Aluminum wire at breaker box

The connection between the aluminum wire going to the house (Power company) and the copper wire going into the house (home owner) at the breaker box became loose, due to fifty years of operation and an overloaded main circuit (we only had 100 amps going into the house - we've since upgraded) and it caught fire. The house itself didn't burn down (thank God), but it easily could have. From asking my electrician and reading other Answers here, it seems that having Aluminum wire outside the house is pretty common - it is a bunch cheaper than copper. But aluminum wire has been implicated in a lot of fires and seems to have been the cause of this one.

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Do power companies really use aluminum wire the majority of the time? Is this (usually) safe? Do I have reason to raise a stink, or should I just let it go? Don't make a stink. Power companies typically use aluminum. There is nothing wrong with aluminum as long as the "Termination" or Lug that it is connected to is made for Aluminum not copper. Believe me, the power company is using the correct lugs. The other answerer does not know what he is talking about. The problem is that aluminum attached to copper causes corrosion. It is called Galvanic corrosion. Look it up. That causes the fires. Not the use of aluminum. Use the correct lugs and there is no corrosion.

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Normal Service entrance conductors for residential wiring is aluminum. If you looked it up in the NEC you be able to get the rating and size wire required for the particular amperage that you need. The biggest problem with Al wire are the terminations if they are not rated for al then the difference between the two types of material can cause different heating and cooling ratios which well cause the connection to get loose and when current flows across the loose connection that well create lots of heat and arcing which can cause a fire. Even internal wiring in pre 1975 homes may have AL conductores run throughout the house, but these are safe also as long as no has changed the devices that they are attached to when replacing a receptacle that's wired with AL wire make sure the device is rated for AL wire usally stamped AL/CU which is good for AL or copper. and they make special wire nuts to connect AL wire to copper wire if your device doesn't state AL/CU. You can use copper wire for your service but at a higher cost and you most likely well have to use conduit to run the copper in a very expensive