100A to 200A Electrical Service Upgrade Cost Guide
Upgrading from 100-amp to 200-amp service doubles the electrical capacity entering your home. It is often required when installing modern heat pumps, Level 2 EV chargers, solar arrays, or heavy electric appliances.
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is our first fully verified market for this project, backed by audited local contractor context (Wattsmith Electric), localized cost benchmarks, City of San Antonio DSD statutory fees ($63.87 with CPS Energy coordination), and BLS electrician wage percentiles.
Critical Difference: Panel Replacement vs. Service Upgrade
Replaces an outdated or failing breaker box while retaining existing 100A or 200A service amperage. The existing meter socket and utility entrance cable are left untouched. Does not increase total household electrical capacity.
Requires replacing the main panelboard AND heavy-up work: new 200A meter enclosure, upgraded entrance conductors (typically 4/0 aluminum or 2/0 copper), utility service coordination, and modern dual grounding rods.
Standard Work Scope Breakdown
✓ Standard Inclusions
- •Complete replacement of 60A/100A service equipment with 200A rated equipment
- •Installation of 200A main breaker load center (30–42 spaces, NEMA 1 or 3R)
- •New 200A rated meter base / socket enclosure compliant with local electric utility service standards
- •New 2-inch or 2.5-inch rigid galvanized steel (RGS) or IMC service mast and weatherhead
- •New 200A service entrance conductors (4/0 aluminum or 2/0 copper)
- •Dual 8-foot copper grounding rods with continuous #4 bare copper grounding electrode conductor
- •Intersystem bonding termination block and water meter grounding jumper
- •Type 2 whole-home surge protective device (SPD)
- •Utility de-energization and re-energization coordination
- •Municipal trade permit, fee payment, and post-inspection electronic release
✕ Standard Exclusions
- •Utility transformer replacement or utility-side overhead line extension
- •Extensive civil trenching across paved driveways for underground service conversions
- •Rewiring interior home branch circuits or adding dedicated subpanels
Utility Coordination & Trade Permitting
A 200A service upgrade cannot be completed entirely by a contractor working alone. It requires formal coordination with your local electric utility (e.g., CPS Energy, Oncor, CenterPoint, or OG&E) to de-energize the service drop, perform the meter swap, and re-energize the system only after municipal electrical inspectors have issued a green clearance tag.