Portland Metro Electric
Electrical Panel Upgrades in Portland, OR
Breaker box replacements, fuse box conversions, and 200 amp upgrades, with the price quoted before we touch your panel.
Oregon
Licensed
Washington
Licensed
CCB#
249412
Customer Testimonials
Signs Your Electrical Panel Needs an Upgrade
Breakers that trip every time two appliances run at once. A fuse box that’s older than everyone living in the house. An insurance company or home inspector flagging your panel by brand name. An EV charger or heat pump quote that ends with “but your panel can’t handle it.” Rust on the cabinet, warmth on the breakers, or a faint burning smell.
Your electrical panel (the gray box of breakers, sometimes called a breaker box) is where all the power entering your home gets divided up and protected. When it’s outdated or failing, everything downstream is limited by it. Portland Metro Electric replaces and upgrades panels across the Portland metro, and for most panel jobs, we can give you a minimum and maximum price on the first phone call.
What a Panel Upgrade Costs in Portland
Most panel upgrades in the Portland metro run [$1,000-$4,000+]. Every estimate is written, itemized (materials, fees, permit), and free. Most panel projects can be quoted with a min-max range over the phone; complex ones get an in-person inspection. Financing available.
Factors Affecting Electrical Panel Upgrades
Amperage:
Upgrading from 100 to 200 amps costs more than a like-for-like replacement, because the wiring and breaker sizes change with it.Whether your service needs upgrading too:
The panel is the box; the service is the utility feed coming into it. If the feed itself is undersized, that’s a separate scope we’ll identify up front (see our electrical service upgrade page).Code corrections:
Older homes often need grounding, bonding, or AFCI/GFCI protection brought up to current code at the same time. We itemize these instead of burying them.Panel location:
Relocating a panel costs more than replacing one in place.
A 114-Year-Old Craftsman, and a Homeowner Who Got Five Bids
One of our Google reviewers bought a 114-year-old Craftsman with a panel from a brand known for problems, plus wiring a previous owner had done himself that wasn't to code or safe in places. He did what we'd tell anyone to do: he called five electrical contractors and compared bids. Ours came in mid-pack on price. What won the job, in his words, was Daniel's interest in the project, his communication, and a detailed written estimate that broke the work down element by element.
Daniel, our founder and a lead journeyman, replaced the panel, corrected the unsafe wiring, added recessed adjustable LED lighting in two rooms and outlets throughout the house and garage, and, while the panel was already open, installed a 50 amp generator inlet (an exterior connection point that lets a portable generator power the house through an outage) for a fraction of what it would cost as a separate visit. When the old house produced a few surprises along the way, he brought each one to the homeowner with a safe, cost-effective solution before proceeding. The review ends with the installations described as clean enough that it looked like no work had been done at all.
That review is one of 372 five-star reviews on our Google profile, and it's the whole pitch in one project: compare us against anyone, on paper and in person.
"He was careful to disturb as little of the original house as possible, and the finished work is excellent. I'd trust him with any rewiring this house needs next."
Panel Services We Provide
One licensed team for everything inside and outside your home. Every job below is performed by an Oregon- and Washington-licensed electrician, permitted where required, and finished with a walkthrough so you know exactly what was installed and why.
Licensed, bonded & insured in Oregon CCB# 249412
Panel Replacement & Upgrade
Your panel is the distribution point for every circuit in your home, and panels typically last 25 to 40 years before corrosion, worn breaker connections, or obsolete design make them unreliable. Replacing one means we safely disconnect power, remove the old panel, mount a new code-current panel, transfer and label every circuit, and install proper protection: that includes AFCI breakers (arc-fault circuit interrupters, which detect the sparking that starts electrical fires) and GFCI protection (ground-fault protection that prevents shocks in wet areas) where code requires them. You end up with a tested, clearly labeled panel with room for future circuits, and if we find anything unexpected behind the old panel, you hear about it and approve it before it changes the price.
Fuse Box to Breaker Conversion
If your home still has a fuse box (the older style where a blown metal fuse must be unscrewed and replaced by hand), you're working with a system designed for a fraction of today's electrical load, and many insurers surcharge or decline homes that still have one. We replace the fuse box with a modern breaker panel: breakers are switches that trip instead of burning out, so restoring power is a flip, not a trip to the hardware store. The conversion includes bringing the grounding and circuit protection up to current code, and finishes with a walkthrough of your new, labeled panel.
