Some Things You Never Forget After 27 Years in This Trade

The things that sizzle when hot…

Key Takeaways

System-Wide Commercial Troubleshooting: Pinellas County Electric brings 27+ years of commercial trade experience to diagnose complex electrical issues from the main service entrance down to individual branch circuits and fixtures.
Three-Phase Power Expertise: Specialized management for complex 120/208V and 120/240V three-phase systems, high-leg delta configurations, and phase sequence testing to protect commercial machinery and HVAC motors.
Turnkey Upgrades & Code Compliance: End-to-end management of commercial panel replacements, LED lighting retrofits, and meter banks, including municipal permitting, engineering reviews, and Duke Energy coordination.
Florida Climate Protection: Proactive internal equipment evaluations designed to catch hidden thermal damage, water intrusion, and coastal salt-air corrosion before they trigger costly operational downtime.

There are certain electrical jobs I’ve been involved with over the years that I will probably remember for the rest of my life. They’re also a big reason I’m so particular about how we approach commercial and residential meter centers and service equipment today.

One of the simplest things in electrical work can also become one of the most dangerous when the blueprints are overlooked:

Every electrical connection has to be properly terminated and tightened to the equipment manufacturer’s specified torque.

That becomes especially critical when we’re working inside large meter centers and main electrical distribution equipment.

I’ve been on jobs during my career where I’ve seen firsthand what can happen when something as seemingly simple as a connection isn’t properly tightened. Years ago, while working around other companies and electricians, I encountered a situation at a hospital where a neutral connection had not been properly secured. The resulting electrical failure contributed to an extremely serious event that damaged a wing of the hospital.

That’s something you don’t forget.

People sometimes look inside a piece of electrical equipment and see bolts, lugs, wires, and occasionally power tools. An experienced electrician should see electrical connections carrying potentially enormous amounts of current for years or decades.

A connection can look perfectly fine and still not be properly torqued.

If a connection is loose, resistance can develop at that point. Resistance creates heat. Heat can further deteriorate the connection, and eventually you can have arcing, damaged conductors, destroyed equipment or a much larger electrical failure.

That’s why you’ll hear me tell our electricians:

Don’t guess with a connection. Torque it.

If the manufacturer gives us a torque specification, there’s a reason for it.

I’ve also experienced the aftermath of what can happen when someone tries to make a repair to commercial metering equipment that should never have been approached as a makeshift repair in the first place.

On one particular residential project, another electrical contractor had been attempting a repair to existing meter equipment when something went terribly wrong. An electrician was injured badly enough to be transported to the hospital, and the electrical event caused a fire and extensive damage inside the electrical room.

We weren’t the contractor performing that original repair.

We were the company brought in afterward.

By the time Pinellas County Electric became involved, we weren’t talking about a small meter repair anymore; we had to review the new blueprints to ensure a thorough and safe reconstruction. We were looking at the aftermath of a major electrical event and the work necessary to safely rebuild the damaged electrical system.

What someone may have initially hoped would be a relatively inexpensive repair ultimately turned into hundreds of thousands of dollars in electrical restoration and related work.

I’ve seen enough situations like this throughout my career that they’ve changed the way I look at old commercial electrical equipment.

Everybody wants to save the customer money. I do too.

I will always look for the most practical and cost-effective solution I can give somebody. But there’s a difference between finding a cost-effective solution and trying to become a hero by repairing something that shouldn’t be repaired that way.

Commercial meter centers, switchboards, and service equipment are listed and labeled assemblies. We have to respect how that equipment was manufactured, what components are approved for it, its condition, and what repairs or modifications are actually permitted for that equipment.

Sometimes a legitimate manufacturer-approved repair or replacement component is available, often needing to be installed using specialized power tools.

Sometimes it isn’t.

And when it isn’t, fabricating something, modifying equipment in a way it wasn’t designed for, or trying to squeeze another few years out of severely compromised equipment can turn what started as an attempt to save money into a catastrophic failure.

I’ve personally seen what the aftermath can look like.

That’s why I’m willing to tell a customer no.

If I don’t believe a proposed repair can be performed safely and properly, I’m not interested in putting the Pinellas County Electric name on it just because it’s cheaper.

There are times when replacement is the responsible recommendation.

And when we do install new commercial metering equipment, I want the details handled correctly—from the major components all the way down to something as fundamental as properly torquing every required connection.

Because once we close that meter center, those connections may be expected to carry substantial electrical loads 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for decades.

Nobody standing outside the electrical room is going to see whether an electrician torqued that neutral correctly.

But I’ve seen what can happen when somebody doesn’t.

That’s one of the biggest lessons 27 years in this trade has taught me:

The most important parts of electrical work are often the things the customer will never see.

Proper torque.

Proper phasing.

Proper grounding and bonding.

Correct equipment, including reviewing blueprints and using the appropriate power tools.

Correct terminations.

Testing before energizing.

Knowing when equipment can legitimately be repaired.

And, just as importantly, knowing when it’s time to stop trying to repair it and replace it correctly.

Those aren’t little details.

In residential and commercial electrical work, those details can be the difference between a successful installation and an electrical failure that affects an entire building.

That’s why when Pinellas County Electric works on a commercial meter center, I want our electricians thinking beyond getting the power back on.

I want them thinking about whether that electrical system is going to remain safe and reliable long after our trucks leave the property.