Los Angeles · Temporary Power Services
Temporary Power Pole
Permitted temp poles and pedestals from 100A to 400A, built to LADWP and SCE standards, with the paperwork and the green tag handled.
Temporary Power Pole · Los Angeles
A Metered Service Before the Building Has One
A temporary power pole is the metered electrical service that runs a construction site before the permanent service exists. On a typical Los Angeles job it is a treated pole or a steel pedestal carrying a meter socket, a main breaker, a small panel and GFCI receptacles, set where it will stay clear of the excavation and the delivery route for the whole build. We install temp power poles across LA County for general contractors, developers, electrical subs and homeowners running a large remodel. That means specifying the amperage against what you actually plan to run, pulling the electrical permit with LADBS or whichever city has jurisdiction, filing the service request with LADWP or Southern California Edison, building the assembly to current code, and meeting the inspector for the green tag that releases the meter. You get one contract, one project manager and a flat price that includes taking it back out at the end.
Why Go With Us for Your Temp Service
The install is one day of work. Everything before it is where jobs get lost, and that is the part we actually specialize in. Our project managers have been filing with LADWP and sitting at the LADBS counter for years, so we know which jurisdiction wants a plot plan, which one wants a load calculation, and which utility planner to call when a request has been sitting untouched for a week. We build our own pedestals rather than renting whatever a yard has left, so the assembly matches the amperage you were quoted. And because we also rent the generators that cover the gap while the utility works through its queue, we can keep a site productive during the wait instead of leaving you with a date and a shrug.
- 100A, 200A and 400A pedestals built in-house
- LADWP and SCE coordination handled for you
- Permit pulled, inspection booked, green tag chased
- Spider boxes and distribution available with the service
Reasons to Install a Temporary Power Pole
Most calls we get come down to one of these five situations.
The lot has no meter yet
New construction and tear-down rebuilds start with bare dirt and no service. Nothing gets framed, cut or lifted until there is metered power on site, so the temp pole is usually the first permit filed on the whole project. Filing it early is the single best thing you can do for your schedule.
The existing service is coming down
A gut remodel that moves the panel, upsizes the service or changes the point of attachment means the old meter gets pulled. A temp pole keeps the site running through that window and gives the inspector something compliant to look at while the permanent service is rebuilt.
Extension cords are not covering it
Borrowing power from the neighbour or from a half-finished unit works until the first day two saws, a compressor and a lift run at once. If your crew is daisy-chaining cords or resetting breakers by mid-morning, the site has outgrown whatever it is plugged into and needs a real service.
The trailer and the site office need to work
Once you have a job trailer you have computers, a printer, a fridge, an HVAC unit and often a portable WiFi router that all need clean, continuous power. Running those off a generator for a year is far more expensive than a temp service.
The inspector is waiting on a green tag
LA inspectors will not sign off on rough-in work while the temporary service is unpermitted or non-compliant. An uninspected pole becomes a correction notice, and a correction notice becomes a week. Doing it right the first time costs less than doing it twice.
If any of that describes your site, we can spec the amperage over the phone in about five minutes. Call: (818) 463-2446
How We Work
One project manager runs your job from the first phone call through removal. Here is the flow:
1. Site walk and load spec
We meet you on site or review the plans, confirm what you will be running, and settle on 100A, 200A or 400A. Then we pick the pole location so it survives the whole build without being in the way of the excavator, the crane pad or the delivery gate.
2. Permit and utility filing
We pull the electrical permit with LADBS or the local city, and file the service request with LADWP or SCE the same week. You are not standing in a line or chasing a planner. We follow the application until a meter release date exists.
3. Build, set, energize
A licensed crew sets the pole, drives and bonds the ground rods, mounts the meter socket and panel, lands the service conductors and meets the inspector. Once the green tag is issued the utility releases the meter and your site is live.
Temp Power Setups We Build
100A, 200A and 400A services
A 100 amp temporary power pole handles most single-family remodels and small residential builds. 200A is the common size for multifamily, small commercial and anything with a site trailer plus real tool load. 400A is for large projects running tower cranes, batch plants, multiple lifts or heavy MEP. We size against your equipment list rather than guessing, because an undersized service costs you a second install later.
