Like-for-Like Panel Replacement
Also known as: Like-for-likeIn-kind panel replacement
PG&E's Greenbook calls a panel replacement "like-for-like" when the new meter panel has the same amperage rating (for example 200A → 200A), goes in the same location, and matches the old one's shape, layout, dimensions and number of meter sockets, with PG&E's existing service conductors landing directly on the new panel's lugs. A like-for-like replacement may not have to meet every current Greenbook requirement; an upgrade has to meet all of them.
The rule isn't new. PG&E's 2022–23 Greenbook already covered like-for-like replacements, and the 2026 edition (effective June 22, 2026) sets the conditions out next to those for an upgrade in Section 3.5, Table 3-1. A swap stops counting as like-for-like if it would reduce existing clearances, needs a splice or junction box to reach PG&E's conductors, or if a deck, planter or addition has since been built over, under or around the old panel. PG&E still disconnects and reconnects the service, can decline to energize a panel that doesn't meet its requirements, and the permit and inspection apply either way.
A lot of panel work in Santa Cruz County is a same-size swap: a 30-year-old 200A panel replaced with a new 200A panel in the same spot. Qualifying as like-for-like decides how much of the current Greenbook the new installation has to meet. It doesn't take PG&E out of the job: California combination meter mains hold the utility's conductor terminations, so PG&E disconnects and reconnects either way. On an underground service, the new panel needs its own isolated cable-termination compartment even when the amperage stays the same. Adding amperage (100A → 200A, or 200A → 400A), moving the panel, or a panel that doesn't match the old one makes it an upgrade, which has to meet every current Greenbook requirement and may need new service conductors at the homeowner's cost.
We check whether a swap qualifies before we quote: same amperage, same spot, a matching panel, and PG&E's conductors reaching the new lugs without a splice. If it doesn't qualify, it's an upgrade, and we quote it as one.
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