The utility company's electrical lines may enter a house overhead from a power pole or underground from a buried pipe called conduit. Where the power enters your house, you'll usually find an electric meter and, either there or on an inside wall, behind the meter, the main service panel.
Called "rough-in components," wires, cables, and electrical boxes are installed during construction, before the wall and ceiling finish materials are put in place. "Finish components," such as receptacles, switches, and light fixtures, are installed after the interior coverings.
--Don Vandervort
