Panel replacement & upgrades in Portland
Replacing an aging electrical panel or planning more capacity? We assess your home and quote the work it actually needs.
Clear scope, permit and inspection coordination, with the price and exclusions in writing.
Free ballpark by phone or photo. Written estimate before any work begins.
MBE Certified · ESB Certified · Licensed, Bonded & Insured
Oregon CCB #2271164.7★ · 66+ Google reviews
Meet Josh Smiley
Josh is our owner and master electrician, 20+ years in the trade, and Smiley Electric is licensed, bonded and insured under Oregon CCB #227116. Email a panel photo to josh@smileyelectric.net; it reaches him directly. The estimate you approve is the scope our electricians work to.
“Oman and Isreal did an excellent job installing a new 200amp panel for us. These guys are a solid operation. Would use them again in a heartbeat.”
Three situations, three different answers
A panel inquiry almost always starts in one of three places, and which one you are in decides what happens first.
Something is wrong
The panel is failing, or it is obsolete
Breakers that keep tripping, lights that dim when the dryer starts, a panel that buzzes, a fuse box, or a Federal Pacific or Zinsco panel. This one starts with a diagnosis rather than a quote: a symptom tells us where to look, not what the fix is.
Someone put it in writing
An inspection, a sale or your insurer flagged it
A home inspector, a buyer's repair request, or a letter from your insurance company. What matters here is what the document actually requires, and what paperwork you need to be holding when the job closes out.
You are adding load
The house needs more capacity than it has
An EV charger, a heat pump, central AC, a hot tub, or a remodel. That is a capacity question, and it gets answered with a load calculation on your house rather than a rule of thumb.
Age on its own does not establish that a panel needs replacing, and neither does a breaker that trips: that can turn out to be one circuit, one appliance, or a worn-out breaker. What decides it is the condition of the equipment in front of us and what the house is actually being asked to draw. If something is going wrong right now rather than being planned, our electrical repair appointment is the path that starts with troubleshooting.
Replacing the panel, or increasing the service?
These two get called the same thing and they are not the same job. It is the first thing to settle, because two quotes that look far apart are often not covering the same work.
| What you are comparing | Panel-only replacement | Service capacity increase |
|---|---|---|
| What changes | The panel and breakers are replaced at the same capacity, 100 amps for 100 or 200 for 200, and grounding and bonding are brought up to current code. | The house is set up to draw more power than it can today. That can reach past the panel to the service wiring from the meter, the meter base and the mast. |
| What has to be checked | That the existing service conductors and meter equipment are rated for the panel going in, and that the panel's location still meets code. | A load calculation on your house, plus whether the existing service entrance can carry the new capacity or has to be replaced with it. |
| Who else is involved | Your jurisdiction, for the permit and the final inspection. The utility is involved when the work needs the service disconnected. | Your jurisdiction, plus PGE or Pacific Power depending on your address, because changing the size of a service is scheduled with the utility. |
| What moves the cost | Panel size and number of spaces, the condition of what is behind it, the grounding and bonding work, and how easy the panel is to reach. | Everything in the first column, plus service-entrance and meter work, and a relocation if the existing spot cannot be used. |
| What you hold at the end | A permitted, inspected panel with every circuit labeled, and the paperwork for your records. | The same paperwork, for a service sized to the loads you are actually planning to add. |
Which one your home needs comes out of a load calculation and a look at what is already there. Our panel upgrade vs service upgrade guide walks through both, and the Portland panel upgrade cost guide breaks down what moves each one.
What a panel replacement costs in Portland
Plan on $2,500 to $7,500 for a panel replacement or upgrade in the Portland area. Treat that as a planning range rather than a quote: your existing panel, the condition of the service entrance, the size of the home, and whatever code work comes with it all move the number, and some jobs land outside the range in both directions. For the full breakdown, read our complete Portland panel upgrade cost guide.
You do not need a visit to get started. Email a photo of your panel to josh@smileyelectric.net, or call and describe what you have, and we can often give you a ballpark at no cost. A firm quote may need an on-site assessment. You get a written estimate before work begins. If you are also planning an EV charger, a heat pump, or central AC, include those plans when you ask for an estimate: sizing the service once is simpler than sizing it twice.
One finished project, on the record
Here is a panel replacement we completed in Portland in July 2025, written up from the job record: what was agreed in writing before it started, both visits, and the final inspection that closed it out.
- Where
- Portland, Oregon
- When
- July 2025
- Panel
- New 200-amp service panel
Final inspection passed on July 24, 2025.
July 22, 2025
Installation
July 24, 2025
Final inspection
The agreed scope
- A new 200-amp panel with 40/60 spaces, and the old panel removed.
- Confirming the service wiring from the meter was rated for 200 amps.
- Grounding brought up to code, with a water pipe ground and dual ground rods.
- The permit and the inspection.
Rated 4.7 stars across 66+ Google reviews.
Every house is different, so both the scope and the schedule can land somewhere else at another address. This is one project's record, not a template.
Read the full project recordWhat a complete panel quote has to settle
Whoever you hire, a panel quote should be more than one line and a number. Before you approve one, check that all of this is written down.
The panel and the circuits
What capacity, how many spaces, and how your existing circuits carry across and get labeled.
