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Electrical Requirements per Utility Companies
Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E)
- For services 800A and above, a free-standing UGPS section is required.
- Working clearances (note that in some cases, it is greater than the clearances required by NEC section 110.26). Refer to page 208.
Example for a Single Line Diagram (SLD) and an Elevation for a Switchboard for a 1000A electrical service and 100A for units in a multi-family building
Example for a Single Line Diagram (SLD) and an Elevation for a Switchboard for a 1200A electrical service and 100A for units in a multi-family building
Example for a Single Line Diagram (SLD) and an Elevation for a Switchboard for a 400A electrical service commercial loads
Southern California Edison (SCE)
- The utility fault current table is available on SCE Electrical Service Requirements (ESR) document on ESR-1 13.0.
SCE-Fault Current
- Entrance to electric meter room door shall not be less than 3 feet wide and 6’-6” high. (ESR-3 16.2)
- When meters are located in a meter room or when fully enclosed in a closet the minimum height of the meter(s) may be three feet and the maximum height shall not exceed 6′-3″.
These heights are measured from the standing and working surface.
When meters are wall- or surface-mounted, but not located in a meter room or enclosure,the minimum height of the meter shall be four feet and the maximum height shall not
exceed 6′-3″. These heights are measured from the standing and working surface to the centerline of the meter.
SCE Electrical meter requirment.pdf
- The minimum distance between meter socket centerlines must be 21 inches. SCE will require commercial standards for homes with solar and EV systems due to the type of meter installed.
SCE ESR 2024 Meter Clearance for Delhaven Point_
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E)
- When the UGPS is not directly in front of the electrical meter room door, a double-door assembly is required.
- The width of the electrical meter room door shall be 3’-0” minimum or the width of the UGPS, whichever is greater.
- Available fault current:
SDG&E Available fault current
- Up to 1200A, the switchboard can be wall-mounted.
SDGE-UGPS-Wall mounted
Reference:
https://www.sdge.com/sites/default/files/SG.pdf
- Multiple electrical services are acceptable for Residential or Mixed-Use buildings that are 3 stories or more.
- Only 1 electrical service for Multi-Family buildings that are less than 3 stories, up to 4000A. Above 4000A, a second electrical service may be granted as close as practical to the existing service or at a minimum of 300’ apart.
Multiple services by SDGE
- There is no limit on the amount of meters in a meter bank, however, there is a maximum and minimum height requirement. The lowest meter must be minimum 3’ above the final grade from the center of the bottom meter, and a maximum of 6.3’ from final grade to the center of the top meter.
Electrical meter requirement
- The width of the electrical meter room door shall be 3’-0” minimum or the width of the UGPS, whichever is greater.
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP)
Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD)
- SMUD’s scope of work stops at the utility transformer. After the transformer (conduit size, wire size, routing) should be shown on our electrical plans. SMUD does not size the conduit or wire, they consider everything beyond the Xfmr as private.
Imperial Irrigation District (IID)
Riverside Public Utility (RPU)
- For services 600A and above, a free-standing UGPS section is required.
- T-tapping in the UGPS section is not allowed.
- For services larger than 1200A, the UGPS section must be its own dedicated section (no main breaker/UGPS combo section).
- No Line Side Taps are permitted.
- Load Side Taps, outside of any utility section, are allowed with approval of Building Department.
Banning Electric Utility (BEU)
- BEU typically requires the switchgear information (spec sheets/model numbers) prior to approval of the plans. Reach out to client if the switchgear submittal is available from the electrical contractor.
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Salt River Project (SRP) in Arizona
- Fault current per the table below:
Arizona Public Service (APS)
- Fault current per the table below:
