North Hollywood, CA · November 2021 – January 2022 · LADWP / LADBS

Before anything was built, the utility said where the meter goes.

A 13.7 kilowatt system on a concrete tile roof. The drawing set went out three times before the application, and the first thing the utility issued afterwards was not an approval to build — it was a meter spot.

A meter spot is the utility's written decision on where the meter may go, issued on a form specific to how the property is fed — overhead or underground. It comes before the work because the meter position is the fixed point everything else is laid out from, and moving a meter afterwards costs far more than agreeing its position first.

At a glance

System

13.7 kW

Roof

Concrete tile

Drawing set

Issued three times before filing

First utility step

Meter spot, the day after filing

Service

Overhead

Filing to PTO

Six weeks

Utility / AHJ

LADWP / LADBS

The story

The drawing set for this project went out three times in November 2021 — the tenth, the twelfth and the twenty-first — before the interconnection was even filed. That is the ordinary shape of getting a set right, and it is worth saying because it happens before the clock most people watch starts running.

The interconnection request went in at the end of the month. The first thing the utility sent back, the very next day, was not a confirmation or a fee demand. It was a meter spot.

A meter spot is the utility's written decision on where the meter is allowed to go. It arrives on a form particular to how the property is fed, and this property is fed overhead, so the form was the overhead one. The form fixes the meter position and records the service conditions that go with it.

What the form does not do is draw the rest of the job. It does not route your conduit or choose the wall your inverter hangs on. It sets the one point that everything else has to reach, and the layout is then worked backwards from it — which is why getting it early matters more than what it says.

The reason it comes first is arithmetic. A meter in the wrong place is not a label that can be peeled off. It is conduit through a wall, a service span landing at a particular height, working clearance in front of the equipment, and an inspector who will measure all of it. Agreeing the position on paper before anybody cuts anything is the cheapest hour on the whole project.

What follows from that decision is the wall work in these photographs: conduit threaded through insulation and framing to get from where the utility says the meter goes to where the solar equipment needs to be, then patched and closed.

The roof itself is concrete tile, and this one was worked into the evening — tile lifted along the rail lines, attachments set, flashing in, tile replaced. Thirteen point seven kilowatts.

After the meter spot the rest ran to schedule: the fee paid at the start of December, the first three progress notices together on the seventh, the interconnection agreement approved on the fifteenth, the installation released on the sixteenth, and permission to operate on the thirteenth of January.

If you are being quoted for solar and nobody has mentioned a meter spot, ask about it — particularly if your service comes in overhead or your existing meter is somewhere awkward. It is the step that decides how much wall has to be opened.

How it ran

The meter spot came before the fee, not after.

What we did

• Revised the drawing set until it was right, before filing anything.
• Obtained the meter spot on the overhead-service form before the wall was opened.
• Ran the conduit from the approved meter position through to the solar equipment.
• Lifted and reset concrete tile along the rail lines, working into the evening.
• Carried the interconnection from filing to permission to operate in six weeks.

System specifications

Is your project like this one?

• Your service comes in overhead from a pole.
• Your existing meter is somewhere awkward for new equipment.
• You want to know what happens before the visible work starts.
• Your roof is concrete tile and you want to know how the array attaches.
• You have been given a timeline and want to know what is in the first fortnight.

Cali Energy in North Hollywood

Frequently asked questions

What is a meter spot?

The utility's written decision on where the meter and service equipment are allowed to be placed. It is issued on a form specific to how the property is fed — overhead or underground — and on this project it arrived the day after the interconnection was filed, before the fee was even paid.

Why does the meter position matter so much?

Because everything else follows it: the conduit route through the wall, the height the service span lands at, the working clearance in front of the equipment. Moving a meter afterwards is expensive; agreeing its position first is not.

Does an overhead service change anything?

It changes the form and the constraints. A span coming in from a pole has to land somewhere sensible, which limits where the meter can reasonably go. This property is fed overhead and the meter spot came on the overhead form.

Why was the drawing set issued three times?

Because it was revised until it was right, before the application went in. That happens before the timeline most people are watching begins, and it is time well spent — a correction after filing costs more.

Can solar go on a concrete tile roof?

Yes. Tile is lifted along the rail lines, attachments are fixed to the structure, each penetration is flashed and the tile goes back over it.

What this would look like on your roof

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This timeline reflects this property and this permitting path. Updated September 2026.