Does changing the panel from 125 amp box to 150 amp box require having the electric company rewire from the street to the meter?

Not normally, but everything else has to change: Meter pan, service cables, grounding and bonding, etc.

Stanfortyman, Thanks! How much extra would you expect it to cost to do the added work to increase it the 25 amps?

Depends on who's doing the work.
Changing from 100 to 150 or 200 is a service upgrade, not just a panel change. IMO it is not at all worth going to 150. The price difference between 150 and 200 is negligible.
An upgrade from 100 to 150 or 200 can run anywhere from $1300 to $3500 depending on the circumstances and more importantly location.

Here is my situation. I am a Realtor selling a home that needs to have one of the faulty Federal Pacific boxes replaced, which the seller has agreed to do. The Buyer has now come back and requested that we put in a 150 AMP panel where there is currently a 125 AMP panel. It seems to me that to increase the amperage will definitely add costs if the seller agrees to it.

I would get a quote from an electrician for a simple panel swap.
Then get a quote for a 200A (or 150A) upgrade.
Back charge the buyer the difference.

Why is the FPE panel "faulty"? What is wrong with it, other than being FPE?

There are numerous cases of documented shorts in these types of panels. You cannot get past an inspection here in Texas without a big red flag on the report because of the inherit safety risk.

Exactly,

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stanfortyman

I would get a quote from an electrician for a simple panel swap.
Then get a quote for a 200A (or 150A) upgrade.
Back charge the buyer the difference.

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We cannot give accurate estimates here.

Again, EXACTLY!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stanfortyman

Why is the FPE panel "faulty"? What is wrong with it, other than being FPE?

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Changing the FPE panel because it is old and obsolete is a good reason, even thou there are still some replacements breakers available.

But there never was an official problem with these panels.

Thanks all, I am not sure what an OFFICIAL problem would be but because it shows up on your inspection report you either need to deal with it or risk losing a sale!

That's the problem with buyers and home inspections. They consider them to be gospel, and they are NOT!