200-amp and 400-amp panel replacements. Federal Pacific and Zinsco panel removals. Real Asheville cost ranges. Duke Energy coordination on us. Lifetime workmanship warranty.
$1,800 – $3,850
Standard residential upgrade. Existing service drop stays. Includes new panel, breakers, labor, and permit fees. One day on-site, power off 3-6 hours. Most Asheville 200-amp jobs land near $3,850 once the full scope (labor, permit, code-compliant grounding) is in.
$4,500 – $8,500
For homes adding EV chargers, electric heat, or whole-home backup. Includes new service drop, Duke Energy coordination, panel, breakers, permits. 1-2 days on-site after Duke schedule confirms.
From $300
Replace a damaged breaker, fix a loose connection, address a burnt bus bar. When the panel itself doesn't need to go but a specific issue does. We answer calls 7 days a week, 5 AM to 11:30 PM, and book you into the next available appointment.
A breaker that trips is reporting a problem. We test the circuit first. Replacing it without finding out why just removes the warning. A worn breaker that trips below its rating is a replacement. Breaker replacement on an accessible panel starts from $300. No minimum job.
Buzzing panels: a buzz, a crackle, or a hum that got louder usually means a loose connection arcing at a breaker, the bus, or the main lugs. Loose lugs are the most common cause of heat in a panel. We check them and tell you what we found before we fix it.
A bad breaker, a loose lug, or a corroded neutral bar is a repair. A panel that is rusted through, out of space, or a Federal Pacific or Zinsco is an upgrade.
Book online or call to get on the schedule. We answer calls 7 days a week, 5 AM to 11:30 PM, and book you into the next available appointment.
$200 – $500
Tracking down why a breaker keeps tripping, a circuit is dead, or lights flicker. Depends on time required.
$250 – $600
Re-terminating loose or heat-damaged conductors, clearing double-taps, neutral and ground bar work.
If your home has a Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) Stab-Lok or Zinsco panel, replacement is a safety priority — not a maintenance item.
If you've got either, give us a call. We'll come look, confirm what's there, and quote the swap in plain English.
Asheville's wet seasons take a slow toll on panels in unheated garages, basements, and exterior boxes. We see it most often in homes built in the 1960s-1980s where the panel has sat through 40+ years of summer humidity cycles.
If your panel looks rough but the breakers still work, we'll come look and tell you straight whether it's a replace-now job or a watch-and-monitor situation.
Sometimes you need a single breaker swapped — not a full panel. Sometimes a breaker that won’t reset is the first sign the panel itself is the problem. Here’s how we tell the difference for Asheville homes.
A like-for-like breaker swap is repair work. Repair starts around $300. If the bus is rusted, the panel is a Federal Pacific or Zinsco, or you need room for an EV charger or generator, that’s an upgrade — the cost cards above. Call (828) 551-9843 for a free estimate.
A 100→200 amp panel swap on an existing service typically runs $1,800–$3,850, with most landing near the top of that range. A 100→400 amp upgrade with a new service drop and Duke Energy coordination runs $4,500–$8,500. We pull permits and coordinate with Duke directly. Both ranges include the panel, breakers, labor, and permit fees.
Yes — and don't wait on it. Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) Stab-Lok panels and Zinsco panels are both documented fire hazards. FPE breakers are known to fail to trip during overcurrent events; Zinsco panels have bus-bar arcing problems. Most home inspectors flag both on sale, and many insurance companies refuse to cover homes with them. If you've got either, replacement is a safety priority, not a maintenance item.
Most 100→200 amp swaps take a single day on-site. 100→400 amp service upgrades that involve Duke Energy coordination typically take 1-2 days plus the lead time to schedule the Duke service drop (usually 1-3 weeks ahead). We coordinate the Duke piece for you. Power is off for 3-6 hours during the swap; the rest of the time everything is live.
Yes. Buncombe County requires a permit and inspection for any panel replacement or service upgrade. We pull the permit, schedule the inspection, and don't call the job complete until it passes. The permit fee is included in our quote.
