“The meter base had rusted through and the mast was leaning. They wrote down every part on its own line, and my adjuster accepted the estimate as it was.”
Sherri W.Service entrance, Saraland
Mobile and Baldwin counties
Power back on,
in the right order
A storm-hit or flooded house goes through the same steps: the power company disconnects, an electrician repairs, the city inspects, the power company reconnects. We do our part and walk you through the rest.
Where are you right now?
Storm recovery
Seven steps from outage to reconnect
The order matters. In most places the power company will not reconnect a service until it has passed inspection, so we plan the work around who has to act next.
- 01You
Step 1: Make it safe
Burning smell, sparks, a hot or scorched panel or meter: call 911 first. If it is safe and dry, turn off the main breaker. Stay out of any room where water is near wiring.
- 02Power company
Step 2: The power company disconnects
If water or wind reached the meter or the service wire, the power company turns the service off at the meter or the pole. Call them, and write down the ticket number.
- 03You
Step 3: Photograph before anything moves
Take pictures of the panel, the meter base, the wet outlets and the waterline on the wall, before anything is dried or hauled out. Text them to us.
- 04Us
Step 4: We survey and write it down
We come to the house, open what is safe to open and find what stayed above the water. You get a written estimate that lists each part of the work on its own line.
- 05Us
Step 5: We repair under a permit
We pull the permit where one is required and replace what water touched. If you choose, we raise the panel and meter base above the flood line while the wall is open.
- 06City or county
Step 6: The city or county inspects
An inspector checks the work. The power company needs that approval before it reconnects, and we meet the inspector at the house.
- 07Power company
Step 7: The power company reconnects
Once the inspection is approved, the power company reconnects the service. The date is theirs, not ours. We can call them with you.
Before you call anyone
Burning smell, sparks or a hot panel? Call 911 first.
If it is safe and dry, turn off the main breaker. Stay out of any room where water is near wiring. Then call or text us, and we will tell you what to do next.
Flood zones
Raise it once, above the water
Where the meter base and panel sit decides how much a flood can reach. We move them up, to the height the flood map and your county call for.
The wall is already open for the repair, so a raise costs less then than it will later. We read the flood elevation for your address with you before we draw anything, and the height is written on the estimate.
Meter base and panel moved above the flood elevation for your address
Mast and service wire changed to match
Permit and inspection through your city or county
The power company moves its meter on its own schedule
The work
What we replace and raise
Mast and service wire
Bent, rotted or pulled loose from the house by wind or a fallen limb.
Service entrance and meter
Raised panel and meter
Moved up the wall or to a pole, above the flood line for your address.
Raising a panel and meter
Panel after water
The panel, breakers and circuits that went under water, replaced under permit.
Storm recovery
How pricing works
Every storm job is priced in writing after a survey. Here is what goes into the number.
What decides the price
Five things move the price of a storm repair more than anything else.
How high the water or damage reached, and how much of the service it touched
The size of the service: 100 amp or 200 amp, and how far the meter sits from the panel
Whether the mast, the weatherhead and the meter base are sound or need replacing
Whether you raise the panel and meter above the flood line
Permit and inspection fees, which we pass through at cost
What the estimate includes, and what it doesn’t
The written estimate lists the meter base, mast, panel, circuits, permit and inspection on their own lines, so an adjuster or a lender can read it. The power company’s own charges and drywall, paint and flooring repair are not in it.
Included: survey, parts, labor, permit, the inspection visit
Not included: the power company’s charges, drywall, paint, flooring
What happens at the visit
One electrician comes for the survey and stays until the picture is clear. We photograph what we find and we do not price what we cannot see. If we open a wall and find more, we stop and call you.
The survey visit has a fee, stated when you book
It comes off the work if you go ahead
When you get the number
You get the number in writing after the survey, before any work starts, and it is the number on the invoice unless you change the job. The estimate stays open for 30 days.
A change to the job is priced in writing first
You sign the estimate before we order parts
From people we have worked for
“Water got to the garage panel. Kendrick showed me the waterline on the wall, what was above it and what was not, and we replaced only what had to be.”
Garfield H.Panel after water, Chickasaw
“We raised the meter and panel when the wall was open. The inspector came the week after, and the power company reconnected a few days later.”
Silvia L.Raised meter, Dauphin Island
Sample reviews.
Who comes
One owner on the first survey
Lattimore Electric is Kendrick Lattimore and six others, working out of Midtown Mobile.
Kendrick walks the first survey on every storm repair himself, so the person who writes your estimate is the person who saw the waterline. Tanisha books the inspections and talks to the power company. Rory and Jorge do the work.
Kendrick Lattimore
Owner
Service area
Mobile County and the Eastern Shore
We work in Mobile and Baldwin counties, from the Mobile River to the Gulf. If your town is not listed, send the address and we will say.
Mobile County
- Mobile
- Prichard
- Chickasaw
- Saraland
- Satsuma
- Semmes
- Theodore
- Dauphin Island
- Bayou La Batre
Baldwin County
- Daphne
- Fairhope
- Spanish Fort
- Gulf Shores
- Orange Beach
We don’t take jobs in Florida or Mississippi, or north of Citronelle.
Questions we hear after a storm
Do I need an inspection before the power comes back?
In most cases, yes. After a flood or a service repair the city or county has to approve the work before the power company reconnects. We schedule the inspection and meet the inspector. Ask your building department what it requires for your address.
Who calls the power company?
You do, first, because the account is yours and they need your ticket number. We call them with you when the repair is done and the inspection is approved, if you want us to.
Can a panel that got wet be dried and kept?
Equipment that was under water is generally replaced. We check what stayed above the waterline, tell you what we found and put it on the estimate line by line.
Will you work with my insurance company?
We give you a written, line-by-line estimate and photos of what we found. Your insurance company decides what it covers, and we cannot say what that will be.
How high should the panel and meter go?
It depends on the flood elevation for your address and on what your county asks for. We read the flood map with you before we draw anything, and we write the height on the estimate.
How long will the power be off?
The electrical work often takes a day or two. The longer wait is usually the inspection and the power company’s reconnect, and both schedules are theirs. We tell you what we hear the day we hear it.
Tell us what happened
Send what you can. Photos of the panel, the meter and the waterline save a trip. We answer first thing the next working day.
Phone(251) 555-0100
Hours
- Monday – FridayToday
- 7 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- SaturdayToday
- 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.
- SundayToday
- Closed