DIY: How to Upgrade an Electrical Service Panel Meter Socket

Remove the metal seal beside the meter using diagonal pliers. Unscrew the meter box cover or remove the circular clamp around the meter box if there is one. Grab the electric meter with both hands and pull the meter out of the socket.

Loosen all the terminal lugs inside the meter box using a hex key wrench. Unplug the cables from the lugs and loosen the grounding screw holding the wire running to the ground rods. Note carefully how the cables are wired to their corresponding lugs before unplugging them.

Unscrew the meter socket hub that holds the pipe to the meter box frame. Remove the screws that attach the meter box onto the wall with a screwdriver, then pull the meter box carefully out of the wall.

Hold the newer model meter box over the spot where the old meter box was located, then slip the cables dangling from the conduit pipe above through the opening on top of the meter box. Slip the cables running from the electrical panel through the opening at the base of the meter box. Screw the socket meter hub that holds the riser pipe to the electric meter box.

Plug each cable in the same order that you noted on the original meter. Each black cable from the riser pipe plugs into each outer terminal lug in the upper half of the socket. Each black cable from the electrical panel plugs into each outer lug in the lower half of the socket. Each black cable with white markings plugs into the vertical pair of lugs in between the black lugs.

Tighten all lugs with a hex key wrench and screw the grounding wire running from the ground rods onto the grounding terminal screw in the meter socket. Check all connections to make sure each one is properly connected and secure.

Replace the cover of the electric meter box. Contact your local government electrical inspector and have the new meter box inspected.