Eastern Members - Electric Company = F#cking highway robbery

so my house is almost done, call the electric company to get them to run the line underground.....

its gona cost $2356.xx to ditch witch a god dam hole 200ft

this is just outrageous, or if i do it myself then the will only garrentee electric to the pole :mad::mad::mad:

this is rediculous

anyone else here build a house? how much did you py for your underground line?


-brandon

Ussually the electrical contractor will run the underground to the pole. Well,atleast I use to when building houses.

rent a ditch witch, do as much of it as you can yourself. most contractors will also do the service for you, not sure on the price depends on the area/ contractor. you wanna save coin do the research and do it yourself.

what size service (amps) is your house brandon? or better yet what size do you want (unless you already bought the panel/meter socket/wire)

if i do it myself, the electric company will only guarantee electric to the road pole and not to the house.

200 amps to the house and eventually 220 to the garage when i build it :)

so because you dig the same exact hole that they will, they wont run elec to your house? and if they do they wont guarantee it will work?

correct if i dig the hole from the road to the house and they lay the wire to the house, they will only guarentee electric to the pole and not the house.

They said if YOU do it they will only guarantee power to the pole and not the house? Is that because you're not a certified electrical contractor?

1.correct.

2. idk, even if i was qualified i think it would still be the same.

Dig the trench and have it inspected and approved. Take a lot of pictures and if you ever have trouble then you are covered. Or pay a certified guy to come in and give his nod of approval so the power company can't say a pro didn't do it. Are they charging you for material as well or just labor?

They won't guarantee it because you would be responsible for back fill and any settlement issues.. Whats the cost difference if you dig and screen it?

We're electrical contractors. We would probably end up costing the same amount as PSEG to dig it and install wire. My advice would be this:
1. Find out if you provide the conduit from house to pole, would they pull the wire and terminate it for you?
2. Find out the scope of work for the piping- do they want the PVC pipe 12" above the ground? Etc.
3. Do the work yourself. You risk the "guarantee" but in today's economy, that's a lot of cash. You can rent a ditch witch for nothing, and spend the day digging and installing PVC. Make sure you install it 18" below, and compact the earth properly with a small jumping jack compactor.

I ran electric to my shed, which is nothing like a 200amp service, but still try and do it yourself. I don't know what cable they would run. Typically the aerial services are tri-plex which convert to SER cable. Some of my fellow employees do side work that might be able to do the work for you as well.

Find out some more info from them and report back

Good luck
Andy

Fugg that! Just use candles and some battery packs dude. :P :D ;)

That is a lot of money though, :nono: but I would also still want my service backed up in the future as well, just in case.

Hey built my own house. Yes I provided the the excavation for the electrical. I mounted the meter and ran the required PVC (which at the time was 10' I think.) Peco really doesnt run the wire they sub it out. They bring both telephone and electric to the house in the same trench. I dont think a ditch witch will work. The wire was allowed to lay on the dirt. After they placed the wire they stayed and watched me put the screenings on the wire before they would charge the line. I wasnt paying them shit. I dont see how your going to get the screenings in with a ditch witch?

I dont see how your going to get the screenings in with a ditch witch?

I was talking about a ditch witch that doesn't backfill as you go, a walk behind one that just trenches.

So did you use direct burial cable Mike? No PVC?

Up here it has to be PVC and they like it around 36" under which I like too.When the ditch is there the inspector has to pass it before being filled.I could eassilly see that price since material adds up then the time to dig/fill and run the pipe ect.

If you just built a new house,why is this cost even a problem?

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/graphics/news3/ElectricCompany_TheBestOf.jpg

part of the cost of building a house dude... I know it may sound like a rip off but it is what it is...

you don't even want to know what it costs to run conduit for a bank branch...

I was talking about a ditch witch that doesn't backfill as you go, a walk behind one that just trenches.

So did you use direct burial cable Mike? No PVC?

Only had to use a sweep and 10' of conduit coming out of meter. I think Peco subbed the work out to Atlantic cable they came with a huge line truck. They came over inspected the trench came inside to make sure the inspection sticer was on the panel and starting laying cable in the trench... I think they gave me a spec on the width of the trench because the phone line was on one side and the power cables on the other. They had me place the screenings in spots just to hold the lines apart before I started dumping full buckets of screenings in the trench to make sure the lines stayed apart. They were a pain in the ass for sure.

I was talking about a ditch witch that doesn't backfill as you go, a walk behind one that just trenches.

So did you use direct burial cable Mike? No PVC?

Still not wide enough.

Only had to use a sweep and 10' of conduit coming out of meter. I think Peco subbed the work out to Atlantic cable they came with a huge line truck. They came over inspected the trench came inside to make sure the inspection sticer was on the panel and starting laying cable in the trench... I think they gave me a spec on the width of the trench because the phone line was on one side and the power cables on the other. They had me place the screenings in spots just to hold the lines apart before I started dumping full buckets of screenings in the trench to make sure the lines stayed apart. They were a pain in the ass for sure.

Mid Atlantic I believe does PECOs excavation.

Mid Atlantic I believe does PECOs excavation.

I think you are correct. Its been a while.