San Diego Temporary Power
Temp poles, generator rentals, site lighting, portable cooling, jobsite WiFi and security cameras for construction sites across San Diego County. Permits pulled, SDG&E coordinated, flat written quotes.
- 100A, 200A and 400A temp poles built to SDG&E standard
- Generator rentals from 20kW to 500kW, delivered and fueled
- Light towers, balloon lights and temporary string lighting
- Spot coolers, portable AC and temporary heating
- Bonded 5G jobsite WiFi and solar security cameras
Or call now: (858) 295-1371
What We Do
Temporary Power Services For San Diego Job Sites
Temporary Power San Diego is a licensed C-10 electrical contractor. We supply temporary power poles, portable WiFi, construction site security cameras, generator rentals, construction lighting and portable AC rental to job sites across the county. Most contractors call about one and end up taking three.
The core of it is temporary electrical service: temp poles, panels and pedestals built to SDG&E’s standard at 100, 200 and 400 amps, plus three-phase for commercial and industrial sites, with spider boxes and sub-feeds carrying power out to the trades. We pull the permit, file the service application, meet the inspector, and take it all out when the permanent service takes over.
Where the schedule will not wait for a meter set, we rent generators from 20kW to 500kW, sized against the real running load with allowance for motor starting current rather than the sum of the nameplates. Light towers, spot coolers, heaters, bonded 5G routers and solar cameras cover the rest of what a site needs.
Every quote starts with a site walk and ends with one flat written number covering the permit, the install, the inspection and the removal.
Our Services
Six services, one coordinator. Permit, deliver, install, energize, remove.
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Temporary Power Pole
Metered temp poles, pedestals and panels built to SDG&E standards, with the permit pulled and the inspection booked.
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Portable WiFi
Bonded 5G and LTE internet for job trailers and site offices, delivered ready to switch on with no contract.
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Construction Site Security Cameras
Solar and cellular cameras that need no site power or internet, with live view, recording and motion alerts.
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Generator Rentals
Diesel and gas sets from 20kW to 500kW, delivered, connected and fueled, for construction, standby and events.
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Construction Lighting
Light towers, balloon lights and temporary string lighting, positioned for the work rather than pointed at it.
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Portable AC Rental
Spot coolers from 1 to 5 tons, plus temporary heating, delivered, vented and set up for the space they have to hold.
Why Go With Us
Almost everything that goes wrong with temporary power goes wrong before anyone turns anything on. A pole set where it fails inspection, or where the framing later blocks access to it. An SDG&E application filed without the drawings it needed, sitting in a queue while a start date passes. A generator sized off nameplate totals that costs twice what the job required and wet-stacks because it never sees load. None of that is visible in a quote, and all of it is visible six weeks later in the schedule.
- A licensed, insured California C-10 electrical contractor. The install, the permit and the utility coordination sit with one company rather than three.
- We file the SDG&E service application and the city or county electrical permit ourselves, and we meet the inspector on site.
- Services sized against your real load, and generators sized for motor starting current rather than the sum of the nameplates.
- Coastal specification as standard within a mile of the water: sealed enclosures, stainless hardware and anti-oxidant on every aluminum termination.
- One flat written number covering delivery, install, inspection and removal, with no collection charge appearing at the end.
- Poles, generators, lighting, cooling, WiFi and cameras all in-house, so the recommendation fits the job rather than the one thing we happen to stock.
What We Are Trying To Do Here
Make getting a San Diego job site powered a solved problem rather than a recurring one. That means quoting the whole scope up front instead of finding extras once the truck is on site, telling you when a generator is cheaper than a pole and when it is the other way round, and starting the utility paperwork the day the drawings support it rather than the week somebody notices. We would rather do one job properly for a builder and get their next six than win work on a number we knew was optimistic.
Why Choosing The Right Temporary Power Company Matters
Temporary power is one of the few things on a construction site where the cheapest quote can cost you the most, because what you are actually buying is a date. A service that is not energized when the framing crew arrives costs more in idle labor in a week than the whole installation was worth. These are the failures we get called in to fix, and every one of them is avoidable at the quoting stage:
- An unlicensed installer. Temporary services need a C-10 licensed electrical contractor, a permit and an inspection. Work installed without those does not get a meter, and SDG&E will not energize it no matter who promised what.
