O/T Electric service meters

For the last 48 hours I have been fighting to get my power turned back on. A wire from the transformer to the top of the meter was loose and burned up the lug where the meter plugs in. I had noticed over the last couple of months my bill was getting higher and higher with little change in perceived demand. Would this type of failure cause a higher usage rate? I discovered it when only half the house worked and none of the 240 volt devices weren"t starting. I had 120 on one leg and 54 volts on the other.

Now for the bureaucratic B/S. After replacing the meter box I was told that I had to bring the whole system up to 2011 code. This place was built in 1985. How far do they expect me to go??? I am in New Mexico and I can"t get a straight answer. Some say the whole property. Another said gust to the distribution panel. An inspector is supposed to come by Tuesday I guess due to Presidents Day. I got a waver so that I have electricity until then. Anyone out there had any experience with this situation? LarryT

Around here it usually means GFI's in the kitchen, baths, garage, anywhere within 6' of a sink, and so on. No open splices (have to be in boxes with covers on them). Disconnects on water heater, A.C., any other motor or resistive heat load. Outdoor plug located within 25' of A.C. and maybe on the front of the house too. If your house was built in 1985 I would imagine that this would cover most of your issues.
Anytime here (Iowa Nebraska South Dakota border area) the service is updated they may require a rewire. Sometimes however if we are just changing the panel and not the service size they don't require it.
Remember the better you get along with the inspector the happier you may be. The code book always has the choice to revert to "the authority having jurisdiction" which means your inspector. A local electrician may have a good idea of what to look for and knowing what the inspector looks for.

Who is "they"? The power company or the building inspector? If the power company won't give you a permanent connection until it's signed off by the inspector, then I guess you'd better do whatever it takes to make the inspector happy. And the more you push back that harder he'll make it for you to pass.

My son is a licensed electrician who does a lot of service work. He says the local utility doesn't care whether service work has been inspected or not. If it looks good to them, they install the meter, inspected or not. And that has been my experience as well. But every place is different.

I would make sure the following is in order:

1. Minimum of two grounding rods eight feet apart

2. Minimum six gauge ground cable.

3. Minimum 2/0 cable from the weatherhead to the meter.

4. Service disconnect close to the meter.

Having a bad leg shouldn't increase your power consumption. But it's possible you were wasting power. For example current running through lights or appliances you thought were turned off.

Thanks guys. I learned years ago you get more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. Never aggravate or be adversarial with the man who has you by the short hair. lol. Yes 2 8" grounding rods. 8" apart. #6 solid copper from disconnect to meter box to rod at bottom of service and then on to the other rod 8" away using copper acorn clamps. No change in service, just the meter box. LarryT

When we moved to Wisconsin we bought an old farmhouse built in 1850, the farm had been divided up and the house was part of the sub division. Part of the purchase agreement was the developer would hook the house up to the sub division's power grid when they built it. After about a year we lost power, seems the transformer over by the old dairy barn across the street messed up, that's when I found out the underground feed for our house used a wooden junction box with a shingle top (wonder what the nema rating was on a wood box?) A year goes by the diary barn is gone and they start to tear down the pole and clear the lot for a new house. I inform them they can't do that, they claim nothing is feed off the pole, I show them the wood box and the wires going to my house. The developer tries to get the power company to hook my house on the new grid, no dice, the meter socket in non-compliant, developer balks, I point out it's been so long there is a utility easement across his lot by adverse possession, he decides a new meter socket is cheaper than refunding the money paid for the lot or dealing with me in court so he has an electrician install a new meter socket. Power company hooks up to the new meter socket, no way the house was at current code, most of it was 2 wire and some knob & tube. Went to re wire the house, it's log, can't pull wires up a log wall.

Thanks guys. I learned years ago you get more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. Never aggravate or be adversarial with the man who has you by the short hair. lol. Yes 2 8' grounding rods. 8' apart. #6 solid copper from disconnect to meter box to rod at bottom of service and then on to the other rod 8' away using copper acorn clamps. No change in service, just the meter box. And PNM would only connect with the waver. State inspector Tuesday. LarryT

I just had another service added to my farm here in CO. on Wednesday. I bet your wire to the meter is aluminum, and those lugs work lose and have to be checked every few years. Here the power company is responsible for everything to the bottom of the meter. I normally run copper, but ran aluminum to a shop at another ranch. Had to re-torque after four years because lose of power. This is ONE reason you can not tie aluminum to copper.

wheatfarmers' comment gets me wondering why that is that you can always get a little more on the grounding lugs in the box,...everytime i have the cover off mine i can get about a 1/4 turn on the screws,....why is that ??????

I don't know about electricity but I've had good luck finding literature on other code requirements where they issue building permits. Maybe you can find their 2011 requirements there.

More than likely their standards would only apply to the meter base where the problem was. If at all possible I would try to bring that up to code before Tuesday. I know the bureaucracy is a pain but they are just trying to keep your house from burning down.

Because you are over torquing lugs. Copper will work harden and hold shape, thus hold torque. If you look in the NEC for the aluminum torque specs and use them, no problem. Aluminum stays soft and just squeezes out from under the lug if over torqued. Develops a thin , hot spot and burns through. Another example that more isn't always better.

Last person to mess with is around me, Detroit Edison,or DTE. Used to rewire lots of homes. Sometimes customer got sore about not having meter,and would harass DTE. It always came bACK to my problem. They would tell customer installlation is wrong. Ten feet clearance overhead. They tell me clearance is only 9 and foot and 11 inches. I gotta got out and move it or sometimes just prove it is really 10 foot. Meantime customer has had another week or two of NO METER. Don't mess with DTE or any other power company.