Split Meter Electrical Service Connected

The Chugach Electric truck showed up right on time.

Cutting the power service lines at the house (old meter base location). Shortly after this photo was taken, both guys were back on the ground. The guy on the left smashed the guy on the right's foot under the hydraulic stabilizer on the truck, which put him out of commission for the rest of the day. They also forgot wedge clamps needed to secure the line to the tower and had to call for backup. Then they guy complained about having to replace the phone line he detached. He told me, "People are just cutting these. We should just cut it." I told him to stop bitching, get up in his bucket, and put the line back as it was. He bitched a little more, but did the job. #keystonecops

Old meter base at house.

Shut off switch replaces the meter base. I'll remove the old pipe and tower later.

Specs for shut off switch.

Busy driveway this morning. New split meter base installed on the garage. The guy in the bucket is swinging the existing aerial line, just cut at the house, over to the new tower on the garage. The split meter partitions 100 amps to the garage panel and 100 amps to the house panel via a buried line I put in a few months ago.

Because its too snowy to bring the fill in right now, the power company told me I needed to build "a safe, raised platform to provide access to the new meter base, no more than 5'5" to the center of the hub ring". When the power company guys arrived, they got out of the truck and asked, "What's that platform for?".

"I cut power lines for free."

28" inches on the level.

The local bear-dog searches for another mailman to eat. That's dried guts and human brains on his fur.

Kid forts are tougher in Alaska.

New garage panel for power tools, some outlets, some heat, and lights. Its all a bit anticlimactic, isn't it? The electrician cost me $2100 (which included a bunch of unrelated work inside the house). The power company's disconnect/reconnect work was free. Now that's not something you get to say too often.