Northern New Jersey’s postwar two-families and Cape Cods — Jersey City, Bayonne, Newark, the Oranges, Bergenfield, Paramus — were a prime market for Federal Pacific Stab-Lok and, in some tracts, Zinsco or Pushmatic. The insurance industry’s recent interest in those doors is not a New Jersey invention, but the permit path is uniquely local. There is no county-wide electrical counter. The construction official in your borough issues the UCC permit.
Malfettone Electric, which publishes from Jersey City and Cedar Grove, is the most detailed public source we found for this metro. Their 2026 cost guide puts a common 100-to-200-amp upgrade at $2,800–$4,500 including the municipal permit and utility coordination. Their dangerous-panel list prices a like-for-like FPE or Zinsco swap at $3,500–$5,500. Those are their numbers, on their paper, for 2026. We are not blending them with a national blog.
PSE&G and JCP&L
Look at the bill. PSE&G covers a large share of Hudson, Essex, Union, and parts of Bergen and Passaic. JCP&L covers other northern and western towns and much of the shore. A meter pan that is legal for one utility’s 200-amp spec is not automatically legal for the other. Contractor guides (including Malfettone and third-party NJ permit shops) say the utility ESI or equivalent should be filed in parallel with the town permit, not after it. We did not find a PSE&G consumer FAQ that states a guaranteed outage length, so the 4–6 hour figure above stays labeled as a contractor estimate.
Licensed shops, not a marketplace
This page lists electricians only when their own site advertises Federal Pacific or Zinsco replacement and prints a license we can point at. Malfettone publishes #17130. Gladiator Electric in Bergen County publishes Lic# 17661 on a Federal Pacific replacement article. Super Power Electric in Red Bank publishes #12849 and is geographically closer to Monmouth than to Bergen; they are included because they do this exact job in New Jersey and say insurers are flagging the brands. Directory sites and lead-gen pages do not count.
Verify any New Jersey electrical contractor number through the state’s license-verification site before you hire.
Typical replacement cost
$2,800–$4,500 for a typical 200-amp upgrade; $3,500–$5,500 for like-for-like FPE/Zinsco swaps
$2,800–$4,500
Standard 100-amp to 200-amp residential upgrade in New Jersey, 2026
Includes new panel, labor, municipal permit, and PSE&G or JCP&L coordination on their page.
Source: Malfettone Electric$3,500–$5,500
Like-for-like 100A or 150A Federal Pacific or Zinsco replacement, 2026
Same article lists Pushmatic / Bulldog at $3,200–$5,200. A 200A upgrade on top of the swap typically adds $400–$1,400, they say.
Source: Malfettone Electric
Permit
Municipal construction office under the New Jersey Uniform Construction Code
Who pulls it: A New Jersey licensed electrical contractor pulls the UCC electrical permit. Malfettone’s 2026 permit guide says the homeowner is not the applicant for a panel replacement.
Fees and turnaround are town-specific. Malfettone publishes example bands (Jersey City, Hoboken, Newark, Montclair, and others) in the roughly $75–$450 range. Confirm with your clerk. The state Department of Community Affairs publishes the UCC; it does not issue your local sticker.
Utility coordination
PSE&G across much of northern and central New Jersey; JCP&L (FirstEnergy) in other northern and shore-adjacent territories
Who disconnects: The electrician files the utility’s service request — PSE&G’s process is commonly called an ESI (Electric Service Installation) on contractor pages — and the utility disconnects and reconnects. Homeowners should not cut a meter seal.
Outage window: Malfettone describes a straightforward FPE replacement as one day on site, with power off about 4–6 hours, and says a service upgrade can add a day of utility coordination. That is a contractor estimate, not a PSE&G tariff line.
PSE&G and JCP&L applications run on a separate clock from the municipal permit. Contractor-side guides warn against waiting for the town permit before filing the utility ticket.
What to hand the insurer
- Closed municipal UCC permit and inspection
- Invoice with the New Jersey electrical contractor license number
- A contractor letter on letterhead if the carrier asks for one
- Photos of the new panel
Ask your agent for the exact list. Carriers do not publish a single national checklist.
Electricians who advertise this job
A shop is listed only if it advertises Federal Pacific, Zinsco, or insurance-driven panel replacement on its own site and prints a license number there. Trade-association locators already exist. We will not pad this list. Verify the license before you hire.
Malfettone Electric
Jersey City and Cedar Grove, NJ
Published license: NJ Electrical Contractor #17130 (New Jersey)
Northern NJ Federal Pacific, Zinsco, and Pushmatic replacements with PSE&G/JCP&L coordination and insurance documentation.
Their siteSuper Power Electric
Red Bank / Monmouth County, NJ
Published license: NJ Electrical License #12849 (New Jersey)
Federal Pacific and Zinsco replacement across Monmouth and Central Jersey, including insurance-flagged panels.
Their siteGladiator Electric LLC
Bergen County, NJ
Published license: Lic# 17661 (New Jersey)
Dedicated Federal Pacific replacement page for Bergen County homes; they say replace the panel, not just the breakers.
Their siteHow this page was built
Compiled by Panel Letter on 2026-08-30 from the public pages below. If a fact was not on a cited page, it is marked as unverified in the copy. This is a research guide, not a bid.
- Malfettone Electric, Panel upgrade cost in NJ (2026)
$2,800–$4,500 200A range and utility/permit inclusions.
- Malfettone Electric, Dangerous electrical panels in NJ
Brand-by-brand 2026 replacement ranges.
- Malfettone Electric, Permit to replace an electrical panel in NJ
Municipal UCC process and sample town fee bands.
- New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, Codes
State UCC home for construction codes administered in each town.
- Super Power Electric, Federal Pacific and Zinsco replacement
Monmouth/Central Jersey FPE/Zinsco advertising and license #12849.
- Gladiator Electric, Do Federal Pacific panels need to be replaced?
Bergen County FPE replacement advertising and Lic# 17661.