ASL
Many Orange County condo, townhome and apartment communities still run on the electrical equipment they were built with: original unit panels, aging meter banks and service equipment that is 40 to 60 years old. ASL Electric plans and completes panel and meter bank replacements for HOAs, property managers and building owners, from a single building to a phased project across an entire community. We handle the permits, the utility coordination and the resident notices, so the board and the manager are not left juggling contractors and power outages.
Every project starts with a site survey. We look at the meter centers, the service equipment, the unit panels and the feeders between them, and give the board a clear written scope, a phasing plan and an upfront price. Where unit panels are Federal Pacific or Zinsco, or where a building needs more capacity for EV charging, we include that in the plan, so the community is not paying for two separate projects a few years apart.
Multifamily electrical work we handle
⚡Meter bank replacement
Replacement of aging or corroded meter centers (meter banks) serving multiple units, coordinated with SCE or SDG&E for disconnect, inspection release and reconnect.
⚡Unit panel replacement
Replacement of original panels inside condos, townhomes and apartments, including Federal Pacific and Zinsco panels that are widely recommended for replacement.
⚡House panels and common areas
Panels serving pool equipment rooms, clubhouses, garages, lighting and laundry rooms, replaced and labeled for maintenance staff.
⚡Feeders and service equipment
Evaluation and replacement of service equipment and feeder conductors when they are undersized, damaged or at the end of their life.
⚡Capacity for EV charging
Planning the electrical infrastructure so the community can add EV chargers without a second round of panel work.
⚡Phased community projects
Building-by-building schedules that keep outages short and predictable, with notices for residents.
Signs your community's equipment is due
Boards and managers usually call us when they see:
- Rust, corrosion or water staining on meter banks
- Original Federal Pacific or Zinsco panels in units
- Repeated breaker or service calls in the same building
- Hot, buzzing or discolored equipment in meter rooms
- A reserve study or inspection flagging electrical equipment
- Residents asking for EV chargers the building cannot support
- Replacement parts that are no longer available
- An insurer asking about the panels or service equipment
Why planning ahead matters
When a meter bank or service fails, a whole building can lose power until the equipment is replaced and the utility reconnects it, which is far harder to manage as an emergency than as a scheduled project. Corroded meter centers, especially near the coast, and panels with known breaker concerns are a liability for the association. A planned replacement lets the board budget, schedule outages at sensible times and tell residents what to expect.
Recent work by our electricians
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Real ASL Electric jobs in Orange County homes and businesses.
How we run an HOA or multifamily project
Survey and written scope
We document the existing equipment, take photos, and give the board a written scope and options it can review and approve.
Permits and utility coordination
We pull the permits, submit what the utility requires, and schedule the disconnect, inspection release and reconnect with SCE or SDG&E.
Resident communication
We provide outage dates and times to the manager for resident notices, and keep each outage as short as possible.
Clean work and close-out
We protect common areas, clean up daily, label every meter position and panel, and give the manager the final paperwork.
Ways to approach the project
Common equipment only
Replace meter banks and house panels now, unit panels later.
Common plus optional unit panels
Owners can opt in to replace their unit panel during the building's outage.
Full community replacement
Meter banks, house panels and unit panels replaced in a phased schedule.
Repair and monitor
When equipment is sound, targeted repairs and a plan for future replacement.
Who pays: the association or the owner?
In many communities the meter bank and common service equipment belong to the association, while the panel inside each unit belongs to the owner. Your CC&Rs and management company decide how that works for your community.
We can price the common equipment and the unit panels separately, and offer owners the option to replace their unit panel at the same time, which is usually more efficient than scheduling each owner individually later.
Coastal corrosion
Meter banks near the coast, in Dana Point, San Clemente, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach and Huntington Beach, are exposed to salt air and often corrode faster. We look closely at enclosures, lugs and mounting, and recommend equipment and placement that will hold up in that environment.
Planning for EV charging
California law gives condo owners the right to install EV chargers, with association approval. Many older buildings do not have the capacity to support more than a few. If the board is replacing service equipment anyway, it is the right time to plan capacity for future chargers. See our condo and HOA EV charger page for more.
“Cory helped me with my electrical inspection and a few weeks later installed GFCIs in my units. Cory was extremely professional and likeable. He treated my tenants and me with complete respect. He wore shoe covers, cleaned up after he finished and each GFCI was perfectly installed.”
What affects the cost of a multifamily project
The main factors are the number of meter positions and units, the condition and location of the equipment, whether service capacity is being increased, the number of unit panels included, wall, stucco and finish repairs, utility requirements and scheduling, and permit fees. We give the board a free, written proposal after the site survey.
How it works with ASL Electric
We inspect the meter rooms, service equipment and sample units, and photograph everything.
The board gets a scope, phasing plan and upfront price to review and approve.
We complete the work building by building, with short scheduled outages and full documentation.
HOA & Multifamily Panel and Meter Bank Replacement across Orange County
Orange County has a large stock of condo, townhome and apartment communities built in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and many still have their original electrical equipment. We see this most often in Laguna Woods, Laguna Hills, Mission Viejo, Lake Forest, Aliso Viejo, Irvine, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach and Tustin. In Laguna Woods Village, work inside the community also follows the Village's own approval process, which we work within.
Our shop is in Lake Forest, so we can be on site quickly for surveys, scheduled outages and any follow-up. We also provide ongoing electrical service for managed properties; see our property management electrical page.