DESCO Electrical LLC
and HVAC
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(734) 740-6718
Westland MI Electricians
Residential – Commercial – Industrial
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Electrician and HVAC Services for Westland Michigan
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Master Electrician with Over 30 Years of Experience
A complete overview of our electrical services offered, as well as the areas we serve can be found here
Residential Overhead Electrical Services Now Required to be Converted to Underground by DTE
As of March 1, 2016, DTE Energy has changed their rules regarding overhead residential electrical customer services. They now state, “Beginning March 1st all new, upgraded or relocated DTE Electric Company residential service lines must be installed underground.”
As stated, existing overhead residential lines must be removed and replaced with underground electrical service feeds if they are upgraded or relocated. The obvious advantage of converting to underground is reduced vulnerability to service interruption as a result of storms. Also, it prevents the safety hazard of having live electrical lines knocked to the ground or otherwise being accidentally contacted.
When considering converting to an underground electrical service feed, thought should be given to future plans. Are you thinking of installing a pool in the future? If so, you should mention this to the planner so they can properly take this into account for routing of the underground electrical service feeders.
There are three steps involved to converting from overhead to underground:
- We install a new meter enclosure and prep the area near the meter for underground feeders. This is typically done while we are doing a service upgrade (installing a new circuit breaker panel, updating grounding, replacing service entrance cable, etc).
- DTE is scheduled to dig the necessary trenches, install the underground feeder wires, backfill the trench and reconnect the service using the new underground feeders.
- The overhead lines are removed.
The good news is, in most cases, we can do the underground service conversion prep for the same cost as a traditional service change. Also, we can still use the old overhead lines when doing a service change, but any future issues with the overhead lines will result in DTE requiring a conversion to underground. In that event, there will be a significant additional charge to come back and do the overhead to underground conversion prep.
DTE determines their charge for the installation and connection of underground electrical service feeders. For budgeting purposes, you can figure approximately $300, but again, that charge is determined by DTE.
Give us a call today to discuss the pros and cons of converting your overhead electrical service feeders to underground for the convenience and safety of you and your loved ones.
A complete overview of our services and service areas can be found here
Phone: (734) 740-6718
email: info@descoelectrical.com