Grounding and bonding
What is being brought up to current code, and whether it is inside the price or added later.
The permit, the inspector and the utility
Who pulls the permit, who meets the inspector, and who coordinates the utility if the job needs a disconnect.
The exclusions
Including drywall. A panel swap can mean opening up a wall, and the scope should say who closes it back up.
How a change gets approved
So anything found behind the panel reaches you as a price to say yes to, not a line on the final invoice.
Schedule and final inspection
Installation, power restoration and final inspection are distinct milestones and may land on different dates. Before work starts, confirm the expected outage, the utility steps and how the inspection gets scheduled.
If a quote you are holding leaves one of these blank, that is the question to take back to whoever wrote it, ours included.
Sending us a photo, safely
None of this is required to call us, but the more you can say up front, the closer a phone or photo ballpark lands: what you want changed and roughly when, your city, and the inspection report or insurance letter if you have one.
If you send photos, leave the cover on. A shot of the closed panel door from a few feet back, and one of the meter outside, is all we need. Do not open the panel, take its cover off, or pull the cover off the meter: there is live power behind there even with the main breaker off, and nothing back there we need you to photograph. If you cannot reach either one safely, skip it and call us instead. And if the panel is hot, buzzing, scorched, or smells like it is burning, do not photograph it at all. Call us today.
Email photos to josh@smileyelectric.net, or ask for a callback and tell us what you are dealing with.
Panel replacement across the Portland metro
We serve homeowners throughout the region, from Portland across the west side and the east side, including panel upgrades in Beaverton, Hillsboro, Lake Oswego, Gresham, and Milwaukie.
Which office issues your permit follows the property's address, not its mailing city: some addresses are inside a city that runs its own electrical program, and others with the same city in the address are unincorporated and go to the county. We confirm the authority for your address before we file, and we coordinate with whichever utility feeds your service.
Straight pricing, no surprises
You always know the price before we start. Planning a bigger project? Start with a free ballpark and a project estimate. Something not working? Book an Electrical Service Appointment.
Project ballpark by phone or photo
Planning a panel upgrade, EV charger, or generator? Call us to discuss it, or email a photo to josh@smileyelectric.net. Honest price range, no cost, no visit required.
- No cost, no obligation
- Great for planning
Project consultation and estimate
For panel replacements, EV chargers, remodels, rewires, and commercial work, we scope the job and give you a firm, written estimate.
- Firm, written estimate
- Separate from the service appointment
Electrical Service Appointment
Includes the service visit and up to the first hour of labor for troubleshooting and minor repairs, so smaller problems are often fixed on the spot. Materials are additional. Anything bigger gets an upfront price first.
- Up to the first hour of labor included
- Upfront price before anything bigger
Frequently asked questions
How much does a panel upgrade cost in Portland?
Plan on $2,500 to $7,500 in the Portland area. That is a planning range rather than a quote: your current panel, the service entrance, the size of the home, and any code work required all move it, and some jobs land outside it. You get the exact price in writing before any work begins.
What is the difference between a panel replacement and a service upgrade?
A same-capacity replacement swaps the panel itself, 100 amps for 100 or 200 for 200, and brings grounding and bonding up to current code. A service increase raises how much power the house can draw, and can also involve the wiring from the meter, the meter base, and coordination with PGE or Pacific Power. They are different jobs at different prices, so check which one a quote covers before you compare bids.
How long does a panel upgrade take?
It depends on the scope, on utility coordination and on inspection scheduling. Installation, power restoration and final inspection are distinct milestones and may happen on different dates. Before work starts we confirm the expected power interruption, the utility steps and how the final inspection gets scheduled.
Do I need a permit for a panel upgrade in Portland?
Yes. Panel work is permitted and inspected. Which office issues the permit follows the property's address rather than its mailing city: inside Portland it is the city's permitting bureau, and elsewhere in the metro it may be another city's program or the county. We confirm the authority for your address, pull the permit, coordinate the utility disconnect, and schedule and attend the inspection, so you are not making those calls yourself.
What happens if you find something once the panel is off the wall?
You get the price for it before that work happens. Extra conditions do turn up behind an old panel, and the right way to handle one is a change you approve, not a line you discover on the final invoice. Your written scope should also say up front what it excludes, including whether drywall repair is included.
Do I need a panel upgrade for an EV charger?
Not always. It depends on your current panel's capacity and free space. If the panel is full or short on headroom, an upgrade may be required before a Level 2 charger can go in. We assess that as part of the EV charger quote rather than assuming it.
Will my insurance require a panel upgrade?
Some insurers do require replacement on homes with older panels, especially Zinsco, Federal Pacific, or panels under 100A, as a condition of coverage. Your carrier decides what it accepts. We provide documentation of the completed, inspected work for you to send them.
Can I get a quote without an in-person visit?
Often, yes. Email a photo of your panel to josh@smileyelectric.net and we can usually give you a ballpark at no cost. Take it with the panel closed, from a few feet back, and add one of the meter outside if you can reach it safely. Never open the panel or remove a cover to take a picture. A firm quote may need an on-site assessment.
Call and talk to the electrician, not a call center.
Talk to a licensed electrician today. Free ballpark by phone, and a firm quote on the visit before any work begins.