If your Charlotte home was built between 1957 and 1990, there's about a 40% chance your electrical panel is a Federal Pacific Stab-Lok — and that's a problem. Multiple independent studies have shown these panels fail to trip during overload conditions at rates 5-10x higher than other brands. That means fire risk.
How to know if you have one
Go look at your panel. If it says "Federal Pacific" or "FPE" or "Stab-Lok" anywhere on the door or label, you have one. Photograph the label and call us — we can usually tell from the photo whether it's a candidate for replacement vs. retrofit.
Your insurance company is watching
State Farm, Allstate, USAA, Nationwide, and most major NC carriers now require replacement of Federal Pacific panels at renewal time. If they don't catch it at renewal, they often catch it during a routine claim — and deny the claim citing pre-existing hazard.
The cost
Replacement runs $3,200-4,800 for a typical Charlotte home depending on panel size and routing complexity. Most insurance companies will give you 30-60 days to remediate before non-renewing.
If you have an FPE panel, you have an actual fire risk and a real insurance liability. The replacement math wins.
Free inspection any time. Photo the label, send it to us, we can give you ballpark pricing on the spot.
Need service panel upgrade in Charlotte?
We're Liberty Electric — family-owned, fully licensed, and answering the phone live. Most Charlotte jobs booked same-day.