Maximum of six throws per dwelling or per service entrance?

[Randall Clark]

I came across documentation somewhere that stated the six throw / disconnect rule was per service entrance, not per dwelling. So, if you had two, 200 AMP panels on either side of the meter, for example, each could have six throws. But this would be in conflict with six throws per dwelling. Can anyone clarify?

[Jerry Peck]

One service per structure - with one structure being one dwelling (for this exercise), then there would be one service to that one dwelling.

That one meter is part of that one service, thus a disconnect one each side of that one meter would be two main service disconnects for that one service ... and that one service is permitted to have up to six disconnects.

Originally, each service required one disconnect. Decades later an exception came into the code which permitted a dwelling to have up to six disconnects. More decades later the exception was removed and combined into the code permitting the six disconnects for dwellings and other than dwellings. Decades later a 7th disconnect was permitted for Fire pumps.

A brief and condensed history of it.

[Randall Clark]

Thank you for the clarification, Jerry.