I own a motorcycle and electronics repair shop (yeah, I know - what a combination, but that's a story for another time) on about an acre of land. I am having a mobile home moved in behind my shop. There is a power service pole with meter socket and breaker box already set about 20 feet away from where the trailer will be set. The power line from the main pole to the service pole was cut by the power company about a year ago because it was sagging about 5 feet from the ground. I intend to move the pole closer to the mobile home if I use it.

I am debating on whether I can run a feed from my shop to the mobile home or do I have to get a separate service? The service entrance for the shop will be about 100 to 150 feet from the service entrance for the mobile home.

I would rather go run off the shop if I can. I figure it will be cheaper as far as a monthly bill goes if I am only paying for one service, but then again... as I type this I realize that that will be at a business rate. So separate accounts may be cheaper. Hmmmm...

That's why I'm here. What is the popular consensous here?

Have the shop service checked to determine if it can handle the added load of the mobile home service, and check with the utility to see how the shop is being billed to determine if there is a disadvantage to using residential power from a business account.

Since the home will be 100-150 feet away from the shop, depending on the size service the home needs, the installation costs to run a line that long, plus the line may need to be larger than normal to eliminate voltage drop, the costs may be prohibitive. Consider what this may cost compared to the monthly savings of the meter service charge.. The return on investment may take several years to make up.

My vote is on connecting the home to the service pole 20 feet away.

Also much better to keep personal and business expenses separate.

I will second the vote to put in a separate service