A practical utility plan to trench once, set temp power fast, and keep PEC and ISP timelines on track.
On rural Hill Country lots, utility planning belongs on page one of your build plan—before grading starts. Begin by identifying your electric provider and their new‑service process; many parcels are served by Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC), which publishes step‑by‑step requirements for temporary and permanent service, easements, and inspections: PEC new service steps. In city limits or certain ETJs, driveways, culverts, and trenching in rights‑of‑way can require permits; sequence these with your building and septic approvals so you don’t stall sitework mid‑dig. Safety first: file an 811 locate request well before any trenching—rural doesn’t mean empty underground. Submit tickets and re‑up them as they expire at Texas811: Call Before You Dig. If you’ll trench near road shoulders or shared easements, coordinate with neighbors and the road authority to avoid conflicts and to set traffic control if needed. Scope your utilities honestly. List the services you’ll need and where they enter: electric (temp pole then permanent meter), communications (fiber or copper), propane (or natural gas where available), water (well or line), and any low‑voltage for gates or cameras. Decide early where the main service equipment, transformer (if pad‑mounted), and meters will live; this influences driveway geometry and keeping equipment accessible for trucks. Build a one‑page utility map showing routes, conduit sizes, and separations so every trade digs the same plan.
Rocky Hill Country soils reward consolidation: trench once to carry as many services as the code allows. A typical corridor might include a primary electric conduit, a separate comms conduit (fiber), and sleeves for low‑voltage; propane can share the corridor with required separations, or run parallel at a safe offset. Ask the electrician, plumber, and gas contractor to agree on separations, depths, and warning tapes—for example, electric below grade to code depth with detectable tape above, communications in a second conduit with its own color, and propane in sleeved PE with tracer wire. Plan crossings and terminations before you cut. At driveways, set sleeve conduits now so you don’t saw later. At the house, land conduits in a tidy utility wall that keeps meters, disconnects, and regulators accessible but visually organized. Stub extra conduit (spare) for future solar, gate power, pool, or an outbuilding; adding an empty pipe is cheap compared to re‑trenching through limestone. Moisture and slope matter underground. Bed conduits in clean sand where rock edges could abrade insulation, keep trench bottoms smooth, and backfill in lifts to prevent voids. On sloped sites, add check dams or wattles at trench lines if storms are forecast so you don’t wash out subgrade. For trench safety basics you can hold subs to, review OSHA housekeeping and excavation guidance starting here: OSHA 1926.25 Housekeeping. Where your project triggers stormwater controls, Texas summarizes the Construction General Permit program at TCEQ: Construction Stormwater Permit Overview.
Two milestones drive schedules: temp power and transformer set. Order the temp pole early and place it where trucks won’t knock it over but cords reach the build core. Confirm the provider’s specs for pole height, breaker configuration, and grounding; then schedule inspection fast so framing isn’t waiting on outlets for chargers and saws. Transformers and meters have lead times that spike during building booms. Submit the permanent‑service application with a clear, scaled site plan, panel size, and the service route. Ask whether the provider or owner trenching is required, and who supplies and sets the transformer. Keep a running checklist: easement recorded (if needed), conduit sizes and sweeps approved, trench inspected (if required), and backfill authorized before you cover. Inspections go faster with documentation. Post the latest plan in a weatherproof box, label conduit sizes at stub‑ups, and take photos of trench depths and warning tapes before backfill. After energizing, verify grounding and bonding, GFCI protection for temp circuits, and clearances around the pad‑mount per the provider’s spec. For communications, coordinate drop timing with the ISP so the demarc lands in your network closet before drywall. Finally, future‑proof. Add a critical‑loads subpanel now if backup power might come later, and run an extra conduit to a likely generator pad. If you’ll add a detached garage or casita, extend the corridor past the current footprint and leave pull strings. Clean drawings and a “dig once” mindset keep budgets intact and crews moving—even when you’re cutting through limestone.