/ Field knowledge · NEC 100 · Sparky Edition
A MAIN label is not the service point.
NEC Article 100: a meter and a panel labeled MAIN do not explain the electrical service. “Existing service to remain” needs a verified map of where the utility connects, where service control occurs, and what is downstream.
Educational 2026 NEC Article 100 terminology. Confirm the adopted edition and the serving utility. This is not a service design. For an FPL project, start with FPL Electric Service Standards; another utility may have a different arrangement.
- Service brings utility energy into premises wiring.
- Service point is the utility-to-premises connection.
- Service conductors extend from that point to the service disconnecting means.
- Service equipment provides the principal service control and cutoff.
- A feeder supplies downstream distribution. Feeders can also originate at other power sources — “every feeder starts at a utility service” is not a universal definition.
Simplified path: utility facilities → service point → service conductors → service disconnect → feeder → panelboard → branch-circuit protection → load. The meter’s location alone does not establish the service point. A main breaker alone does not prove that its enclosure is service equipment.
Existing service to remain
A missing service boundary is an information gap, not permission to assume feeder rules apply. Resolve it before equipment procurement, grounding changes, or a reuse conclusion. Owners can assemble utility correspondence without opening cabinets or tracing energized conductors. Record “not verified” when a label is absent.
Source: Sparky service boundaries · grounding: bonding · recert: Miami-Dade recert.
What to send
Utility correspondence if any, the one-line, and exterior photos of meter/disconnect (no cabinet opening).
If the note is “existing service to remain”
Send the one-line. Masterbuild will say whether Article 100 even has a service point on that drawing — or the team is about to buy equipment on a guess.
Send Project Background+1 (786) 398-6940 · osmany.portal@masterbuildconsulting.com
Masterbuild provides engineering services under a written scope. Nothing on this page is project-specific engineering advice, a code interpretation for your project, or a representation about permit approval. Sparky Edition uses the 2026 NEC as model-code education. Confirm the adopted edition. Field observations do not establish electrical safety; only qualified personnel using required safe-work procedures should access electrical equipment.