Amperage Upgrades (100, 200, 400 Amp)
This is the category for everything that makes a house work the way you live: ceiling fans, media rooms, reliable internet through the walls, and smart controls. Ceiling fans get mounted on fan-rated boxes, the reinforced mounting hardware built to hold a spinning fan, because a standard light-fixture box isn't, which is why DIY fans wobble. Home theater and network projects get low-voltage cabling (the separate class of wiring that carries data and audio rather than power) run cleanly through walls instead of stapled along baseboards. New appliances that need their own supply, like ranges, dryers, and shop equipment, get dedicated circuits sized to their specs. And smart home devices, switches, and automation get installed on wiring that can actually support them, since many smart switches require a neutral wire that older switch boxes lack, and we'll tell you which of yours do before you buy a houseful of hardware. Everything is tested, labeled, and demonstrated before we leave, and if your wiring can't support what you're planning, you hear it up front with options, not after the purchase.
Panel Repairs
Not every problem needs a new panel. A single failing breaker, a damaged main lug, or a loose connection can be repaired. We diagnose first and tell you honestly which side of the repair-or-replace line your panel falls on, with a price for each when it's a judgment call.
Is it the panel or the feed? If your whole electrical service (the wires from the utility, the meter, and the mast) is undersized, a new panel alone won't fix it. That work lives on our electrical service upgrade page, and we frequently do both in one visit.
Journeyman-Led, Not Subcontracted
Portland Metro Electric was founded in 2018 by David Tkach, a lead journeyman who completed a five-year apprenticeship, and our electricians are licensed journeymen who came up the same way. When we quote your job, the person doing the work is a licensed employee of our family-owned company, driving a fully stocked van, not a subcontractor you’ve never met.
We’re licensed in both Oregon (CCB# 249412) and Washington, bonded, and insured, and we work out of our Happy Valley office serving the entire Portland metro.
How a Panel Upgrade Works, Start to Finish
Every roof cleaning follows the same documented process, so you know exactly what you’re paying for:
An electrician talks through your panel's age, brand, and symptoms. For most panel jobs we give you a min-max price on that call.
Simple swaps can be estimated remotely with a written quote within 24 hours; older or complicated panels get an in-person inspection first.
You pick the date. We pull the permit, coordinate any utility disconnect, and order materials. The estimate itemizes everything.
Courtesy call before arrival. Power is off during the changeover (typically a single day). We test every circuit, label the new panel clearly, walk you through it, and confirm you're satisfied. The work is inspected under permit.
Electrical Panel FAQs
Yes. Breaker box, panel, panelboard, and load center all describe the same component: the box where incoming power is split into circuits, each protected by a breaker that shuts off automatically on overload.
Typically 25 to 40 years. Frequent breaker trips, corrosion, heat marks, or a panel brand with a known failure history can justify earlier replacement.
Usually up to 40, depending on the panel model and your home’s needs, which is ample for a modern home including an EV charger.
Yes, power is disconnected for safety during the changeover, typically for a single day that we schedule with you.
Panel work involves the always-live service conductors ahead of the main breaker, so it is genuinely dangerous and requires a licensed electrician and a permit. This is one of the few jobs we’ll flatly tell you not to DIY.
Sometimes, not always. We run the load calculation first and show you the math. If your existing panel has the capacity, we’ll tell you so.
For any other questions or to schedule an upgrade consultation, contact Portland Metro Electric. We’re here to ensure your electrical system is safe, efficient, and tailored to your needs.
The Questions People Actually Ask Before Saying Yes
Call now or fill out our form. An electrician will listen to what’s going on with your home, tell you what it will take, and, for most projects, give you a price range on the spot. Remote-estimated projects receive a personalized written quote within 24 hours. Free estimate, no obligation, financing available.
For most panel changeovers, one working day, scheduled with you in advance. We tell you the expected window before you commit.
Yes, panel work requires a permit in the Portland metro, and that protects you: the inspection is independent confirmation the work is right, and unpermitted panel work surfaces at resale and in insurance claims. We pull it and include the cost in your itemized estimate.
That discount comes back with interest when you sell the house or file a claim. Our price includes doing it legally.
In old houses we sometimes do. You’ll hear about it with a price before we proceed, never on the final invoice
Monday – Friday: 8:00am – 5:00pm
Saturday – Sunday By appointment only
24/7 Emergency Services avalible
Portland-metro SERVICE AREA
Serving Portland and the greater metro: Happy Valley, Milwaukie, Clackamas, Gladstone, West Linn, Oregon City, Lake Oswego, Wilsonville, Tigard, Tualatin, Gresham, Damascus, Sandy, and surrounding areas, plus Vancouver, WA and Southwest Washington.
OFFICE
Head Office
Portland Metro Electric
8415 SE Hinkley Ave, Happy Valley, OR 97086
Ready to Restore Power or Upgrade Your Electrical?
Call us now, or fill out our contact form and one of our electrical experts will get in tough with you shorty. We will listen to your project needs or concerns and help guide you in the right direction. If the project is can be remotely estimated we can send you a personalized estimate within the next 24 hours.