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In my municipality of Northern New Jersey, a homeowner is allowed to do electrical work on his own house/buildings. But it is not a state law and varies by municipality. I would check with your electrical inspector as to your legalities. The power company will cut your power, and will reconnect only if they are provided a "cut-in card" signed by the local inspector after he has approved the job. Again, the inspector will allow you to do the work if you are the property owner. No license is required. I know licensed electricians in a more urban municipalities with more rigid requirements who will sign off on the work for a small fee for folks they know, and after looking at the job themselves. . . . so that may be another alternative for you. Once power is cut, typically at the mast or pole, you are on your own to conduct the work, and schedule the power company back when your are done. That process used to be free here, but the last several years they began charging $200 for cut and reconnect. You are responsible for the mast, meter pan, main panel, and service conductors. I own/have owned several houses that I have upgraded, and am currently restoring an old farm. I installed a separate 150A overhead service to my barn/workshop, and upgraded my farmhouse to 200A on a separate service. The buildings are 150 feet apart. Other than getting 2 electric bills each month, there"s no extra charge, and I felt it alot "cleaner" than having wires across my property. It also lets you work in stages and avoid clearance requirements for long runs, underground trenches, etc, etc. Cutting the service isn"t the problem. Pulling the meter is easy, but you likely will need larger service drop conductors upstream of the meter pan if you"re going to higher capacity. You never know what you"ll find in the meter pan (corrosion, etc) Getting reconnected, violating your fire insurance, etc, are all real issues.
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