Hail on Your Electric Meter Cover Is a Utility Call First

A hailstone that dents the gutter and cracks the vent hood can also strike the electric meter on the outside wall, and that is the hail hit homeowners tend to walk past. The meter cover is a thin shell of plastic or metal over the socket where the utility's meter sits. It has no shingles to count and no roof to measure, so it rarely appears on a checklist. It still protects live connections, which makes a dent or crack there a safety question before it is a cosmetic one.

Why the meter cover takes hail

The meter sits on an exterior wall, usually at head height or a little above, and it faces whatever direction the storm came from. Hail that drives sideways on a windy front can reach a wall surface that hail falling straight down never touches. The cover is set into a metal or plastic socket, and many covers have a clear window so the meter can be read without opening anything. A stone big enough to dent the cover can crack that window, bend the frame around it, or push the cover out of its seat.

The meter is not the only part of that box that takes a hit. The conduit run that feeds the meter, the weatherhead above it, and the gasket where the cover meets the socket can all show damage. A cracked gasket lets water in, and water in a meter socket is a fault the utility will want to look at before anyone else works on it. Hail also shakes the mounting screws loose on older boxes, so a cover that sits slightly crooked after a storm deserves a close look even if the glass is whole.

Hail season in the St. Louis area runs through the warm months, and the meter often gets missed in the first walk because it is not on the roof. Walk the full perimeter of the house on the same day you walk the roof, and include every exterior wall that faces the storm direction. The meter is easy to find once you know to look at the wall base.

Photograph it before anyone touches the box

Take the first photos from the ground, standing well back, and do not open or remove the cover. Shoot the whole box so the wall, the conduit and the roof edge above it appear in one frame. Then move in for close shots of any crack, dent or gap at the cover's edge. Put a coin or a tape measure in one photo so the dent has a scale. Keep the files as originals from the phone's camera roll, not screenshots, because an original with its date intact is what a later reviewer will ask for.

Write down the day of the storm and which side of the house the box faces. If the wind came from the west and the meter sits on the west wall, say so in the note. The roofer and the utility can both use that direction later, and it matches the rest of your storm file.

Who handles the meter and the box

The meter belongs to the electric utility, and the socket and cover are usually maintained by the utility and a licensed electrician. A roofing contractor should not open the box, remove the cover, or reseal the socket as part of a roof job. If the cover is cracked or missing, call the utility's service line first and ask what it wants done and by whom. Ask the same question about a gas meter and regulator if one sits near the storm damage, since gas and electric meters are often on the same wall.

If you smell burning, see scorch marks, hear buzzing, or notice the lights flicker, leave the area and call the utility's emergency number from outside the house. Do not wait for the next roof visit to report it.

Keep the meter out of the roof scope

A roof bid can mention the service entrance above the eave, because the crew works next to it. It should not promise to repair the meter cover, the socket or the conduit. A roofer who writes that the meter box is repaired into a roof scope has taken on electrical work inside a line item that does not say who is licensed to do it. Ask each bid to name the meter box as outside its scope, with a note that the homeowner will arrange the utility or electrical work separately.

The written scope should still show the meter box in the photos. Keys documents damage, puts a written scope with photos and measurements in the homeowner's hands, and attends as the contractor on the day of the work. A meter cover that appears in that file as a documented item gives the utility and your electrician the same record you have.

Insurance stays on your side of the table

If the meter cover is part of a storm claim, the claim is yours to handle with your insurer. Missouri law (RSMo 407.725) bars a roofing contractor from representing or negotiating a homeowner's insurance claim, and it bars the contractor from saying anything about paying, waiving or covering a deductible. That rule applies to a meter cover as much as it applies to shingles. Keys can give you the photos, the dated index and the written scope, and you decide what goes to the insurer and when.

What it costs, and what to ask

A replacement cover or socket is a small repair compared with a roof, but the price depends on whether the utility or your own electrician does the work, and on whether the socket needs new parts. Ask for the price in writing before the work starts. Ask who pulls any permit that the electrical work requires, and which desk issues it. Some municipalities in St. Louis County issue their own permits, so the answer depends on your address.

Then ask the roofer three questions. Where does the meter box sit in your scope? Who will the crew call if the box has damage on the day they arrive? Will anyone on the crew open the box? A clear answer to each one keeps the meter off the list of surprises. Call Keys at (314) 220-2333 to ask these before you sign a roof agreement, and get the answers in writing.