We're not driving in from somewhere else — Rivera Electric is headquartered right here in San Dimas. From the ranch homes off Bonita Avenue to the equestrian properties up in Horsethief Canyon, this is our town.
One out of every three San Dimas homes was built in the 1970s, and most still have their original 100-amp panels. That was fine when the house had a window AC unit and a few appliances — but it's not fine when you're running central air in 90-degree heat, charging an EV, and working from home. We upgrade to 200A and 400A service, pull the permit through San Dimas Building & Safety at 125 E. College Street, and schedule the inspection. If you have a Federal Pacific or Zinsco panel, that's an even more urgent conversation.
The new Gold Line station has EV chargers in its parking structure, and more San Dimas residents are switching to electric vehicles every year. We install Level 2 chargers with a dedicated 240V/50A circuit — Tesla, Ford, Rivian, any vehicle. If your 1970s panel can't support the extra load, we upgrade the panel and install the charger in one project, one permit. You'll wake up to a full charge every morning instead of hunting for a public station.
San Dimas is Horse Town USA — 27 miles of riding trails, a P-H zoning overlay, and an official Equestrian Commission. We wire barns, stables, and outbuildings to NEC Article 547 standards: dedicated subpanels in dust-free locations, all wiring in metal conduit to protect against horses and rodents, GFCI-protected outlets every 12 feet. We install arena lighting for evening riding, well pump circuits, heated water trough wiring, wash rack outlets, and ventilation fans. Most properties need a 200-amp main panel upgrade at the house before adding a barn subpanel.
Over half of San Dimas homes were built before 1978. The 1960s builds often have aluminum branch-circuit wiring that loosens at connection points and is a documented fire hazard. The 1970s tract homes are full of backstabbed outlets and switches — push-in connections that work loose over time and arc. We do full copper rewires, aluminum wiring remediation with COPALUM connectors, and targeted repairs on problem connections. For the oldest homes near downtown and San Dimas Canyon, we've seen everything from cloth-insulated wiring to original two-prong circuits with no ground.
San Dimas sits at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains — CAL FIRE classifies parts of the city as Very High fire hazard severity zones. During Santa Ana wind events, SCE issues PSPS shutoffs that can leave you without power for hours or days. A whole-home standby generator kicks on automatically within seconds of an outage. We also install battery backup systems like Tesla Powerwall, which pair well with solar. If you're up in San Dimas Canyon or Horsethief Canyon backing up to wildfire-prone hillsides, this is worth a serious look.
We live here. When you call Rivera Electric at 2 AM because your breaker won't reset or you smell something burning, we're not driving in from the Valley — we're already in San Dimas. Summer heat waves push old panels past their limits every year, and Santa Ana wind season brings downed service drops and power surges. Whatever the emergency, we're minutes away.
Rivera Electric is headquartered in San Dimas. This isn't just a service area for us — it's home. We shop at the same stores on Bonita Avenue, take our kids to San Dimas Canyon Park, and see our customers around town. When our name is on a job in our own community, it matters more.
We know San Dimas housing inside and out. The median home here was built in 1976, which means most of the city is running on 50-year-old electrical systems. The ranch homes in south San Dimas have different issues than the equestrian properties near Horsethief Canyon, and both are different from the older homes near downtown. A 1970s tract home probably has a 100-amp panel, backstabbed outlets, and maybe aluminum wiring. An equestrian property needs barn subpanels, arena lighting, and well pump circuits wired to agricultural code. We've done all of it, right here in town.
Over 57% of San Dimas homes were built before 1978. The panels installed in those homes — typically 100 amps — were designed for a household with one TV, no computer, no central AC, and no EV charger. Today's average household uses nearly three times more electricity than a 1980s household. A 200-amp upgrade gives you the capacity to run everything without tripping breakers, and it's often required before you can add an EV charger, solar, or a hot tub.
These two panel brands were installed in millions of homes nationwide from the 1950s through the 1980s, and San Dimas is no exception. FPE Stab-Lok breakers were tested by the CPSC and found to fail to trip during overcurrent — meaning they won't protect your home when they're supposed to. Zinsco breakers are known to melt onto the bus bar, making them impossible to trip at all. Some insurance companies now refuse to cover homes with these panels. If you open your panel and see "Federal Pacific," "Stab-Lok," or "Zinsco," call us for a replacement.
San Dimas has a formal P-H Private Horse Overlay Zone in its municipal code and an Equestrian Commission appointed by City Council. If you own an equestrian property, the electrical work on your barn and outbuildings falls under NEC Article 547 for agricultural buildings. This means specific requirements for wiring methods (metal conduit, not Romex), dust-resistant light fixtures, GFCI protection on all 120V receptacles, and proper clearances from hay and bedding storage. A general electrician might not know these rules — we do.
We're right here in town. Call for a free assessment on any residential, commercial, or equestrian electrical project.
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