Replacing Electrical Weatherhead ?

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I am a homeowner in Burlingame California

I am getting a new roof installed and noticed that my weatherhead is very rusty. Also the ground wire is attached through an insulator into my roof.

I would like to change out the weatherhead.

What is involved? I guess I need to contact the city? Contact the utility company PG&E to turn off power? Or do they allow the change over to be done hot?

If I get the power turned off by the utility company can I do the work myself?

I guess it would me running new wires too.

Any advice would help.

Thanks

[misterjustme]

Call PG&E and schedule a time for a disconnect and a reconnect after you are done. There is no way I would try this while it is energized although I am sure somebody will tell you it can be done. To be honest it probably could be done hot but why take the chance? If something goes wrong you could be burned beyond recognition. I don't think replacing a weatherhead requires a permit but you might call the city/county inspectors office and inquire. If you are not 100% certain of what you are doing call an electrician. Changing a weatherhead should not take more then an hour or two and that would be money well spent if you aren't sure of what you are doing.

[aemeijers]

Anything upstream of meter base is power company's turf, even though you own the weatherhead itself. Call them and ask what the local procedures for a refresh are. Some places you have to buy the riser and weatherhead from them, others tell you what makes and models are acceptable. Pretty safe to say a licensed electrician will be required, either theirs or somebody with a local license that can call in a work order to get the drop disconnected at the pole while they do the work. Eyeball the drop wire with binoculars- if you see shiny spots, tell the power company. Worn-out drops are a leading cause of outages in storms, and they would rather switch them on a nice sunny day.

-- aem sends...

[metspitzer]

Paint it. It should last 40 more years

[RBM]

These things are handled differently in locations across the country. You could call the utility, or an electrician. I doubt they would kill the power to work on it, so if you are not experienced, hire someone... or just paint it