A few common triggers: breakers that keep tripping (panel is overloaded), you're planning to add a major load like an EV charger or whole-home generator (need capacity), you've got a Federal Pacific or Zinsco panel (safety), the panel is full (no spare slots), you're renovating and adding circuits, or a home inspector flagged it on a recent sale. We'll inspect first and tell you straight whether a swap is needed or if a panel repair would do.
A panel repair fixes a specific issue on your existing panel — a damaged breaker, a loose connection, a burnt bus bar — without replacing the whole panel. A panel upgrade replaces the entire panel, usually to add capacity (100→200 amp) or to swap out an unsafe panel (FPE/Zinsco). We do both. Repair starts around $300; upgrade starts at $1,800.
Probably yes, depending on where the corrosion is. Rust on the cover alone is cosmetic. Rust on the bus bar, white or green oxidation around the breaker terminals, or water staining inside the box is a real problem — corrosion is electrical resistance, resistance is heat, and heat in a panel becomes arcing over time. We come look and tell you straight whether it's a replace-now job or watch-and-monitor. Long-term, if the panel lives in a damp basement, crawl space, or unconditioned garage, a dehumidifier ($200-$400) extends the life of the new panel significantly.
Yes. You're working on the live bus in the panel. A wrong amp rating or a worn stab is a fire risk. We replace breakers that match the panel brand and the wire size.
Won't reset, feels hot, trips with nothing plugged in, or buzzes. We test the circuit and the breaker before recommending a swap versus a deeper fix.
Federal Pacific, Zinsco, rusted buses, double-tapped lugs, or no room for the EV or generator circuits you actually want — that's panel upgrade territory. Repair starts around $300 when a single damaged breaker or connection is the job. A 100→200 amp upgrade starts at $1,800.
A straightforward like-for-like swap is a smaller ticket than a service upgrade. Repair starts around $300. We'll quote after we see the panel label and the symptom — free estimate at (828) 551-9843.
Usually it's the breaker doing its job. A breaker that trips is reporting a problem downstream — too much load on the circuit, a short, or a ground fault. Replacing the breaker without finding out why it tripped just removes the warning. We test the circuit first. Sometimes it genuinely is a worn breaker that trips below its rating, and then replacing it is the fix.
Yes, and it's a common call. No minimum job. What we won't do is drop in a breaker that isn't listed for your panel — mixing brands in a panel that wasn't tested for it is a real hazard and it voids the panel's listing. If your panel takes a breaker that's no longer made, we'll tell you and talk through options.
DIY electrical work is a fire risk. Power to the People recommends a licensed electrician. Do not open the panel. The main lugs stay live at full service voltage even with the main breaker off, because that side is fed from the utility. G.S. 87-43.1(5a) is a personal licensing exemption for work on your own property for your own benefit when it is not intended at the time for rent, lease, or sale. It is not permission to open a live panel. G.S. 160D-1110 still requires a permit for panel and circuit work. The City of Asheville inspects inside the city. Buncombe County inspects outside it.
Call us. A faint hum from a panel can be normal, but a buzz, a crackle, or a hum that got louder recently usually means a loose connection arcing — at a breaker, at the bus, or at the main lugs. That's the failure mode that starts fires. Same goes for a panel cover that's warm to the touch or any burning smell.
Depends what failed. A bad breaker, a loose lug, or a corroded neutral bar are repairs. A panel that's rusted through, or one with no room left for the circuits you need, is not — at that point you're replacing the panel. Bus-bar damage can go either way: sometimes it's repairable, sometimes it's the end of the panel, and we tell you which after we've looked. We tell you which one you're looking at before we start, and if it's replacement we'll point you to our panel upgrade work rather than selling you a repair that won't hold.
Real photos from our own jobs around Asheville. No stock photos.
We answer calls 7 days a week, 5 AM to 11:30 PM, and book you into the next available appointment.
(828) 551-9843 Call now · Free estimate (828) 551-9843