This is the only electrical panel which receives a comment from most inspectors which states "Replace the Electrical Panel due to Fire Hazard". This panel is known as the Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok panel (FPE panel), Federal Pacific panel, or just Stab-Lok. The Stab-Lok electric panels were made by Federal Pacific Electric, but not all panels made by Federal Pacific are the Stab-Lok type. FPE also made fuse type panels which are outdated but not the safety hazard as the
Stab-Lok breaker panel.
I recommend that homeowners be proactive and replace the FPE Stab-Lok electrical panels. Don’t wait for an accident to occur and cause a life-threatening situation. The following are the issues with the electrical panel:
- Federal Pacific (FPE) committed fraud by falsifying their UL testing, making their UL listing void.
- Testing by the Consumer Product Safety Commission has shown these breakers to have an unacceptably high rate of failure, which creates a safety hazard.
- Testing has proven that virtually every panel installed in the United States contains defective breakers.
- Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) sold millions of panels between the 1950s and 1980s.
- If a breaker fails to trip when it should, the wires in the home that are supposed to be protected can overheat and start a fire.
An evaluation of a panel that is flawed is not a productive task(a waste of time, money and energy). An electrician can not repair the breakers and panel or make them safe. They likely won’t open the panel other than to remove the panel when it is being replaced. However, some electricians are under the impression that FPE panels are safe if they can turn every breaker on and off, if every breaker is tightly attached, and if there is no evidence of overheating or scorching in the panel. These things would be dead giveaways that there is a problem, but to truly know if the breaker would trip when it needs to, each breaker would need to actually be tested. This testing would be more expensive than having the entire panel replaced.
What does it cost to replace a panel?
Replacing an old, unsafe electrical panel is not a huge investment. In most cases, the total cost for this project is less than $1,500 per panel (only the panel not wiring).
The bottom line is that hazards associated with Federal Pacific (FPE) panels are a known issue throughout the electrical, insurance, and home inspection communities. To read more about FPE Stab-Lok panels, check these links:
- Washington Post Acticle 2018
- Detailed report on FPE Stab-Lok panels by J. Aronstein
- Federal Pacific Electric from CodeCheck.
The videos below detail some of the issues with Federal Pacific Stab-Lok breaker panels: