The new Ameren required meter base has been raising some questions by homeowners. We hope this short explanation will help identify who is responsible for what when it comes to your electrical service and why the new requirements make your home safer.
On all of our homes, condos, apartments, etc… we have a main
electric service. Some homeowners are a little unsure of what they own and what
they are responsible for. To simplify things it’s easier to tell you what you
are not responsible for.
The only pieces of equipment that Ameren owns is the meter that measures how much
electricity is used and the wires that generally attach to your home over head or are
buried underground and terminate in a meter base.
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| Meter - Ameren property |
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| Underground termination |
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| Overhead termination |
You, as a homeowner, are responsible for the main distribution panel, the SEU cable, and overhead riser (only needed on overhead services to aid in reaching height requirements) and meter base that Ameren wires first terminate in. And as
of January 6, 2015 Ameren started to require a new style of meter base.
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| Meter Base - Homeowner property |
This new meter base has to have a lever action bypass arm. Basically this
allows first responders to safely shut off power to your home in an emergency
situation. Unless your home was built
after January 6, or your service was upgraded since then, your meter base is
technically not up to code. The good news is Ameren is not automatically requiring
homeowners to upgrade to this meter base. However, if an electrician is changing
a main distribution panel or doing any kind of work on the main electric
service the meter base needs to be upgraded at that time.
This new code-required meter base is having the biggest impact on homeowners who are in the
process of selling their home. A large number of older homes have a cloth-based SEU cable that is used to bring power into the house from the meter base
to the main panel, and from the meter base to the location that connects to
Ameren’s overhead service drop. Over years of being to exposed to the elements, the cloth sheathing is showing signs of deterioration. Many municipal inspectors and
private home inspectors will cite this as a code violation or need to correct.
Prior to the new requirement this would have been a lower cost replacement. Now, under the new
guidelines, the meter base needs to be upgraded which is a more expensive repair.
We educate all
of our customers so you can stay informed as new codes are put in to place. If you have questions, don't hesitate to call.
-Matt Ursch
