Panel Upgrade Cost in Phoenix

Where the price starts

• 200A panel swap: starts around $3,500 and goes up from there.
• 400A service upgrade: starts around $15,000. That includes stamped engineered plans when required, permit fees, materials and utility coordination from start to finish.

Those are starting points, not quotes. Two houses on the same street, built the same year, can land thousands of dollars apart on the same scope. The panel itself is the cheap part. What costs money is everything around it: how power reaches the panel, what shape it's in, where it sits, and what the city and the utility require before they sign off. That's why we look at the house first and then give you one written price that holds. Estimates are free.

1. Overhead or underground service

Power that comes in overhead to a mast on the roofline is generally the simpler job. Power that comes in underground may need new conductors between the utility's point and your meter, and that can mean trenching. Same panel, very different day.

2. Meter-main combo or separate panel

A lot of Phoenix homes have the meter and main breaker in one exterior unit. Replacing it means the utility has to disconnect and reconnect, which brings their requirements and their schedule into the job. A separate indoor panel fed from an outdoor meter is a different scope again. How the SRP and APS side works →

3. How much capacity you actually need

100A to 200A is the common upgrade. Going to 400A is a different class of job, with larger equipment, and often engineered plans and extra utility review. The right size comes from a load calculation on your house: AC tonnage, pool and spa, EV charging, a casita, a shop. Sizing up once is almost always cheaper than sizing up twice. 200A vs. 400A explained →

4. What has to come up to code once it's opened

A new panel is not a like-for-like swap. Current code expects grounding and bonding, AFCI and GFCI protection on certain circuits, clear working space in front of the panel, and proper labeling. Some houses need almost none of that. Some need a grounding system installed from scratch. Requirements vary by city, so we confirm them with your building department.

5. The panel you're replacing

Federal Pacific Stab-Lok and Zinsco panels get replaced, not repaired, and replacement breakers for them are a salvage market. Old fused services often need a new meter, riser and mast along with the panel. Federal Pacific and Zinsco replacement →

6. Condition of the branch circuits

Opening an old panel sometimes turns up brittle insulation, aluminum branch wiring, or wires too short to reach the new breakers. Short conductors get extended the approved way; aluminum gets rated terminations. None of it is visible from the driveway.

7. Access, and the Phoenix summer

A panel behind a hedge on a second-story wall in July is a harder job than one at waist height in a garage. Heat is a real scheduling and safety factor here, and nobody wants to be without AC in August any longer than necessary.

How to compare bids

• Is the permit included, and who pulls it?
• Are grounding and bonding corrections included, or “if needed”?
• What amperage, what panel brand, and how many spare spaces are left?
• Does it include the utility disconnect, reconnect and paperwork?
• Is the emergency service disconnect included where required?
• Can you verify the contractor's ROC license, bond and insurance?

Real jobs

See what the work looks like on our own jobs: a 200A meter-main upgrade on Turney Ave, a 200A meter panel replacement in Monte Vista, and a 400A service upgrade on Olney Ave.