What Is a Temporary Power Pole?
A temporary power pole, sometimes called a temp pole or construction pole, is a freestanding pole with a meter socket, breaker panel and outlets that the utility company connects to before a building has permanent electrical service. Contractors use them to run saws, light towers, pumps and trailer hookups on active job sites across Redwood City. The pole itself has to be installed by a licensed electrician, and Redwood City Porta Pros does not do that work directly, but we coordinate delivery windows around your electrician's schedule so portable toilet rental units, temporary fencing, and the power pole all land on site the same week. Most job sites pairing a temp pole with sanitation and containment also order a construction dumpster and a mobile office trailer for the same mobilization. If your project is in downtown Redwood City near tighter lot lines, placement of the pole, the dumpster, and the porta john all need to be planned together so delivery trucks have room to maneuver. A roll-off delivery alone needs about 60 feet of straight clearance behind the truck, and that clearance requirement shapes where the pole and everything else on the lot can sit.
How Much Does Temporary Power Pole Installation Cost?
Temporary power pole installation cost depends on amperage, trenching, and how far the pole sits from the utility transformer, and those figures come from your electrician, not from Redwood City Porta Pros. What we can speak to is everything around the pole: sanitation, containment, and site setup priced by the day, week, or month. Here is what a typical multi-week job site budgets for the services we do provide.
| service | day | week | month |
|---|---|---|---|
| standard porta potty | 100 to 350 | 130 to 500 | 125 to 325 |
| construction dumpster | 51 to 112 | 426 to 778 | 91 to 500 |
| temporary fence | 30 to 75 | -- | -- |
| storage container | -- | -- | 100 to 250 |
For the pole itself, get quotes from a licensed electrician in Redwood City, since permit fees and trenching costs vary by parcel and are not something we track. Our porta potty rental cost and dumpster rental cost pages break down what we do control on your job site budget.
Do I Need a Permit for a Temporary Power Pole?
Yes, in nearly every jurisdiction, but the exact permit process for Redwood City is something to confirm directly with the city rather than assume. We have not verified specific fee amounts or ordinance numbers for temp pole permitting here, so we are not going to guess at them. What we do know from job sites across the peninsula, including work near Menlo Park 6.0 miles southeast and San Carlos 6.4 miles west, is that inspection scheduling is usually the bottleneck, not the paperwork itself. Plan your porta potty placement and dumpster permit requirements research at the same time you're pulling electrical permits, since site logistics on a tight urban lot in Redwood City often need sign-off from more than one department. If your project also needs temporary power alongside handwashing stations under OSHA 1926.51(a)(1), which requires an adequate supply of potable water at all places of employment, loop that into your same planning call.
How long does temporary power pole installation take?
Most installations take 1 to 3 weeks from application to energized pole, driven mostly by utility inspection scheduling rather than the physical install. Coordinate your construction site services delivery, including sanitation and fencing, around that same window so nothing sits idle on site.
What amperage do I need for a construction site?
A 200 amp temporary power pole covers most mid-size construction jobs running multiple tools and a trailer. Smaller renovation jobs, like those covered on our home renovation porta potty page, often need only 100 amp. Your electrician sizes this based on equipment load.
Can Redwood City Porta Pros install the power pole?
No. We handle portable restroom rental, dumpsters, fencing, and site logistics, but pole installation requires a licensed electrician. We coordinate our delivery schedule around your electrician's timeline instead.
What else does a construction site need besides power?
Most sites need a portable toilet under OSHA 1926.51(c), a dumpster, and often temporary fencing or a handwashing station. Check our how many porta potties do I need guide for worker-count ratios.
Does a temporary power pole need its own permit separate from building permits?
Typically yes, temp pole permits are processed separately from the main building permit, but confirm the current process with Redwood City directly. Pair that call with questions about porta potty permit requirements for the same site.
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