Grounding Question

[Wayne B. Wilson]

How many mark up the ground in a panel if it just goes to the meter cabinet and not into the panel , I had a dissucion with a bulider yesterday when i called it out.

[Jeffrey R. Pope]

Are you referring to the service neutral or the grounding electrode conductor?

In either case, there must be a bonding connection between the panel enclosure and the meter cabinet - assuming they're physically separate.

[Wayne B. Wilson]

It is the ground electrode . There was no ground wire coming from the meter base neutral or electrode to the main service panel in the garage. Just conduit between both. Not a bonded connection . Electrician was the builder and said it was not needed in this area. Wrote it up any .
Just asking this is about 5 in the same area i have found. Thanks Jeff

[Jeffrey R. Pope]

There should be three conductors connecting the meter base to the service panel - H+H+N. The neutral is used to bond the panels. The GEC will generally originate from the service panel.

Admittedly, most of what I see are combination-type panels, where the meter socket and service equipment are in a single cabinet, so I may be missing something here.

[Wayne B. Wilson]

I wish i had taken a picture of the meter base entrance

[Jim Port]

Some areas allow the grounding to be accomplished in the meter socket. Others do not allow the grounding in the socket so it gets done in the panel or disconnect.

[Jeffrey R. Pope]

That's exactly what I would expect to see.

[Jeffrey R. Pope]

Originally Posted by Jim Port

Some areas allow the grounding to be accomplished in the meter socket. Others do not allow the grounding in the socket so it gets done in the panel or disconnect.

Ah, now I get it. I was misunderstanding the question.

Jim is correct - it depends on your jurisdiction. Most of CA rquires the GEC to originate from the service equipment.

[Frank P. Newman]

It is up to the PoCo practice in the area and that may have changed at some point over the years. As long as the neutral is bonded to the meter base enclosure and GEC (which we cannot see) electrically all should be ok.