We didn't get to decide this. The electrician consulted with us on where our main electrical panel would be in the house and then the electric company ran the lines and placed a permanent pole on that side of the house. So, we decided the location of the interior box (which has some strange code requirements) and the electric company decided the rest.

Our experience was just like jdez. I will add that the power company flagged their preferred path to run the exterior line from the box to the house. This path was "free" and if we wanted it to run a different route (we were considering along the driveway) they would do it, for about $600 extra.

My power company installed a main along the road and it's up to me to hire someone to install the line from there to wherever I want, as long as it meets state code. I figured there would be more 'DIY'ers that act as their own G.C. and had an opinion on this page :P

ctsnicholas - We are our own GC and we planned the location for the interior panel in the basement, verified it was a good spot with the electrician, and then the power company ran the exterior line. The power company here runs and maintains ALL lines, so sourcing it out from the main to our home was not an option.

Like many things, your flexibility and options can depend heavily on where you are building.

As noted by "Sophie", the incoming location is usually set by the utility. Nevertheless, there are still further choices you can make.

For instance, in some homes I've built, the power lines were on the rear property line. However, to avoid having a large obtrusive panel in a fancy finished basement, the line was dropped from the initial attachment on the house into an underground conduit, then run to a panel in the front-entry garage.

(I detest any cables, phone lines, etc. running on exterior walls.)

We were able to choose the location of the breaker box and meter box. We consulted with the electrician to choose the best way of doing this. I believe the closer they are to each other, the more cost effective it is. We did have to meet the codes and electrical company's specs. We had to keep the main breaker box within 200 ft of the permanent power pole according to our electrical company. In order to keep the main pole (which they placed) at the corner of the property with no lines actually coming across our property, it did limit where we could place the box. Our underground line crosses under our driveway as a result.

I think the utility company here is much more laid back. I am thinking I will run mine from the panel and then go under my driveway (which will be rock/gravel for a long time unless I win the lottery) and then along *side* my front porch and into the basement either through an elbow that drills into the rim-board or otherwise a fancy conduit ran through the concrete foundation wall.

I think the elbow will be easier to install, although it won't look invisible like option 2, I won't have to worry about any future water issues from the conduit hole in the foundation. I will either have my panel on that wall (exterior wall) and build it out on studs so there is a void behind it or I will run my main line to the interior wall of that bathroom/utility room.

I am thinking the water line from my well will be a similar route, however I can't have it be above the frost line so I will have to run it through my concrete foundation. Any pointers for that?

We're a ways off the road, so they had to put a transformer on our property. There were some strange requirements. First, the neighbor had to sign a release so that they could run the underground cable from the pole (on their land) over to our land. Luckily, our neighbors are great, and it was just a formality. I did wonder what happens if the neighbor doesn't cooperate, though.

Second, we are close to the limit for distance from the pole, both the distance from the pole to the transformer, and from the transformer to the house. Again- What happens if the house is farther away? We're only about 400' away.

The electrical code has a strange (IMHO) rule about the type of meter because the interior panel isn't directly in line with the meter. The meter has to be 5-1/2 feet off the ground, which would have put our panel halfway between floors, so we had to buy a meter with a separate disconnect. That makes our interior panel a sub-panel, so it has to have a separate ground and neutral, which makes it more complicated and messier than panels that combine the neutral and ground. All this is because the interior panel is offset about 3' from the meter, rather than directly in line. I'm also not crazy about the fact that a bad guy or prankster could shut off the power to the house from outside. I don't think it's legal to padlock it, but I should find out.

As for the water- I know that water and electric can't be in the same hole, but I don't know what the rules are as far as how far apart they must be. We brought both into the house on the same corner, but they are about 8' apart. I put a PVC sleeve through the concrete wall for each utility. Once the pipe and wiring was installed, I foamed the remaining space. The water enters underground, of course. I like having the utilities in the same general area of the basement. If I ever finish off the basement, it would be easy to create a mechanical room with everything in one room. Make sure you plan out where your water heater will go, unless you go tankless. I wanted to have mine in the middle somewhere, but then I wouldn't have had a reasonable way to drain it, which is a requirement. Mine had to have a pan with a drain line, and a safety pressure relief valve with a separate drain line.

The rule isn't "strange." The service disconnect must be AT the point the service feeds the structure. Now if you have your main panel right where the meter is, you can use the main panel as the disconnect. If you put it any distance away, you need to have a disconnect (either integrated with the meter or just near it) separate from that panel. I've got three panels in my house, but the service disconnect is on the wall next to the meter (mostly this is because I have a generator transfer switch in the mix as well).

Yes, everything up to the meter is usually determined by power company rules (not the electrical code). How much they charge and what they're willing to do is going to vary by utility as are typically the requirements for meter bases, and where and how the underground or overhead wires can be run.

In my case, I have the "main" panel in the garage (the power enters on that wall) and then it feeds two "subpanels" elsewhere in the house to make the wiring runs easier.

Don't worry about water and electricity together. Any outside wiring is already going to be assumed to be wet (even if your plumbing doesn't leak into it).

I'm also not crazy about the fact that a bad guy or prankster could shut off the power to the house from outside. I don't think it's legal to padlock it, but I should find out.

Probably not. We have the same requirement in NC and it is for the safety of the firemen.

The separate disconnect is an NEC rule, so applies just about everywhere. Technically, even a straight shot is some distance from the interior panel- in the case of my walls, about 13". But if you have to go anywhere but straight through, then the disconnect is required. In my case, the difference is about 3 feet. Suppose I drilled a hole through the wall on an angle, so the feeder came out in the interior panel? It's a moot point now, anyhow, but I'm just curious as to the 'why'.

I have a disconnect for the main just in from the road ditch. >.< Hooligans could easily flip the switch on my entire property with it being so close to the road. I didn't think the company would do that, but that is what they 'have been doing for years'. It is then my duty to run burial line from there to my desired location. I'm going to ask them if I am legally allowed to padlock the panel in case of a fire I am hoping they pack bolt cutters for that specific reason. I am going to have a temp panel to run my water well and some outlets for power tools. Then once the house is roughed in I will need to run power all the way inside, and then have a breaker going back outside to my water well.

I am not 100% sure about drilling a hole into my fresh foundation wall for power to come in, but I don't see any way around doing that for water that needs to be buried 3 or 4' below to avoid frost line.

our electric company allowed us 160 feet from the "pole" to the box which was fine with us-if we had wanted more we would have had to pay for it
our house is connected to a detached garage by a breezeway and the box is on the garage wall in an area not seen from either street (corner lot) cable wiring is there also
across the breezeway, we have water connections and exterior faucets (softened and untreated) and lp gas so utilities are reasonably close together all are not very noticeable.
since we live in south texas and have few problems with freezing, the utilities run through the breezeway ceiling to the house