Douglas County is one county, but an electrical job here can fall under any of several building departments and two different power companies, depending on which side of a city line or utility boundary the address sits. Since 2000, Allstar Electrical Services has worked south of Denver for homeowners, property managers and builders, and we start every Douglas County job by confirming who issues the permit and who supplies the power.
Who Issues Your Permit Depends on Your Address
The Douglas County Building Division issues building permits for unincorporated parts of the county, which includes Highlands Ranch, and it checks state electrical licensing through DORA before a permit is released. The incorporated communities run their own programs: Lone Tree, Parker, Castle Rock and Castle Pines each have a building division that handles permits and inspections inside city or town limits. Castle Pines, for example, took over permitting from the county in 2008. We pull the permit from the right office so inspections, closeout and any future home sale go smoothly.
Two Utilities, One County
Much of Douglas County is served by CORE Electric Cooperative, the cooperative known until 2021 as IREA. Other neighborhoods, including Highlands Ranch and Lone Tree, are on Xcel Energy, and Castle Pines is split between the two. The utility matters for service upgrades, meter work, new commercial services and back-up generator interconnections, because each one has its own process and scheduling. We coordinate with whichever utility serves your building.
Built for Storms on the Palmer Divide
The southern half of the county climbs onto the Palmer Divide, which a 20-year study of cloud-to-ground strikes identified as the most lightning-dense area in Colorado, with activity peaking on July and August afternoons. That is why surge protection, lightning strike repair and back-up generators are a bigger part of our Douglas County work than our central Denver work. If a storm takes out appliances, a garage door opener or a panel breaker, call us to inspect and repair the damage.
Douglas County Communities We Serve
Each community has its own housing stock and its own electrical needs. Choose yours for local details:
- Highlands Ranch: unincorporated, county-permitted, HRCA covenants
- Lone Tree: Park Meadows retail, RidgeGate offices and medical, newer homes
- Parker: fast-growing town with a historic Mainstreet
- Castle Rock: the county seat, from downtown storefronts to new master-planned neighborhoods
- Castle Pines: established golf-course homes and the newer Canyons community
We also cover neighboring Centennial, Littleton and Arapahoe County.