Electrical Panel Upgrades in Kittery, Maine

Kittery’s housing is older and more crowded than the towns around it. Census estimates put the median home at 1965 and show nearly half built before 1960, a larger share than in York, Eliot or either of the Berwicks. Those houses were wired for a refrigerator, a range and some lights, often on a 60-amp fuse box or an early 100-amp breaker panel. Today they are asked to carry heat pumps, induction ranges, dryers and electric vehicles, and the sign that the panel has reached its limit is usually a breaker that trips whenever two big appliances run at once.

The town’s multifamily buildings add their own problems. About 18 percent of Kittery homes are in two- to four-unit buildings, many of them older houses divided into apartments, and each unit needs its own meter, its own panel and a service big enough for all of them together. Upgrading a meter stack on a triplex means sizing a new service for the whole building, making sure each tenant’s panel is labeled and reachable, and giving each unit a clear shutoff. Owners of those buildings should plan for all of the units at once rather than one tenant at a time. The town’s Climate Action Plan makes electrification one of its three priorities, and a heat pump retrofit across several apartments is the kind of project that exposes an undersized building service quickly.

Kittery issues its own electrical permits, currently $30 for electrical and solar work, and the code office asks for 48 to 72 hours’ notice for inspections. Central Maine Power handles the disconnect and reconnect, and Goodnow Electric schedules that with CMP and pulls the town permit. Under guidance the state Electricians’ Examining Board sent to utilities, a new service or full service replacement on a one- or two-family home needs an emergency disconnect outside the building. Swapping a Federal Pacific, Zinsco or Challenger panel, adding whole-home surge protection, and moving from 100 to 200 amps can all happen in the same visit, with a free written estimate first. In a multifamily building, the power-down can be planned around the tenants’ schedules, with notice given well ahead of the day.