Burwell Electric

Dane E.

I retained Burwell Electric based on a referral from Laskey Electric, which does mostly commercial electrical work rather than residential. Mr. Burwell showed up when scheduled, and he agreed to install an OEM and UL listed breaker interlock kit in my electrical panel, with the understanding it would require re-positioning several breakers so a 50-Amp ""generator"" breaker could be added physically adjacent to the existing whole-house 125-Amp main breaker. The mechanical interlock between the two breakers ensures that a portable standby generator connected to the electrical panel cannot back feed the utility grid, while still allowing the generator to back feed all of the other circuits in the panel. I requested that an electrical permit be pulled, to document the panel modifications and installation of a hard-wired 50-Amp NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturer's Association) generator socket on the side of my house.

Mr. Burwell did the installation to my satisfaction. The re-positioning of the existing breakers was complicated because I also have a 3.5 kW solar voltaic system, and a T.E.D. (The Energy Detective) whole house power monitoring system with a total of four current transformers and two sender modules inside my electrical panel. These devices relay the T.E.D. data via my house's electrical wiring, where the data is then received by a modem in my computer room. It's a great system, love it.

There were a few scheduling issues, but Mr. Burwell ultimately took care of them also to my satisfaction. The biggest issue was that the permit Mr. Burwell pulled specified it was for installation of a ""30-Amp generator connection,"" whereas a larger 50-Amp socket, larger #6 gage wire, and a 50-Amp breaker had been planned from the start. He and I both thought it would be a simple matter to have the electrical permit corrected from ""30-Amp"" to ""50-Amp"" once the inspector saw that the higher current hardware had been used and properly installed.

Nope. The County inspector said that the only way to do that was to issue an interim ""fail,"" and for Mr. Burwell to go back to the County permitting department in Santa Rosa, amend the permit, and then schedule a follow-up inspection.

I advised Mr. Burwell that I wanted the permit corrected; I was worried that years later this could be a problem: A permit history showing ""30-Amps"" when in fact a 50-Amp system had been installed. Mr. Burwell agreed to amend the electrical permit he had originally pulled. So, finally, on September 27, 2019, the re-inspection occurred, and passed. This means that I now have immunity from Pacific Greedy & Electric (PG&E) public safety power shutoffs (PSPS). If ever there was a rubber-gloves-solution-to-a-leaky-fountain-pen-problem, PSPS is it. Quickly endorsed by the California Perfectly Useless Commission (PUC), giving PG&E sole discretion for when, how, and if a PSPS should occur.

So, was this worth it? Absolutely. My appreciation and compliments to Mr. Burwell for jumping through these Byzantine regulatory hoops. Burwell Electric's fee was towards the high end of what I expected, but still reasonable, and I now have a fully-National Electrical Code (NEC) compliant, permitted, generator socket with an interlocking breaker. I have also confirmed that my 8 kW Champion dual fuel, propane-powered portable generator can accommodate my whole house electrical load, including lights, fans, microwave, computer room, TV and central AC, and a 1200-Watt FlavorWave oven. I can forego simultaneously running my electric dryer or electric range; an acceptable to me restriction during a PSPS requiring generator operation. As a bonus, the APC uninterruptable power supply (UPS) in my computer room is happy with (i.e., recognizes) the generator power.

I would use Burwell Electric again. And PG&E can take its PSPS and stick it where the Sun doesn't shine.