St. George Electric Pro

Cost guide · Panel upgrade

Panel Upgrade Cost in St. George, UT

What a 100-, 200-, or 400-amp panel upgrade costs in Washington County, why the service entrance is the fork in the price, and what the permit adds.

Quick answer

As of September 2026, a 200-amp electrical panel upgrade in St. George, UT typically costs $1,600–$3,000 when the meter and service entrance can stay, and $3,000–$4,500 when they are replaced too; a like-for-like 100-amp panel replacement runs $800–$1,500. St. George Electric Pro matches Washington County homeowners with an independent, licensed electrical contractor at no cost.

St. George Electric Pro · St. George, UT and Washington County

Panel upgrade cost table

Panel and service work · St. George, UT · as of September 2026
Job Typical range
Replace a 100-amp panel (same size) Like-for-like swap of a failed or recalled panel. $800–$1,500
Upgrade to a 200-amp panel The common upgrade for AC load, an addition, or an EV charger. Assumes the service entrance and meter can stay. $1,600–$3,000
200-amp upgrade with a new service entrance, mast or meter base Needed when the wiring from the utility drop to the panel is undersized for 200 amps. Involves the utility. $3,000–$4,500
Upgrade to 400-amp service Large homes, workshops, multiple EVs, or a casita. Uncommon. $4,000–$6,000
Add a subpanel (garage, casita, workshop) Only if the main panel has the capacity to feed it. $400–$1,750
Electrical permit for a panel change National range. St. George City and Washington County publish their own fee schedules; ask your electrician for the exact local fee. $50–$300
Licensed electrician, hourly rate Journeyman at the low end, master electrician at the high end. Many shops quote flat rates for common jobs instead. $60–$110 per hour

The fork in the price: panel-only vs. service upgrade

Every panel quote in this market lands on one side of one question: is the service entrance already rated for 200 amps? The service entrance is everything between the utility’s connection and your main breaker: the mast or underground feed, the meter base, and the heavy conductors. On homes built from roughly the late 1990s onward in St. George, Washington City, and the newer parts of Hurricane and Ivins, it usually is. The panel itself may be small or full, but the wiring feeding it can carry 200 amps, and the job is a panel swap.

On older homes, the service was genuinely 100 amps end to end. Upgrading means new conductors, a new meter base, often a new mast, and a coordinated disconnect and reconnect with your utility (St. George Energy Services, Dixie Power, Washington City Power, Hurricane City Power, Santa Clara City, or Rocky Mountain Power, depending on your address). That coordination and the extra materials are the difference between $1,600–$3,000 and $3,000–$4,500.

What else moves the number

  • Relocating the panel. Moving it away from the service connection means extending every circuit. Angi’s 2026 survey puts the added wiring at roughly a few hundred dollars for a short move; a long move is more.
  • Circuit count and condition. Forty labeled circuits land faster than twenty unlabeled ones spliced by three previous owners. Aluminum branch wiring (found in some 1960s–70s homes) adds remediation time.
  • Grounding and bonding. Older homes often need a new ground rod, water-pipe bond, or both to pass inspection. Small, but it is on the quote.
  • Whole-home surge protection. A common add at the panel, worth asking about while it is open.
  • Season. Summer is peak season for panel calls in St. George because that is when 100-amp mains trip. Quotes in the shoulder months can be more competitive.

Labor, roughly

Panel work is mostly labor. At $60–$110 per hour and a typical four-to-eight-hour swap (Angi, 2026), labor alone is a large share of the panel-only range; a service upgrade adds a second day or a second tradesperson. Materials for a 200-amp panel and breakers are a smaller piece than most homeowners expect.

Permit and inspection

Panel and service changes are permitted electrical work under the codes Utah adopts statewide through Title 15A of the Utah Code, and St. George City and Washington County inspect work in their jurisdictions. The national permit range is $50–$300; the exact local fee comes from the city or county fee schedule, and the contractor shows it on the quote. Keep the finaled permit with the house documents. On a resale, a permitted upgrade is proof; an unpermitted one is a negotiation.

How these numbers were built

Methodology and sources

  1. National baseline. 2026 ranges from four cost aggregators (HomeGuide, Angi, HomeAdvisor, This Old House) that each survey thousands of completed jobs.
  2. Local anchor. Two St. George-specific data points: homeyou’s Saint George electrician report (August 2026) and ProMatcher’s Saint George cost report (older 2021–2023 survey data, used as a floor, not a current price).
  3. Blend. Both local sources sit at or slightly below the national midpoint, so the published St. George range trims the national high end, not the low end. Where a local figure is clearly stale (ProMatcher) it caps the low end only.
  4. What it is not. A quote. Every figure is a typical range for a licensed contractor in Washington County; the electrician you are matched with sets the actual price after seeing the job.
Show the basis for each row
  • Replace a 100-amp panel (same size): National $800–$1,500 (Angi, This Old House).
  • Upgrade to a 200-amp panel: National $1,300–$3,000 (This Old House), $1,300–$2,000 (Angi), $1,100–$2,500 (HomeGuide); Saint George 200-amp $1,745–$2,302 (ProMatcher).
  • 200-amp upgrade with a new service entrance, mast or meter base: This Old House new 200-amp installation $1,800–$2,500 plus labor/rewiring; Angi notes labor is the largest component when the service must change.
  • Upgrade to 400-amp service: National $2,000–$4,000 panel + install, $4,000–$6,000 new service (This Old House); $2,000–$4,000 (Angi).
  • Add a subpanel (garage, casita, workshop): National $400–$1,750 (Angi, This Old House).
  • Electrical permit for a panel change: National $50–$300 (Angi, This Old House).
  • Licensed electrician, hourly rate: National $50–$130/hr (HomeGuide, Angi, HomeAdvisor); Saint George residential $62–$76/hr (ProMatcher); Saint George licensed average $39–$54/hr (homeyou, which we treat as a low outlier).

Sources checked September 2026 (next scheduled recheck: March 2027):

FAQ

Panel upgrade cost questions

How much does a 200-amp panel upgrade cost in St. George?

As of September 2026, $1,600–$3,000 when the existing meter and service entrance are already rated for 200 amps, and $3,000–$4,500 when the mast, meter base, or service conductors have to be replaced as well.

Why do two quotes for “the same” panel upgrade differ by two thousand dollars?

Almost always because one contractor priced a panel-only swap and the other priced a full service upgrade (new meter base, mast or underground feed, and conductors). Ask each which job they quoted. The second one involves the utility and is the more expensive, and sometimes the only correct, job.

How much is the permit for a panel change?

Nationally $50–$300. St. George City and Washington County each publish their own fee schedules, which we have not reproduced here; your contractor will show the exact local fee on the quote.

Is it cheaper to add a subpanel than to upgrade?

A subpanel runs $400–$1,750 and adds breaker slots, but it does not add capacity. If the main breaker is tripping in summer, a subpanel does nothing. If you simply have no empty slots on a panel with headroom, a subpanel is the cheaper answer.

Does a panel upgrade increase home value?

It removes an objection. Inspectors flag 100-amp service, full panels, and recalled brands on nearly every St. George resale inspection, and buyers price the upgrade in. A permitted 200-amp panel with a clean directory is a line item you no longer negotiate.

Get Matched