The Service Drop and the Meter

6 min · difficulty 2/10

The final stretch of the grid is short but important. A service transformer near the customer steps the distribution voltage down to the utilization voltage the building actually uses.

From the transformer, the service drop carries power to the customer. Overhead, that is the wire from the pole to the building. Underground, it is a buried cable to the service point.

Before the power enters the building, it passes through the meter. The meter records energy use over time, and increasingly it also reports usage data back to the utility automatically. That reading is the basis for the customer’s bill.

Everything past the meter is the customer’s wiring. Everything up to it is the utility’s system. That boundary is where the distribution grid ends and the building begins.

The meter is the ownership boundary A left-to-right diagram showing the final stretch of the distribution grid. On the left a utility pole carries a pole-mounted service transformer. The primary side is labeled Distribution voltage and the secondary is labeled 120/240 V, showing the step-down. A sagging service drop runs from the pole to the meter on the right. The meter, a gold circle with M inside, sits exactly on a vertical gold dashed boundary line labeled Boundary. Everything left of the meter is labeled Utility's system; everything right is labeled Customer's wiring. Below the meter a note reads Records energy use. A curved dashed arrow points from the meter back toward the utility pole labeled Reports usage back, indicating the AMI reporting function. A building silhouette is shown to the right of the meter. Gold arrows show power flowing along the service drop through the meter and into the building. Utility's system Customer's wiring Distribution voltage 120/240 V Service transformer Service drop Boundary M Meter Records energy use Reports usage back Building
The service transformer steps voltage down to 120/240 V, the service drop carries it to the house, and the meter -- which records energy use -- marks the exact boundary where the utility's system ends and the customer's wiring begins.

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Question 1 of 2

What does the service transformer do for a typical home?

Educational material only. This is not engineering, safety, or procurement advice. Confirm any value against manufacturer documentation and a licensed professional before specifying equipment.