A new 200-amp panel gives your house room for the AC, the EV charger, the induction range and the heat pump you'll add next. We swap the panel, the breakers, the service cable and the grounding, pull the permit, meet the inspector and handle the utility. One day. One price in writing.
Free in-home estimate · same-day and next-day appointments
Licensed & insured · 2,000+ NJ projects · 7 years · a real person answers 24/7
A new 200-amp panel gives your house room for the AC, the EV charger, the induction range and the heat pump you'll add next. Typical price: $2.8K – $7.5K. Licensed & insured, written itemized price before work starts, no deposit, one dedicated crew. Serving all 21 New Jersey counties from Paramus. Call (201) 676-3099 or book a free estimate.
Open the panel door and look. Fuses instead of breakers means the panel is probably 60 amps and older than your parents. A 100-amp panel with every slot full — and skinny double breakers jammed in to make room — means there's nowhere to put the next circuit. Rust, scorch marks, a warm panel cover or a buzzing sound mean stop reading and call.
Two brand names matter. Federal Pacific (Stab-Lok) and Zinsco panels were installed in thousands of New Jersey homes from the 1950s through the 1980s. Their breakers are known for not tripping when they should. Many insurance companies won't write a policy on a house that still has one. If the label says either name, replace it. Don't wait for a reason.
The everyday signs are quieter: lights dim when the AC kicks on, the same breaker trips every week, you can't run the microwave and the toaster together, or an EV charger quote came back with the words "panel can't support it."
We open the panel, count the circuits, check the service cable and the meter, and run a load calculation for the house you have and the one you're planning — AC, EV, range, heat pump. You get an itemized price in writing before we leave.
We file the electrical permit with your town and book the utility disconnect. Utility scheduling is the slow part — figure one to three weeks — and we handle every call.
Power goes off in the morning. Old panel out, new panel, cable, grounding and surge protector in, every circuit landed and labeled. Most homes are without power for 4–8 hours. We bring lights and a generator if you need the fridge running.
The town inspector signs off, the cut-in card goes to the utility, and power comes back on. You get the passed inspection and the permit paperwork — the file your buyer's inspector will ask for one day.
A fuse box isn't dangerous on its own. What's dangerous is what people do to it. A 30-amp fuse screwed into a 15-amp circuit because it "kept blowing." A penny behind a fuse. Cloth-wrapped wiring with the insulation crumbling at the connections. We see all three every month in homes from Ridgewood to Red Bank.
A conversion replaces the fuse box with a breaker panel sized for today, and gives us a look at every circuit in the house on the way through. If we find knob-and-tube or aluminum branch wiring, you get photos and priced options on the spot — never a surprise line on the invoice.
Finishing the basement? Building a garage workshop? Adding a mother-daughter suite? A sub-panel puts the breakers where the work is and keeps the main panel clean. We size the feeder for the load you're actually going to put on it. Because the carpenters and the plumber are on the same crew, the sub-panel goes in the same week as the framing — not three weeks later when the drywall's already up.
Based in Paramus, serving all 21 New Jersey counties — 219+ towns. Licensed & insured, permits pulled, price in writing, and the same electrician from the estimate to the inspection.
typical fixed-price range — your exact number goes in writing after a free visit
A straight 200-amp panel swap with new breakers, grounding and a surge protector sits near the low end. A new meter socket, mast and service cable, an underground service, or moving the panel to a new wall pushes it toward the top. A sub-panel alone runs $1.2K – $2.5K. Permit fees are in the number.
How we beat the big chains: Electrical franchises price a panel by the hour, plus the parts markup, plus the "permit handling fee" they add at the end. No franchise fees, no commissioned salesmen, no rented subcontractors — that's typically 15–30% under national-brand quotes for the same or better spec. Bring us any written quote and we'll match the scope line by line.
“They quoted $3,200 for the panel. Then it was $800 more for "grounding" and $600 more for the surge protector the inspector wanted.”
“We were without power for two days because nobody booked the utility.”
“Not one breaker was labeled. I still don't know which one is the kitchen.”
You found a crew that is actually near you. First Call Contracting is based in Paramus, in Bergen County, and our own licensed techs handle panel upgrades in all 21 New Jersey counties — no call center, no subcontractor sent from two states away. Most of Bergen, Passaic, Hudson and Essex is 15 to 30 minutes from our shop, and emergencies go to the nearest crew, 24/7.
Closest to us: Bergen CountyPassaic CountyHudson CountyEssex CountyMorris CountyUnion CountyAll 21 counties & 219+ towns →
Call (201) 676-3099, text us a photo, or book a free in-home estimate — you get a written price before any work starts.
For most New Jersey homes, yes. A 100-amp service was fine in 1975. Add central AC, an electric dryer, an induction range, a hot tub or an EV charger and you're out of room. We run the load calculation and show you the math. If 100 amps truly covers you, we'll say so.
Yes. Replacing a panel or upgrading the service needs an electrical permit and an inspection from your town's construction office, and the utility won't reconnect until the inspector signs the cut-in card. We file it, meet the inspector and hand you the paperwork.
Usually 4–8 hours on swap day. Bigger jobs with a new mast and meter can run a full day. We tell you the plan in advance so you can empty the freezer or let us bring a generator for it.
Often within a week or two, and the wait is mostly the utility's schedule, not ours. We'll give you a written quote on the first visit and a letter for the insurance company once the new panel passes inspection.
If the flicker is a loose or overheated connection in the panel or an undersized service, yes. If it's a bad neutral from the utility or a problem on one circuit, a new panel won't cure it. We diagnose that first — you're not paying for a panel to fix a $200 problem.
If you're anywhere in New Jersey, yes. First Call Contracting is based in Paramus and handles panel upgrades across all 21 counties with our own licensed crew. Most of Bergen, Passaic, Hudson and Essex is 15 to 30 minutes from our shop, and emergencies are dispatched to the nearest crew 24/7. Call (201) 676-3099 or book a free in-home estimate.
Free in-home estimate · permit and inspection included · done in a day
Or call Alex direct: (201) 676-3099
A real person picks up every hour of every day. We tell you what to shut off first, then send the nearest crew.