Palo Alto, Santa Clara County
Electrician in Palo Alto, CA
Palo Alto is the one Peninsula city where the electric meter belongs to the city itself. City of Palo Alto Utilities, not PG&E, owns the service drop, the transformer and the meter, and only CPAU crews may disconnect or reconnect a service.
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Serving homes and businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area and Santa Cruz.
(650) 550-0719Fox Electric is the marketing name of Fox Global Holdings LLC. CSLB #1145945, C-10.
Why Palo Alto's Eichlers and pre-war homes run out of amps
Palo Alto is the one Peninsula city where the electric meter belongs to the city itself. City of Palo Alto Utilities, not PG&E, owns the service drop, the transformer and the meter, and only CPAU crews may disconnect or reconnect a service. That changes the order of a panel job: the Utility Service Application goes in with the building permit, Utilities Electric Engineering approves it, and the disconnect is booked only after that approval. The housing adds a second layer. The city's Eichler Design Guidelines count well over 2,000 Eichler homes here, in tracts such as Charleston Meadows (1950 to 1951), Fairmeadow (1951 to 1954) and Greenmeadow (1954 to 1955). These houses sit on concrete slabs with radiant heat inside the slab and carry post-and-beam roofs with no attic, so every new circuit has to travel through walls or along the slab edge. North of Oregon Expressway the stock is older still: Professorville homes date from 1895, College Terrace was subdivided in 1887, and Crescent Park was planned in the early 1900s on deep lots along San Francisquito Creek. Barron Park stayed unincorporated county land until 1975. Fox Electric is based in San Carlos, about 12 miles north, and holds CSLB #1145945; we run the CPAU application, the Accela permit and the city inspection as one sequence.
Electrical project resources for Palo Alto
Palo Alto Utilities publishes its own electric service requirements for new and remodeled properties and warns that standards used by other utilities may not be accepted. A panel or charging design should therefore be checked against Palo Alto's current utility requirements and the city's matching permit checklist. Do not carry a PG&E-based service detail into a Palo Alto project without verification.
Choose the city checklist matching the charger, service replacement, or larger panel project.
Coordinate equipment and service design against Palo Alto Utilities requirements before ordering materials.
Official source checked September 12, 2026.
Palo Alto services
Electrical Panel Upgrades in Palo Alto
Local planning details and official resources for this service. →
EV Charger Installation in Palo Alto
Local planning details and official resources for this service. →
Whole-House Rewiring in Palo Alto
Local planning details and official resources for this service. →
Electrical Troubleshooting & Repair in Palo Alto
Local planning details and official resources for this service. →
LED Lighting Upgrades in Palo Alto
Local planning details and official resources for this service. →
Palo Alto neighborhoods
Greenmeadow
Eichler tract of 1954 to 1955 with 243 single-story homes, a National Register district since 2005; post-and-beam roofs leave no attic, so new circuits travel through walls and along the slab edge, and anything visible near the meter gets historic review
Charleston Meadows and Fairmeadow
Eichler tracts built 1950 to 1951 and 1951 to 1954 per the city's Eichler Design Guidelines; the concrete slab floors carry the radiant heating pipes, so no conduit is cut into the slab without locating them first
Professorville
National Register historic district (listed 1980) of homes built from 1895; original wiring generations predate grounded circuits, and a new meter location or exterior conduit on a street elevation is reviewed
Crescent Park
planned in the early 1900s with deep lots along San Francisquito Creek; large Craftsman, Spanish Revival and Colonial Revival houses where the service run from the street is long and the panel has usually been extended several times
College Terrace
subdivided in 1887 and annexed with Mayfield in 1925; some of the oldest small-lot housing in the city, where services and branch circuits have been layered over several generations
Barron Park
unincorporated Santa Clara County until the 1975 annexation vote, so older homes were permitted under county rules; semi-rural lots with long service runs from the street
ZIP codes: 94301, 94303, 94304, 94306
Palo Alto rebates
checked September 6, 2026, CPAU Utility Service Capacity Fee Rebate
checked September 6, 2026, CPAU Rebate Hub, Electrical Panel Upgrade add-on
checked September 6, 2026, CPAU Rebate Hub, Prewiring/Wiring add-on
checked September 6, 2026, CPAU Rebate Hub, Heat Pump Water Heater
checked September 6, 2026, CPAU Rebate Hub, Heat Pump HVAC
checked September 6, 2026, CPAU Rebate Hub, Permit Fee Coverage
Check the program website for current availability, eligibility, and application requirements before including an incentive in your budget.
Why Fox Electric
Match the Scope to the Property
A house, condominium, and small commercial space can have different access, ownership, and approval requirements.
Permit coordination for Palo Alto
We confirm the project address, proposed work, and current local instructions before identifying the applicable permit and inspection steps. Utility participation is scoped separately when the project requires it.
Licensed C-10 Electrical Contractor
Fox Electric · Fox Global Holdings LLC · CSLB #1145945
Palo Alto Electrical Questions
Who turns the power off for a panel upgrade in Palo Alto?
City of Palo Alto Utilities. Palo Alto runs its own municipal electric utility, so the disconnect and reconnect are done by CPAU Electric Operations (650-496-6914), not PG&E, and only after the Utility Service Application has been approved by Utilities Electric Engineering and the building inspector has tagged the meter.
What does the City of Palo Alto charge for an electrical permit in 2026?
Use Palo Alto's current fee schedule to identify the service change, rewiring or charger category. Confirm the proposed scope and total through the city's Accela process; related review or utility costs may be separate.
Does Fox Electric need a Palo Alto business license to work at my house?
No. Palo Alto does not issue business licenses; its Business Registry Certificate applies only to businesses with a fixed office in the city, and the city's FAQ says a contractor based elsewhere who works in Palo Alto from time to time does not register. The city permit and our CSLB #1145945 are what the inspector checks.
How are inspections scheduled in Palo Alto?
Through Accela Citizen Access with no login, the Palo Alto iRequest app, or (650) 329-2496 option 2; final inspections must be requested by phone. Inspection hours are Monday to Friday 6 am to 4 pm, and after-hours slots cost 1.5 to 2 times the hourly rate with five days notice.
Are there Palo Alto rebates for a panel upgrade or an EV charger?
Check CPAU's current programs for panel work and service capacity. Utility connection-cost assistance and a home panel rebate are different categories, and a companion appliance project may affect eligibility. Confirm the terms before budgeting either program.
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Electrician in Palo Alto
Choose a service, enter the project city, and share any details that may help us understand the work. You can edit these fields before sending the form.
Ask about the scope and fee for an assessment, diagnosis, or inspection before booking.
(650) 550-0719Related electrical guides
Continue with a guide that addresses the next planning decision.
How We Work
Electrical Permits in the Bay Area: Who Pulls Them?
Permit rules depend on the project address and scope. Learn how contractor and owner-builder permits differ, what to put in the contract, and what approval proves.
Read the guide
EV Charging
Can a 100-Amp Panel Handle an EV Charger?
A 100-amp label is a starting fact. Demand, equipment condition, circuit space, and charging needs determine the installation.
Read the guide