- A utility application filed late or filed short. The meter set is the part of the timeline with a real queue, and an application missing the site plan or the load information goes to the back of it rather than into a correction loop.
- A pole set in the wrong place. It passes inspection in week one and becomes unreachable in week nine when the building goes vertical, and moving it means a new inspection and a fresh utility visit.
- One ground rod where the county expects two, or bonding done at the wrong point. Both mean a failed inspection, and a failed inspection means waiting for another visit rather than fixing it that afternoon.
- A generator sized off nameplate totals. You pay for a frame size you never use, burn more fuel than the job needed, and run a diesel lightly loaded for months, which damages it.
- A quote with the removal left out. Every temporary service has to come out at the end, and a price that excluded it was never the real price.
Talk it through with a licensed C-10 contractor before you commit to a date. Call: (858) 295-1371
What Temporary Power Costs In San Diego
A standard residential temp pole runs roughly $1,200 to $3,000 installed, permitted and removed. Generator rental is $500 to $1,500 a week for a typical construction set, light towers $350 to $700 a week, spot coolers $150 to $900 a week by tonnage and site WiFi $150 to $500 a month. What moves any of those:
- Capacity. Amperage on a service and kW on a generator are the biggest single factors, which is why sizing against the real load rather than a rule of thumb is worth doing properly.
- Distance from the point of connection. A pole beside an existing service is straightforward; one two hundred feet away needs a properly sized feeder, and that cable is a genuine cost.
- Overhead or underground utility. Undergrounded streets need a pedestal off a pull box or pad-mount transformer rather than a simple overhead connection.
- How long you keep it. Most of the cost of a temp service is the install and the removal, so a six-month job and a three-month job are much closer in price than people expect. Rental equipment works the opposite way.
- Distribution. The service head alone covers a small lot. Spider boxes, sub-feeds and cable out to separate work areas are what make a larger site usable.
- Access and site conditions. Rock, a slope, no truck access or a location that has to be hand-dug all add labor to an otherwise identical install.
Every quote is flat-rate and written, after a site walk, with the permit, the utility application, the install, the inspection and the removal already inside the number. Costs for individual services are broken down further on the temporary power pole, generator rental and portable AC pages.
Cities We Serve
Crews dispatch across San Diego County. Pick your city for local install details, SDG&E meter-set timelines and the work we do most there.
Trusted By San Diego Contractors
Frequently Asked Questions
What is temporary power?
Temporary power is a permitted, metered electrical service installed on a construction site before the building has a permanent one. Usually that is a temporary power pole carrying a meter socket, main breaker, panel and GFCI-protected outlets, grounded and braced to SDG&E’s standard. It runs the trades, the tools and the site trailer through the build and comes out once the permanent service is energized.
How long does it take to get temporary power in San Diego?
Allow two to four weeks from go-ahead to an energized pole across most of the county. The electrical permit is usually quick; the SDG&E meter set is the part that carries a queue and it is why we file the service application as early as your drawings allow. If your start date will not wait, we will bridge it with a generator and take that off rent the week the pole goes live.
Do you handle the permit and the SDG&E application?
Yes, both, on every job. We pull the electrical permit with the city or the county, file the service application with SDG&E including the site plan and load information they need, and meet the inspector on site. You do not fill anything in.
How much does temporary power cost?
A standard residential temporary power pole in San Diego County typically lands between $1,200 and $3,000 installed, permitted and removed at the end. Amperage, the distance from the point of connection, and whether the utility is overhead or underground are what move the number. Larger and three-phase commercial services are quoted per project.
Do you serve all of San Diego County?
Yes. Crews run daily to Chula Vista, Oceanside, Escondido, Carlsbad, El Cajon, Vista, Encinitas, National City, Poway, La Jolla and Coronado, plus everywhere in between and the back country beyond. If you are not sure whether we reach your site, call and ask — the answer is usually yes.
Is it cheaper to rent a generator or install a temp pole?
It depends almost entirely on how long the job runs. Below roughly two months, generator rental usually wins because it avoids the install and the utility wait. Past that, a metered temporary service is cheaper and quieter, and the crossover comes sooner on a site with a big load. We will run both numbers against your actual schedule rather than steering you to one.
Can you deliver everything on one order?
Yes, and most sites do. Power, lighting, cooling, WiFi and cameras on one quote, one delivery run and one point of contact costs less than sourcing each from a different yard, and it means one person is accountable when something needs moving as the build changes.
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