Jennifer S. called me about adding a circuit for a home office in Bowie. She'd recently started working from home and needed a dedicated 20-amp circuit to handle her monitors, desktop, and video conferencing setup reliably.
Standard job, right? Not once I saw the panel.
The Problem
Jennifer's home, built in 1967, still had the original 60-amp service with a fuse box. In 2026, 60-amp service is entirely insufficient for a modern home — and you simply cannot add circuits to a fuse box that's already at capacity.
I explained the situation clearly: we could not safely add any new circuits without first upgrading the service. The good news is that a full 200-amp service upgrade would solve her home office problem and give her capacity for anything else she ever wants to add — including an EV charger.
“Had our panel upgraded by Belvin — fast, clean work and he pulled all the permits properly. Other quotes were cheaper but didn't include permits. Worth every penny.” — Jennifer S., Bowie MD
The Upgrade Process
I coordinated with Pepco to schedule the service disconnect. Prince George's County permits were pulled before we touched anything. On the day of the upgrade, we removed the old fuse box, installed a new 200-amp load center with a full set of breakers properly sized for each circuit, and every circuit was correctly labeled.
Jennifer also got her dedicated home office circuit — a 20-amp circuit with a quad outlet — as part of the same job. The county inspection passed without any issues.
The Permit Question
Jennifer mentioned that two other quotes she got didn't include permit costs. This is a red flag. Panel work without a permit creates insurance issues and is a serious liability when you sell. Every job I do is permitted — it's not optional.