Commercial Panel and Service Upgrades, Meter Swaps
Panel full, old or tripping? Find out whether you need a panel, a subpanel or a bigger service.
Need a commercial electrical panel upgrade in Kansas City? ThreeCo replaces panels, adds subpanels, upgrades services and swaps meters for businesses and building owners across the metro, on both the Missouri and Kansas sides. Every job starts with a load calculation, so you pay for the capacity the building needs and no more, and we pull the permit and coordinate the utility. Start with Watt, the chat button on this page, or call (816) 730-9100.
The panel and the service are where a building's power comes in and is divided up. When they are too small or too old, breakers trip, new equipment cannot be added, and the risk of a failure at the panel grows. We take residential work too, across the Kansas City metro, and panel upgrades and meter swaps are part of it.
Signs a panel or service needs replacing
- No room left for new breakers, or tandem breakers and add-on subpanels filling every gap.
- Breakers that trip under normal load, run warm, or will not reset.
- Scorch marks, a burning smell, buzzing or corrosion at the panel.
- A panel model with a poor safety record, or one so old that replacement breakers are hard to find.
- A planned addition — new equipment, a kitchen, an EV-ready parking area, solar — that the existing service cannot carry.
- An insurer or inspector asking for it.
Panel, subpanel or service — what is the difference?
A panel replacement swaps the box of breakers for a new one at the same size. A subpanel adds a second panel fed from the first, which helps when the service has capacity but the panel has no room. A service upgrade raises how much power the building can draw: a larger panel or switchgear, new service conductors, and usually a new meter base, with the utility involved because their side of the meter changes too.
Which one a building needs comes from a load calculation — adding up what it runs and what you plan to add — not from guesswork. We do that before quoting.
Why businesses upgrade
In commercial buildings the reason is usually something new to power. A restaurant adds a fryer line or a second walk-in. A warehouse adds equipment or a charging area for lift trucks. A property adds EV chargers. A suite is leased to a tenant who needs more than the last one. The load calculation says whether the existing panel or service carries it, before anything is bought.
The other reason is age. If a panel's breakers are no longer made, one failed breaker can turn into a panel replacement on the worst possible day. Replacing it on a schedule is cheaper than in an emergency.
Commercial buildings are different from houses
Most commercial buildings run on three-phase power, which motors, rooftop units and kitchen equipment need, and their distribution is often more than one panel: a main switchboard or switchgear feeding panels around the building. Multi-tenant buildings add a meter bank, with each suite on its own meter and panel, and the shared service belonging to the building. Upgrading one suite can mean checking what the whole service has left.
Switchgear and larger panels have lead times, so on a bigger job the order goes in when the quote is accepted and the schedule is built around the delivery.
Sometimes the panel is fine and simply in the wrong place, in the way of a remodel. Relocating it is its own job: the panel moves, and every circuit that lands in it is extended or re-run to reach it.
On new buildings, panels and switchgear are part of the power distribution we install from the start, as on the Vestis Warehouse build in Kansas City.
How ThreeCo does it
- 1
Look and calculate
We inspect the existing panel and service, ask what you plan to add, and work out the load.
- 2
Quote and permit
You get a written quote. The electrical permit is pulled before work starts, and for a service change we coordinate the disconnect and reconnect with the utility.
- 3
Plan the shutdown
A panel or service change means the power is off for part of the work. We plan when with you, so the outage lands where it costs your business least, and anything that must keep running — refrigeration, a server closet — is planned for.
- 4
Install, label, inspect
A crew under Master Electrician Jason Strange installs it, every circuit is labeled, and the job is inspected before it is closed out.
What affects the cost
We do not publish prices, because no two panels are the same job. What moves the number: the size of the new panel or service; whether it is a like-for-like swap or a capacity increase; the condition of the existing wiring that lands in it; whether the meter base and service conductors change; distance from the meter to the panel; and the utility's requirements for the reconnect. Commercial three-phase equipment and switchgear add lead time as well as cost.
Recent work
A panel job we finished recently
Finished between August and early October 2026. We describe the work and the town; we do not name the customer.
- Grandview, MO — Relocating an electrical panel.
The project that proves it
A project behind this page
FAQ
Questions about commercial panel and service upgrades, meter swaps
Do I need a bigger service or just a new panel?
That comes from a load calculation: what the building runs now and what you plan to add. We do it before quoting, so you do not pay for capacity you will not use or end up short.
How long will the power be off?
It depends on the job. A panel or service change needs the power off for part of the work, and for a service change the utility sets the reconnect. We plan the timing with you before we start.
I lease my space. Who pays for a panel upgrade?
That is set by your lease, not by us. In general the panel inside a suite serves the tenant, and the main service and meter bank belong to the building. If the upgrade reaches the shared service, the building owner or property manager needs to be involved; we work with either.
Who deals with the utility?
We do, as part of the job. Panel and service replacements are permitted and inspected, and for a service upgrade or meter swap the utility reconnects the building after the inspection passes. That date sets when the power is back on, so we book it early.
Do you do panel upgrades for homes?
Yes. We take residential work too — service calls, panel upgrades, meter swaps and new construction — across the Kansas City metro.
How do I get a quote?
Start with Watt, the chat button on this page. Tell it the address, what the panel is like and what you want to add. You can also call (816) 730-9100. Estimates are free unless a site visit is needed to scope the job; where one is, there is a trip charge, waived if you move forward with the work.
Panel full, old or tripping?
Tell Watt the address and what you want to add. We will tell you whether it is a panel, a subpanel or a service.
New customers: start with Watt and get 10% off your first job.