Meter Box & Weatherhead Replacement Cost
Replacing a meter box (the meter base or socket) typically costs $300 – $1,200, a damaged weatherhead or service mast runs $500 – $1,500, and replacing the service-entrance cable runs $1,500 – $3,500. These are the components of your service entrance, the path from the utility line to your panel, and they often get replaced together. Here is the breakdown by part.
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| Component | Installed range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Meter box / meter base | $300 – $1,200 | Meter socket: corrosion or damage |
| Weatherhead | $200 – $600 | The cap where overhead wires enter |
| Service mast / riser | $500 – $1,500 | Mast pipe, weatherhead, fittings |
| Service-entrance cable | $1,500 – $3,500 | Conductors from weatherhead to panel |
| Full service entrance replacement | $2,000 – $5,000 | Meter, mast, weatherhead, cable together |
| Service entrance with panel upgrade | $3,500 – $7,000 | Combined with a 200A heavy-up |
| Line item | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Meter socket | $50 – $300 | 100A or 200A rated |
| Weatherhead & mast pipe | $50 – $400 | Galvanized or rigid conduit riser |
| Service-entrance conductors | $200 – $1,000 | Heavier wire for 200A |
| Electrician labor | $400 – $2,000 | Work happens at the service entrance |
| Utility disconnect / reconnect | $0 – $500 | Some utilities charge a fee |
| Permit & inspection | $75 – $400 | Required for service-entrance work |
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The parts of a service entrance
The service entrance is the path electricity takes from the utility line to your panel, and it is made of a few distinct parts that can fail or need replacing independently. Knowing which part you actually need helps you read a quote.
- ·Weatherhead: the curved cap at the top of the service mast where overhead utility wires connect. It keeps water from running down into the conduit.
- ·Service mast / riser: the pipe that carries the conductors down from the weatherhead, often through the roof eave to the meter.
- ·Meter box / meter base: the socket that holds the utility's meter. The utility owns the meter; you own the socket it plugs into.
- ·Service-entrance cable: the conductors running from the meter to the main panel, sized to the service amperage.
Why the boundary with the utility matters
A frequent point of confusion is who owns and pays for what. As a rule of thumb, the utility owns the wire from the pole or transformer up to the connection point at your weatherhead, plus the meter itself. Everything from that connection inward (the weatherhead, mast, meter socket, and service-entrance cable) is the homeowner's equipment and the homeowner's cost.
That is why storm damage to a service mast often becomes the homeowner's repair even though the utility's wire pulled it loose. When the mast is torn off the house, the utility disconnects at the pole, you hire a licensed electrician to rebuild the weatherhead, mast, and any damaged cable, the work is inspected, and then the utility reconnects. The electrician coordinates that sequence.
When the meter base needs replacing
Meter bases fail in a few recognizable ways: corrosion inside the socket from water intrusion, burned or pitted jaws where the meter blades make contact, a cracked or sun-degraded housing, or a base that is undersized for a service upgrade. Burned jaws are the serious one, because a poor connection at the meter generates heat and is a fire path. Signs include scorching at the meter, an electrical burning smell, or whole-house flickering that the utility traces to the socket.
A meter base replacement runs $300 – $1,200 on its own. Because the meter has to be pulled and the service de-energized to do it, electricians often bundle a meter-base replacement with other service work that needs the same disconnect, which is more efficient than paying for two separate utility coordinations.
Service-entrance cable: the bigger ticket
The service-entrance cable carries the full current of your service from the meter to the panel, so it is heavy conductor and replacing it is the most labor-intensive service-entrance job, at $1,500 – $3,500. It gets replaced when the insulation has degraded, when rodents or weather have damaged it, when it is undersized for a service upgrade, or when an aluminum cable is being replaced as part of a larger update.
Because the cable, meter base, mast, and weatherhead are all in the same path, a failure in one is often the moment to evaluate the whole service entrance. A full service-entrance replacement runs $2,000 – $5,000, and pairing it with a 200-amp service upgrade lands at $3,500 – $7,000. Bundling a panel replacement into the same visit makes sense when the panel is also aged, since you are already de-energizing the service and coordinating with the utility, which avoids repeating that overhead.
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