The Service Entrance and Meter

Who owns what

Every house service has a boundary between the utility’s equipment and yours. We Energies lays it out in its service rules ¹:

The owner also has to provide a wall or mast strong enough to hold the drop’s pull; the utility tells you how many pounds to design for ¹. Other Wisconsin utilities’ rules are similar; check yours before building.

The overhead service

From the pole transformer, three wires, two hots and a neutral, run to the house as the service drop ². On a typical one-story house they land on a service mast: a pipe through the roof with a service head on top that keeps rain out of the conductors inside.

Key rules from We Energies ¹:

• The mast is at least 2-inch rigid metal conduit, continuous above its top support, sealed to the roof with a flashing collar.
• Entrance conductors extend at least 18 inches past the head, so they can droop into a drip loop before joining the drop, so water runs off the bottom of the loop instead of into the head.
• Only the power drop attaches to the mast: no phone, cable, or antenna wires.
• The drop is attached low enough that it isn’t more than 30 feet above the ground, but high enough for required clearances.
• A mast rising more than 3 feet above the roof needs the local inspector’s approval.

The underground service

Many newer homes are fed underground instead: a service lateral in conduit from a pad-mounted transformer or pole to the meter socket. The same ownership split applies, with burial depth matched to the utility’s, and conduit plans sent to the utility for acceptance ¹.

The meter

The meter socket (meter base) is yours, but it must be a model listed by the utility. The meter plugged into it belongs to the utility, which seals it along with any enclosure holding unmetered conductors ³. Breaking those seals is tampering.

The meter has to stay accessible ³:

• centerline 4 to 6 feet above grade,
• 4 inches clear around it,
• 3 feet of open working space in front of it,
• and no extra circuits spliced inside the meter socket.

Don’t build a deck, plant a shrub, or wall in a porch around it.

The main disconnect

Past the meter, the two hots land on the main service disconnect, usually the main breaker at the top of the panel; the neutral goes to the neutral bar, which is grounded to earth right there ².

The main is the switch that kills everything downstream. It does nothing to the conductors upstream: the drop, the meter, and the entrance conductors up to the main’s line terminals stay live no matter what. Only the utility can turn those off, which is why that equipment is sealed. Treat the top of the panel, where the service conductors land, as always hot.

What to take from this

The utility owns the service drop, attachment, connectors, and meter; you own the service head, mast, entrance conductors, utility-listed meter socket, and main disconnect. Overhead masts are at least 2-inch rigid metal with conductors 18 inches past the head for drip loops and nothing but the power drop attached. Keep the sealed meter 4 to 6 feet up with 3 feet clear in front. The main breaker shuts off the house, never the service conductors ahead of it.