Current Meter Base Requirements

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. 

Meter - Ameren property

Underground termination

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. 

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