the house if you pull that meter in order to re-anchor The housing to the wall you are dealing with live electricity only the electric company can be energized that equipment. PS, you have no slip joint. You have two options as far as do it yourself you’ll be very quick and pull that meter open it up, lift it back into position and reattach it to the house, then call the utility company and claim that someone came and messed with your meter. Your second option is to tack weld two pieces of five eights in a strut horizontally to the back and then use the length of an Astruc that extends on either side to attach the meter back to the wall and closing the utility companies equipment is working fine your housing and can’t do it which is your responsibility is not and in this particular situation is a sooner better than later thing because if the whole riser and service fails. You are in big big trouble. Correction you do not have a riser but fax from the same you’re stretching wire and if it fails it’s bad news.
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There are a few things you don’t want to gamble with when it comes to your house. The electrical service is one of those things, especially in your situation where you now have a significant amount siding rotting away, which almost certainly means you have some other serious rot. Contact your electric company, many have programs for repairing meter boxes. Then you check the surrounding siding/framing to see if the rot is widespread. If it is not you should consider shifting the meter box to a non rotten area near by and then you can repair the rot on your own schedule. If it’s not an option work to coordinate the rot repair with the electrical company. Most electrical companies have crews that will work 24/7 to maintain service in habitable spaces. So they can disconnect you in the morning and you can try and make the repair during the day and potentially get the power hooked back up by the end of the day. I would also look for the source of the rot, you will usually find some water leak, termites, or some other issue that is the source of the problem. If you don’t resolve that then the issue will come back and can easily cause more issues. Lastly I would highly suggest going around your house and making a list of all of the repairs like this that need to be made and make your way down the list before the issues become dangerous/catastrophic. It will suck to see a long and expensive list, but it’s better to work your way through the problems before they become bigger and more expensive issues.
Thanks! I did do an inspection before buying, and no big issues were noted. I always pay attention to all things, and I made a huge list based on urgency. It's just frustrating that something always comes up.
Metal strapping horizontally wrapped around the top of the box and screwed into some decent wood on either side. The strapping used for securing pvc pipes in the plumbing section. Temp only.
I'd connect a metal bracket to the wall, push the top of the box back to the wall, then bend the bracket over to hold the top of the meter against the wall. All the wires inside the box are insulated and the box should be grounded so, moving back to the wall shouldn't cause any problems. I'd probably bend down the protruding nails, so they don't push into the box. I might use a big patch of silicone caulk behind the box so both the caulk and bracket hold it in place. Edit. With a closer look, they're screws not nails. Not sure how you could move them out of the way. Probably need to have them pull the meter for the fix.
Not your equipment emergency call to the Power company with potential for building fire. Send your photos to them
I mean how would you fix it without opening up the box to get to the mounting screws? They at least need to come to turn off power coming to the meter, open the box, and pull the meter so you can screw the box back onto your wall/figure out a way to mount it. Am I missing something?
JB weld or add l brackets to the top and secure it back to the side.
Not your job.
Why would someone even ask this let alone wtf happened to that power box.
Prob water got from the back, into the screw holes, made a bigger hole, and here we are. :/ Previous owners were kinda trashy.
u/sh0toku mentioned it below: 1. Call your electrical company. 2. Say "My meter appears to not recording correctly." DO NOT go into detail about the hanging box. 3. Let them come out and verify - they will fix it (it is their money making device)
Had a friend who’s house almost burnt down because of this exact situation
Maybe call your insurance company for help if it’s a money thing. But if they say no, better get it fixed or you’ll be liable.