Building Projects

Electric

Electrical inspection permits/affidavits are required for temporary and permanent electric service before MGE can make your connection. Obtain information through the local building inspection office of the city, village or township in which your project is located.

If your city, village or town does not perform electric inspections, then an affidavit of electric code compliance from your electrical contractor is required.

Natural Gas

Requirements for gas space-heating permits, in addition to non-space heating uses such as water heating, cooking or clothes drying vary for each municipality. Obtain information through the local building inspection office of the city, village or township in which your project is located. 

Electric

For electric service, we will:

• Review your building plans.
• Inspect the installation site.
• Prepare an estimate.

If an installation charge is necessary, we will need a deposit before work can begin.

Natural gas

For natural gas we will:

• Inspect the installation site.
• Prepare an estimate.

Gas main (supply pipe in the street)

For a house or business located close to an existing gas main, there may be no installation charge.

If a main extension is necessary, a deposit may be required before work can begin.

Gas lateral (from the main to your building)

Additional trenching charges

Winter

There will be additional during the winter months, between Dec. 1 and March 31.

Solid rock

Digging through solid rock is difficult and costly. If you anticipate rock digging, call us early so we can explore other options. Customers will be charged the full cost of solid-rock trenching, rock removal and backfilling. Typical cost is $25 per foot.

Temporary electric service typically takes just a few days if appropriate facilities exist at the project site. If your municipality does not inspect temporary service, your electrician will submit a notarized wiring affidavit.

Permanent service for:

• new residential construction projects require a 60 business day notice.
• new commercial construction projects require a 90 business day notice. 
• relocation, modification or addition of service require a 30 business day notice.
• demolition projects require a 10 business day notice.

*Note: Multifamily and commercial/industrial projects require an additional two to four weeks for engineering work.

Prior to scheduling, MGE needs the customer to provide the below required information:

• Approval of the installation estimate and notice to proceed documentation
• Deposit, if required
• Easement, if required
• Permits (electrical inspection, municipal excavation, environmental, etc.)

In addition, your site must be prepared for installation in accordance to the following guidelines prior to being scheduled: 

• Installation trench cleared of all obstacles.
• Installation trench leveled and graded within six inches of final grade.
• Installation trench contains grade stakes and markers to indicate final grade.
• Private underground facilities located and marked with depth, size and facility type (including: gas piping, sprinklers, well water lines, septic tanks, drain fields, communication lines, landscape and parking lot lighting).
• The foundation is completed and backfilled.
• Walls are permanently installed.
• All electric and gas safety clearances are met.

Starting service

MGE turns on your electric service after receiving the permanent electric inspection permit. Usually, the electrician will contact the electrical inspector’s office to request the permit. For multi-unit buildings, electric meter trim and doors must be clearly marked with addresses or unit numbers. 

Your gas service, however, cannot be turned on until:

• Your gas appliance is hooked up and vented.
• If only one appliance is vented and piped, the other pipes are capped.
• You have supplied us with a gas space-heating permit for your building.
• For multi-unit buildings, gas meter brackets and doors must be clearly marked with addresses or unit numbers.

For both electric and gas service, please prepare your installation site:

• Clear all trees, stumps and other obstacles.
• Fill or grade to within six inches of final grade.
• Install grade stakes and mark to indicate final grade.
• Complete the foundation and backfill.
• Permanently install walls.
• Make sure all electric and gas safety clearances are met.

Mark all customer-installed underground facilities that could be damaged by our construction equipment (stakes should identify location, depth, size and facility type):

• Gas piping
• Sprinklers
• Well water lines
• Septic tanks
• Drain fields
• Communication lines
• Landscape and parking lot lighting

For gas service:

• Hook up and vent gas appliances.
• If only one appliance is vented and piped, the other pipes must be capped.

For multifamily and commercial/industrial projects:

• all property corners must be staked and identified.
• electric meter trim, gas meter brackets and doors must be clearly marked with addresses or unit numbers.

Additional resources

• Electrical Contractors Handbook—provides answers to common questions about residential, commercial and industrial electrical services and metering installations
• Gas Service Handbook—provides answers to common questions about nonresidential service, including commercial and industrial buildings and multifamily structures

Once construction is complete and you are ready to turn over the property to the new owner, be sure to notify MGE so we can transfer financial responsibility for the utility service to them. That will ensure you don't receive a bill for service you did not use.

To transfer service responsibility, just call MGE customer service at (608) 252-7222.

Please plan for and maintain safe working and permanent clearances from utility facilities:

• Minimum state and federal safe working clearance from a construction crane to any overhead line is 10 feet.
• Greater clearances required for overhead electric lines operating at voltages exceeding 50,000 volts. View our clearance safety standards for more detail.

Refer to the Wisconsin State Electrical Code and OSHA for clearances:

• From overhead electric facilities to buildings, signs, antennas, balconies, windows, etc.
• Near any underground facility.
• Between transformers and doors, windows, air intake vents, combustible walls, etc.

Landscaping your site

• Always call Diggers Hotline before digging. Underground cables could emerge in any direction from transformers and other cabinets.
• Allow three feet of space on sides and behind transformers. Pad-mounted transformers can overheat and cause a service interruption if they do not have enough air circulation around them.
• Allow 10 feet of clear space in front of transformers. Service workers open and work on the transformers while they are energized so you don’t experience an interruption. To safely do that, they use an eight-foot fiberglass “hot stick.”
• Plantings in the right-of-way may be run over. Transformers must be upgraded and replaced and occasionally require extensive repairs. We must drive a vehicle into the right-of-way and use a boom to lift and transport them. We may not be able to avoid damaging your plantings in the right-of-way.

Future expansion

Plan your service and meter installations with an eye to the future. You don’t want to pay for moving utilities when you build on a sunroom or add a garage.