Is there a line we should draw along the length of the service drop that would mark a difference in responsibility? Responsible for doing (or contracting) maintenance, financing repairs, etc.
In other words, what can I as an inspector recommend a homeowner ask the city or utility company to fix for them, and what do I tell them to contact an electrician about?
I can’t imagine the homeowner being responsible for the transformer or the overhead conductors on the drop, and I can’t imagine the utility being responsible for the panel. Everything in between those seems kinda gray area to me.
I’m happy to be corrected, I just want to advise wisely!
Thanks in advance.
In my area the POCO owns the overhead from the pole to the mast. Although if the service is underground, the homeowner owns the lateral from the transformer to the meter and is responsible for repair or replacement if it were damaged.
I always call out trees that are contacting the overhead and let my client know that the POCO will trim them since they own the line, but if the overhead is in contact with the house, that would be the homeowners responsibility.
The power company is responsible but I will report drops that are less than 10’ to ground or a deck as a safety hazard. I have seen them as low as 7 feet.
Like Kevin, although I am North of the 49th parallel, Hydro Quebec has the responsibility for maintaining electrical power lines on the streets, alleyways or behind residences, then branched of power lines the overhead SEC, just before the drip loop before the SE mast or underground lateral SE termination.
In short, Hydro-Québec is responsible for the power lines (power distribution lines) up to the service entrance (or service loop) of a residence. Beyond the this/that point, the service loop, service mast, spool racks on top of some flat roof, and the wiring inside the house are the contracted customer’s/power consumer owners or houses and buildings responsibility.
Check with your local utility company. Rights and responsibilities are clearly defined, but are different for every utility company. Utility companies are governed by tariffs, so a utility company that operates in more than one state, may have differences among the states in which they operate because of differences in the tariffs under which they operate.
There are often options available to the customer too. The demarcation line can be different based on the specific rate schedule that a customer is on. Your local utility company probably has all that information available online.
In residential construction, the utility company almost always owns everything up to and including the transformer. After the transformer will vary from one utility company to another. Is is not at all uncommon for a utility company’s ownership and maintenance responsibility to end at the transformer. In such cases though, they usually offer an option to maintain downstream conductors and equipment. The fee is sometimes built into the kWhr rate.
Commercial is very different though. Commercial customers often buy primary power, so they own everything including transformers. Sometimes, the opposite is true. In some instances, the utility company will own everything up to and including the service equipment or even interior substations and switchgear.
As stated before, it can vary from place to place, town to town, POCO to POCO, etc… Here in CO, there are several different electrical providers and they all have different language as to their responsibilities, but for the most part, when overhead service lines are used, they are responsible for everything up to the connection point of the home, which would be as @jjonas posted, the splice at the mast. The home owner is responsible for everything downstream of that splice.
Underground services are different however since the connection point would be at the meter.
Most POCO and/or municipalities have this sort of information available online. You’d need to do some surfing on the interwebs to find it. Plan a date with Googoo and search your service area.
As far as tree limbs and cables that are in reach of people, etc… write it up as a safety concern in such a way that doesn’t point any fingers at you from a liability standpoint. Point the client in a direction that can get them on the right path to getting things fixed, but do your homework beforehand so you don’t lead them down the wrong path without realizing it.
The NEC begins at the service point and that point is usually determined by the utility company. For overhead services it is often where the drop from the pole is spliced to the premises conductors since the drop conductors are under the control of the utility. As mentioned it can vary from utility to utility but it should be clearly defined by the utility company.
Ditto here…BUT…the utility (Xcel) makes the homeowner pay for any changes such as when I had to replace the FPE panel on a fixer I was doing and the service drop had to be moved. It cost me $500 for Xcel to move the drop to the new mast. Also they were scheduling out six weeks for that.
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ndegaris
(Neil DeGaris, CMI KY License # 102167)
15
Our Poco has this graphic that indicates exactly who is responsible for what.
Robert,
Do you see something in the graphic that would make it non-compliant? Around here the mast is required to be at least 2" rigid metallic conduit when used as a mast.
In my neck of the woods, and if I am not mistaken, been some time sense I reported such defects, SEC (Service Entrance Conductor) line can/should be connected at a building in accordance with the building code. No direct mast connection due to the tension, pulling force of the weight of the cable and applied tension to keep the cables overhead safely, can and do move electric mast projecting from roofs, causing it to lean towards the force being applied.
Let me dig through my CEC notes.
This illustration is from Paul Abernathy titled: Support requirements for service entrances.
See how the mast, to the right, protruding from the pitched roof has a guide/guy wire.
