Who Owns What on Your Electrical Service?
Updated 2026-08-16 · 7 min read
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When something fails on the way into your house, the first question is who to call. The answer comes from a line called the point of demarcation — where the utility's responsibility ends and yours begins.
The general rule: the utility owns the conductors bringing power to your property and the meter. You own essentially everything those attach to.
Exact demarcation varies by utility and service type, so confirm with yours. But the pattern is consistent enough to be useful.
Who owns what on your electrical service?
| Component | Typically owned by |
|---|---|
| Service drop / service lateral (the conductors from the utility to your property) | Utility |
| Point of attachment on your building | Utility connects; the attachment hardware is often yours |
| Service mast and weatherhead | You |
| Service entrance conductors (from the weatherhead to the meter) | You |
| Meter socket / meter base | You |
| The meter itself | Utility |
| Conductors from the meter to the panel | You |
| Main disconnect / service panel | You |
| Everything downstream | You |
The counterintuitive one is the meter and the meter socket: the meter is theirs, the box it plugs into is yours. That's why a cracked or corroded meter base is your repair bill even though the device sitting in it isn't your property.
Overhead services
The service drop is the overhead conductor set from the utility pole to your house. Utility-owned.
It terminates at the point of attachment on your building — typically a bracket or insulator on the service mast, which is the conduit or pipe running up the side of the house or through the roof. The mast is yours.
At the top of the mast sits the weatherhead (or service head) — the fitting that lets conductors enter while keeping water out. Yours. Conductors enter through it and form a drip loop so water runs off rather than following the wire in.
Common failure: wind, a falling branch, or ice pulls the drop and rips the mast away from the wall. The utility restores the drop; an electrician repairs the mast and weatherhead, and it's usually permitted and inspected work. Both have to happen, in that order, which is why this repair takes coordination.
Never touch a downed or damaged service drop. Those conductors are not protected by any breaker you control. Call the utility and stay clear.
Underground services
A service lateral runs underground from a transformer or pedestal to your property. Utility-owned to the point of connection.
Demarcation varies more here — some utilities own to the meter socket, some to a point at the property line, and the conduit the lateral runs through may be yours even where the conductors are theirs. Ask your utility specifically, especially before any excavation.
Before digging anywhere near it, call 811 for locates. Free, and required.
See overhead vs underground service for the practical differences.
The meter
The meter is utility property. They install it, read it, seal it, and replace it. It's normally sealed — a tag or ring showing it hasn't been opened.
Never break the seal or pull the meter yourself. Two reasons:
- Safety. The terminals behind the meter are energized and are not protected by any overcurrent device you control. This is line-side of everything.
- It's their equipment. Breaking a seal is typically a violation of your service agreement, and tampering can carry penalties.
If work requires the meter pulled, the utility does it or authorizes an electrician to under their program. Panel upgrades and meter socket repairs both require this coordination — see the panel upgrade process.
Meter socket — yours. Watch for cracked housings, rust, water staining, a loose or missing cover, or burn marks around the terminals. Any of those is a repair, and a corroded socket is a real hazard.
Service entrance conductors and the panel
From the meter to the main disconnect or panel: yours. So is the panel, the main breaker, the grounding electrode system, and everything past it.
Which means every question about capacity, condition and upgrades sits on your side of the line:
- Signs your electrical panel is failing
- How long does an electrical panel last
- Electrical panel upgrade
- Service upgrade vs panel replacement
A note on service upgrades: raising your service capacity is your project, but it depends on the utility. They have to confirm the transformer and drop can support the new rating, and they perform the disconnect and reconnect. That's why a panel upgrade involves utility scheduling as well as an electrician and an inspector — and why the utility's lead time often sets the timeline. Run your requirement first with the home electrical load calculator.
Who to call
| Problem | Call |
|---|---|
| No power, and neighbours are out too | Utility — it's an outage |
| Downed or damaged service drop | Utility, immediately. Stay clear |
| Damaged mast or weatherhead | Utility first if the drop is involved, then an electrician |
| Cracked, rusted or burnt meter socket | Electrician, who coordinates with the utility |
| Meter itself faulty, or seal broken | Utility |
| Partial power — half the house dead | Either. Could be a lost utility leg or a panel problem. Start with the utility if lights are dim or flickering across the house |
| Breaker tripping | You, then an electrician — see why does my breaker keep tripping |
| Burning smell at the panel | Electrician urgently. See burning smell from an outlet |
| Flickering lights throughout the house | Possibly a lost neutral — utility first, urgently. See flickering lights causes |
That last row matters. Whole-house flickering, or lights brightening in one part of the house while dimming in another, can indicate a lost or failing neutral on the service — which can put damaging voltage on 120V equipment. That's a utility call, and it's urgent.
Trees, branches and the drop
If a tree is growing into your service drop, call the utility rather than pruning it yourself. Many utilities will trim around their conductors at no charge. Working near an energized service drop with a saw is a way to get killed, and the conductors are not fused on your side.
What this means practically
- Know where your demarcation is. Ask your utility, and note it.
- Inspect the visible parts occasionally — mast, weatherhead, meter socket. Rust, cracks, looseness and burn marks are all findable from the ground.
- Don't touch anything line-side of your main disconnect. No meter pulling, no seal breaking, no working in the meter socket.
- Budget for your side. The mast, socket and panel are yours to maintain, and they age.
The bottom line
The utility owns the conductors up to your property and the meter itself. You own the mast, the weatherhead, the meter socket, the service entrance conductors, the panel and everything beyond — which is most of what actually fails. Never pull a meter, break a seal, or approach a damaged service drop. When lights flicker across the whole house or half the house goes dead, call the utility first; almost everything else is an electrician.
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