Often, when service equipment is replaced. The 2023 National Electrical Code, adopted into New York’s 2025 Uniform Code, asks for an outdoor emergency disconnect so firefighters can cut power without entering the house. There is an exception when only the meter socket or the entrance cable is being replaced. See weatherhead and meter socket replacement.

For new or changed service equipment, yes. PSEG Long Island wants the inspection certificate before it reconnects. That is why the permit, the private inspection agency and the utility are all lined up before the work starts, not afterward. Our emergency electrician page explains how this changes after storm damage.