Temp power boxes and panels
The box on the pole is a temporary power panel: main breaker, branch breakers, GFCI receptacles in weatherproof while-in-use covers, and a bonded neutral. On sites where the service sits at one end and the work is at the other, we add sub-fed temporary electrical panels closer to the crew so nobody is running two hundred feet of cord.
Spider boxes and power distribution
A spider box is a portable power distribution box that takes one large feeder and splits it into a cluster of 20A and 50A outlets right where the trades are working. We rent 50A and 100A spider boxes, cam-lock distribution panels and the feeder cord to reach them, which is usually the cheapest way to get outlets across a big slab without adding another service.
Overhead and underground services
Whether your service comes overhead from a utility pole or underground from a vault changes the assembly, the trenching and the timeline. Underground temporary power poles need a conduit run and often a trench inspection of their own. We look at where the nearest source actually is during the site walk and quote both paths when it is a close call.
Removal and permanent changeover
When the permanent service is energized and inspected, the temp service comes down. We coordinate the meter pull with the utility, remove the pole and hardware, backfill the hole and leave the area clean. That work is priced into the original quote, so nothing arrives as a surprise line at the end of the job.
What Affects the Cost of a Temp Power Pole
We quote a flat price after a short site walk. These are the things that actually move the number:
- Amperage. A 100A residential temp pole is the least expensive build. 200A adds a larger panel and heavier conductors. 400A is a different assembly entirely and carries the most material and labor.
- Distance to the utility source. A drop across the street is cheap. A service that needs trenching, conduit or a long overhead span costs more, and underground almost always costs more than overhead.
- Which jurisdiction issues the permit. LADBS, LA County and each incorporated city set their own fees and their own review times. We pull whichever one applies and the fee passes through at cost.
- How fast you need it. Standard turnaround runs two to three weeks, most of it permit review and utility queue. Expedited handling is possible on some jobs and is priced separately.
- How long the service stays up. Most temp services run three to eighteen months. Longer terms earn a better monthly rate, and we will tell you where the break points are.
- Removal at the end. Taking the pole out, coordinating the meter pull and restoring the ground is included in the quote rather than billed later.
Bottom line: one phone call and a site walk gets you a written flat rate with no hidden fees.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can you have a temporary power pole?
In Los Angeles the temporary service is tied to your active building permit rather than a fixed calendar limit. As long as the permit is open and inspections are current, the temp pole can stay. Most run three to eighteen months. If a project stalls and the building permit expires, the utility can disconnect, so keep the permit alive or call us before it lapses.
Does a temporary power pole need a main breaker?
Yes. The service needs a main disconnect rated for the service size, mounted where it is readily accessible and clearly marked. Every pole we build ships with the main breaker, a bonded neutral, driven ground rods and GFCI protection on the receptacles, because an inspector will fail all four if any one is missing.
How many ground rods are required for temporary power?
Two ground rods is the practical answer on nearly every Los Angeles job. Code allows a single rod if it tests at 25 ohms or less, but proving that requires a resistance test, so installing a second rod at least six feet from the first is faster and cheaper than testing. We drive two by default and bond them properly.
How much is a temporary power pole?
The price depends on amperage, distance to the utility drop, the permit fees in your jurisdiction, and how long the service stays up. A 100A residential install sits well below a 400A commercial one. We give every job a flat written quote after a site walk, and removal is included rather than added later.
What size post is used for a temporary power pole?
A 4×6 or 6×6 pressure-treated post is standard for 100A and 200A residential services, set deep enough to stay rigid with the panel and conductors loaded on it. Larger commercial services and 400A assemblies usually go on a steel pedestal or a skid instead of a wooden post.
Do you handle the LADWP or SCE paperwork?
Yes, and it is the main reason people call us. We submit the service request, coordinate the meter location, respond to the utility engineer, and push the application until a release date is set. You get one point of contact instead of a case number.
What if I need power before the utility can energize?
That is common when the queue runs long. We drop a generator on site to keep the crew working and take it off rent the day the meter is released. Sizing and rates are on the generator rentals page, and we coordinate both jobs under the same project manager.
Can you install a temp pole for an event or a film shoot?
For short-duration work a permitted temp service rarely pencils out, and a generator plus distribution is usually faster and cheaper. If the location will be used repeatedly over a long period, a temp service can make sense. Tell us the dates and we will tell you honestly which way to go.
Need temp power in LA?
Tell us about your site and we will call back within one business hour with a flat-rate quote.
Or call us now: (818) 463-2446