200 Amp or 400 Amp — What You Actually Need
200A minimum, 400A when needed
Almost every upgrade we do lands at 200 amps or above. A 100-amp service was sized for a house with a gas furnace, a gas range, and a fraction of the circuits a modern household runs — we hardly install them anymore, and if you still have one it's usually the reason your breakers trip. 200 amps handles most homes comfortably, including electric heat or a heat pump, an electric range, a hot tub, a well pump, and an EV charger. 400 amps is the answer when the load genuinely calls for it: a large or multi-building property, a detached shop running a welder or compressor, an EV charger alongside solar and battery storage, a heat pump plus a well plus a hot tub, or an ADU on the same service. It typically means a different meter and service configuration and closer coordination with the utility — we handle both. We size to a real load calculation, not a rule of thumb. And occasionally a panel is fine and the actual problem is a single overloaded circuit — we'll tell you that rather than sell you a panel you don't need.
What the Job Involves
Permit, utility, work, inspection
Load calculation and assessment. We look at what you're running now and what you're planning, then size the service to both. Permit. Electrical work in Washington requires a permit and inspection. We handle the paperwork and schedule the inspector. Utility coordination — this is where local knowledge matters. If you're inside Ellensburg city limits, your power comes from the City of Ellensburg's own municipal electric utility, not PSE and not the county PUD. Outside city limits it's Kittitas County PUD or Puget Sound Energy depending on where you sit. Each has its own process and its own timeline for disconnecting and reconnecting service. We've worked with all of them and we schedule around their calendars, not the other way around. The work. Panel replacement, new breakers, updated grounding and bonding to current code, and re-landing and correctly labeling every circuit. If the meter base, mast, or service entrance conductors need replacing, that happens at the same time. Inspection. We're there for it. If the inspector wants something changed, we handle it. Most residential panel swaps are a one-day job. Power is off for a portion of that day, and we'll tell you the realistic window before we start so you can plan around it.
What a Panel Upgrade Costs
Typically $3,000 to $8,000
Most residential panel swaps in this area run $3,000 to $8,000. That's a wide range because the job varies a lot, and any contractor who quotes you a firm number without seeing the panel is guessing. The variables that move the number: whether you're replacing the panel only or the full service including meter base, mast, and entrance conductors; whether the existing location still meets code or the panel has to move; overhead versus underground service; total circuit count and how much of the existing wiring can be reused; and utility disconnect scheduling and permit fees. Every estimate we give is written, itemized, and free.