A. Installation; Conditions: All meters and related electrical equipment shall be installed subject to, and in compliance with, the following conditions:
1. Indoor and outdoor meters shall be installed so that the top of the meter will not be more than six feet six inches (6'6") above the floor or ground.
2. A meter board of soft lumber, and of suitable dimensions for mounting the meter and cabinet, shall be provided as a part of the "roughing in" job. It shall be located near the service entrance on the wall of structure free of excessive vibration and readily accessible at all reasonable hours.
3. Except in business areas, outdoor metering installations shall be installed in all new or remodeled buildings where service is to be supplied from an overhead electricity supply system through a single meter and when the load does not exceed one hundred (100) amperes, single phase. Such meters shall be installed in the service entrance conduit, on the outside of the building and on the supply side of the service disconnect device. The electric service shall be installed as part of the service entrance by the electrical contractor. Outdoor metering installations shall be in a protected area and not on walls adjacent to passageways along which traffic may move.
4. Each set of service entrance conductors shall be provided with a safety type fused switch or circuit breaker which shall be accessible to the occupants of the premises being served and be of ample capacity to carry and to interrupt the connected load.
5. Main service switches may be omitted on installations of not more than six (6) branch circuits where circuit breaker panels are used, provided the total load does not exceed sixty (60) ampere. A master service switch must be provided for installations requiring more than six (6) switches or circuit breakers.
6. Where meters are installed outside of main buildings, branch panel cabinets shall be placed inside the buildings where they will be readily accessible to the occupants. Outside panels may be used only by special permission of the electrical inspector.
7. Circuit breakers or fuse panels approved for branch circuit protection shall be installed on all new or remodeled old wiring installations for lighting circuits. Breakers or panels must be in place when the electrical inspector makes the final inspection. They shall not be installed in bathrooms, toilet rooms or storage closets, but placed in a safe, dry, readily accessible place.
8. When metering installations of one hundred (100) amperes or less are made indoors, the electric service company shall furnish an approved meter connection cabinet which shall be installed and connected on the load side of the electrical city supply disconnection device by the electrical contractor when wiring the premises. All metering installations on electricity supply systems rated above two hundred forty (240) volts and those designated for a capacity over one hundred (100) amperes require instrument transformers; and for installations of this type, approved metal cabinets of sufficient size to enclose the instrument transformers and the wiring raceway between the instrument transformer cabinet and meters shall be furnished and installed by the contractor as a part of the wiring. The plans and specifications of such installations must be approved by the electrical inspector and the electric service company before the cabinets are installed.
9. Not more than one circuit may be taken from any meter base, meter cabinet or current transformer cabinet without special permission of the electrical inspector. If more than two (2) circuits are permitted, wiring gutters must be used.
10. Under no circumstances shall any meter or meters be moved or relocated, except by authorized employees of the electric service company. (1983 Code § 5-424)
B. Sealing Of Service Cabinets:
1. The service company shall install and maintain seals on all service, meter and instrument transformer cabinets. Only an authorized employee of the service company, the city electrical inspector or authorized member of the fire department shall have authority to break the seal for inspection. In case of emergency, an authorized employee of a licensed electrical contractor may break the seal to replace a fuse, but in all such cases the service company shall be notified by the party breaking the seal within twenty four (24) hours in order that the box may be resealed.
2. On all new installations or remodeled installations, plug fuses and plug fuse holders for same shall not be of the Edison type and shall be of such type and so designed as to be subject to tampering or bridging only with difficulty; or a multibreaker panel may be used. If an adapter is used as the fuse holder, it shall be so designed that once inserted in its receptacle it cannot be removed without destruction. The city electrical inspector shall, in places where he finds overfusing or overloading of one or more circuits, have the authority and is granted such authority to give the offender one ten (10) day written notice to correct the same by inserting the proper size fuse installation; and if such offender fails or refuses to correct the same within such ten (10) day period, then the electrical inspector is granted authority to require the installation of proper size installations or to disconnect electric service to the offender. (1983 Code § 5-425)
C. Meter Loops: A separate loop shall be provided for each meter and the length of wire in each loop shall depend on the size of the meter, but must be sufficient to allow for the proper installation of the meter and in no case shall the separate leads be shorter than thirty inches (30"). No meter loop wires shall be smaller than no. 8 B&S gauge. The potential tap to the meter shall not be less than no. 10 B&S gauge and must be suitably connected in a permanent manner to a load side terminal of the service entrance switch. (1983 Code § 5-426)
D. Meter Boards: In apartment houses and buildings requiring more than one meter, the meters shall be mounted on a common board with an approved safety type switch provided for each meter; provided, that such for buildings of more than two (2) stories, the meters for all customers on the same floor may be mounted on a common board on that floor and the service entrance switch to the distribution centers on the different floors. These conduits shall be brought into the individual service switch cabinets without conduit fittings of any kind other than buildings where there is more than one lighting meter. All branch cabinets must be located in the apartment which they control. (1983 Code § 5-427)
E. Location: Meters shall be located as near as possible to the point where the service enters the buildings, in a clean, dry place, readily accessible at all reasonable hours, free from vibration. Meters or circuit boxes shall not be installed in bathrooms, toilet rooms, under stairways, storage closets, nor in any part of a building usually kept locked. They will not be installed in kitchens or restaurants or similar places when it is possible to place them elsewhere, and they shall in no case be installed over a stove or range. Meters will not be located within twelve inches (12") of bus bars, large bodies of iron or main conductor carrying a heavy current. Under no circumstances shall any meter be moved or relocated except by the authorized employees of the service company. It shall be the duty of the service company to move and reset any meter upon notice of approval of the same by the city electrical inspector. All wiring and installation including conduit, piping and weatherheads placed in or on the side of any building in the city shall be done by a bonded and licensed electrician, except that the power company shall run service lines up to and bracket wires on the building to be served and make connections to wiring leading from weatherhead to meter, and shall set the meter when work is approved by the electrical inspector. (1983 Code § 5-428)
F. Shunting Prohibited: It is unlawful for any person, except a duly authorized representative of the service company, to shunt or bypass any current around any meter, connect or disconnect any meter, or in any manner tamper with any electric meter. (1983 Code § 5-429)