Electrical Panel Upgrade Cost in Los Angeles (2026)

Your electrical panel upgrade cost in Los Angeles typically falls between $2,500 and $4,500 for a 100A to 200A service upgrade, based on published local market guides. One guide quotes $2,900 to $5,100 installed and permitted. As a general contractor, here is what we tell homeowners to expect: the amperage is only part of the price. Utility coordination, where the panel sits, and the work around it decide the rest.

What does a panel upgrade cost in Los Angeles?

Start with the scenario closest to your project. The ranges come from published Los Angeles-area electrical contractor cost guides. Local guides publish ranges rather than flat prices because the scope varies by home.

Market ranges reviewed September 2026. These are typical market ranges, not our prices.

The broader spread of published quotes reaches $2,500 to $6,500+. That is context for comparing estimates, not a separate package. The relocation, underground service, and 400A row groups more involved scenarios; it does not mean every project includes all of those changes.

If you are comparing your estimate with an AI answer or an older web page, check the review date and the scope. A number labeled “panel upgrade” is less useful than a range that tells you whether it covers a service upgrade, permits, utility coordination, or relocation.

What drives a 100 amp to 200 amp upgrade cost?

The amperage is only part of the quote. The work around the panel explains why homes in the same city can receive different estimates.

• Utility coordination. Your utility must disconnect and reconnect service. That may be LADWP, SCE, BWP, GWP, or PWP, depending on your location. Sometimes the utility's schedule sets the workday.
• Meter and service mast. A project that includes meter or service-mast replacement has a different scope from one that does not. Ask the estimate to identify this work rather than leaving it under a general panel-upgrade description.
• Overhead or underground service. How power reaches your home is a cost driver. Underground service appears in the higher-cost scenarios in the local guides, so make sure your quote identifies the service arrangement.
• Moving the panel. Relocation is its own scope item. If your project calls for a new location, ask why the move is needed and where its cost appears in the estimate.
• Grounding in an older home. Grounding work can affect the total. Ask what is proposed for your home rather than assuming every older house needs the same work.
• Existing panel equipment. Local cost guides list older Federal Pacific (FPE) and Zinsco panels as a cost driver. If you have one, ask how replacing that equipment relates to your proposed service upgrade.
• Current code-related items. Local 2026 guides include an outdoor emergency disconnect and surge protection. Ask which requirements apply to your project and whether the estimate accounts for them.
• Material costs. An August 2026 local cost guide reported copper prices up 27% year over year as of February 2026. That is market context, not a percentage to automatically add to your quote.
• Related home improvements. Panel upgrades often accompany an EV charger, heat pump, or remodel. Ask for the panel work and related improvements to be clearly described so you know what the total covers.

You can review VoltGen's panel upgrade service before the walk-through. If charging is part of your plan, mention the EV charger installation at the same time so you can discuss both scopes together.

Are permits and utility charges included in the price?

Do not assume they are included or excluded. Ask for a written answer. One local guide expressly describes its $2,900 to $5,100 range as installed and permitted; the wording matters when you compare it with another estimate.

Local cost guides itemize the following amounts within project totals:

• LADBS permit: $200 to $450.
• LADWP or SCE disconnect and reconnect: $300 to $600.
• Meter main: $1,000 to $2,000.
• Relocation: $1,500 to $3,500.

These are published market allowances, not verified fee schedules or VoltGen charges. Do not add all of them on top of the table automatically. They are components described within the guides' totals, and your project may have a different scope.

The LADBS allowance is specific to the Los Angeles permitting context. Likewise, the published utility allowance names LADWP and SCE; it should not be presented as a confirmed Burbank, Glendale, or Pasadena utility charge.

Which utility and permit office handle your city?

Your utility and your permit office have different roles. Identify both early, especially if your panel upgrade is tied to another improvement with its own schedule.

City of Los Angeles, including Studio City. LADWP is the utility, and the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, or LADBS, handles permits. Studio City is within the City of Los Angeles. Other LA-area homes may be served by Southern California Edison, or SCE, so confirm your utility rather than relying on a broad Los Angeles-area label.

Burbank. Burbank Water and Power is the community-owned utility. If you need a new panel, call BWP Service Planning early at (818) 238-3647. Burbank Building & Safety issues permits and performs inspections. Online “Simple Permits” exist for residential work without plan check; ask whether your project qualifies. Burbank lists the 2025 California Building Code as in effect since January 1, 2026.

BWP's EV rebate adds $750 for a panel upgrade, with a listed DAC amount of $900, only together with an EV charger rebate. There is no standalone panel rebate under that offer. If your upgrade accompanies charging equipment, review the Burbank EV charger rebate guide and confirm eligibility before counting the rebate toward your budget.

Pasadena. Pasadena Water and Power is the utility. The Pasadena Permit Center can be reached at (626) 744-4200 for permitting questions. Keep utility coordination and permit questions distinct when you plan the job.

Glendale. Glendale Water and Power, a City of Glendale department, is the utility. City of Glendale Building and Safety is the permit office for your project.

What does a fair panel upgrade quote include?

A fair quote is written, and it names the work instead of one line that says "panel upgrade." It should say whether the service itself changes or only the panel, whether the meter or service mast is replaced, how the utility disconnect and reconnect is handled, whether the permit fee is in the price, and whether any relocation or grounding work is part of the job. Anything left out should be listed as left out, so two quotes can be compared on the same scope.

Questions to ask any contractor

• Is the permit fee included?
• Who schedules the utility disconnect and reconnect, and are any utility charges in this price?
• Does the price include replacing the meter or the service mast?
• Does the price assume overhead or underground service?
• Is the panel staying where it is? If it moves, where does that cost show up?
• What grounding work is included?
• Does the quote cover an outdoor emergency disconnect or surge protection, if they apply to this job?
• If an EV charger, heat pump or remodel is part of the plan, is that work shown separately?
• If a wall has to be opened, who patches it?

How VoltGen quotes this

Every VoltGen job gets a written estimate after a site walk-through, before work starts. Use that visit to discuss your existing panel, its location, your utility, and any planned EV charger, heat pump, or remodel. Ask the written estimate to make the included work clear before you compare totals.

VoltGen Energy serves Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, and Los Angeles, including Studio City, and is led by Hovik Akopyan.

VoltGen Energy operates under Akopi Builders, CSLB #1112420. Electrical work is performed by licensed C-10 electrical contractors.

Where these numbers come from

• Published 2025-26 cost guides from Los Angeles-area electrical contractors: panel-upgrade guides dated May, June, and August 2026, plus an undated Los Angeles guide, for market ranges, itemized costs, and cost drivers.
• Burbank Water and Power: residential EV charging station rebate page, for the panel-upgrade rebate tied to an EV charger rebate.
• City of Burbank: Building & Safety page, for permits, inspections, Simple Permits, and the code effective date.
• LADWP: “Who We Are” page, for utility background.
• City of Pasadena: Permit Center page, for the permitting contact.