BC Hydro requires a sealed electrical planning report before approving capacity upgrades for EV charging, heat pump conversion, or increased service. We prepare the report, coordinate the submission, and get your application moving.
The Strata Property Act does not mandate this report. BC Hydro does. Any application that adds demand to the building's service connection triggers the same set of questions. We answer them in one document.
The most common question in BC right now. Whether the strata wants two Level 2 stalls or two hundred, BC Hydro needs a report that models the incremental load and shows the upgrade path for the building's service. We model peak demand from the proposed charger count, factor in managed-load controls, and deliver a sealed report that moves BC Hydro's review from months to weeks.
Strata corporations switching from gas boilers or in-suite gas furnaces to heat pumps add significant electrical load per unit. BC Hydro will not approve the service upgrade without a report showing the full building load after electrification.
Aging buildings often hit capacity before EV or heat pump conversations start. New commercial tenants, upgraded common area lighting, or parkade ventilation redesigns can each push a building past its existing service limit and trigger the same requirement.
From BC Hydro's point of supply, up the main service riser, out to every load the building runs today and every one the council wants to add. Six parts make up the document. The report is an engineering record, not a cost estimate.
Most strata buildings in BC were built at 100A or 200A service. EV charging and heat pump electrification typically need a 200A or 400A upgrade. We find the path that costs less than the maximum.
Common in older low-rise buildings, with little headroom left for new load.
Suits two to twenty EV stalls, or a first phase of heat pump conversion.
Fifty or more stalls, or whole-building electrification across every unit.
How we work
We learn the building, the proposed additions, and what BC Hydro application is already in flight. Existing drawings and utility bills go a long way. We confirm scope before the proposal is sent.
Our electrical engineer inspects the main service entrance, metering, distribution panels, and any existing branch circuits relevant to the proposed scope. We photograph, measure, and log.
Demand load analysis for the proposed additions, load flow through the distribution system, upgrade path options and costs. Report formatted to BC Hydro's submission requirements.
EGBC-sealed report delivered to your council. We coordinate with your BC Hydro representative on submission and respond to any technical review questions that come back.
Strata Engineering does electrical planning alongside the mechanical and building science disciplines that share the same electrical budget. We flag the interactions before BC Hydro finds them, and we size the upgrade once instead of twice.
BC Hydro requires a sealed electrical planning report before approving capacity upgrades for EV charging, heat pump conversion, or increased service.BC Hydro application requirement
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If yours is not here, ask us. We answer on the phone before anyone sends a proposal.
If the installation requires a BC Hydro service upgrade or a new secondary transformer, yes. Buildings with spare capacity occasionally get through on a standard permit application. We review the existing service during the scoping call and tell you which path applies before you pay for anything.
Yes, and this is usually the right call. We model the full build-out capacity in the report so the service upgrade is sized once for the long-term plan, not twice. Phase 2 then installs without another BC Hydro application.
Typically 6 to 12 weeks from the date a complete application is submitted. Incomplete submissions restart the clock. A well-prepared report, formatted to BC Hydro's technical standards, reduces back-and-forth significantly.
No. One building-wide report covers the full electrification scope. We model the aggregate demand increase across all units being converted and size the service upgrade accordingly.
The most useful starting point is the existing electrical single-line diagram, recent utility bills showing peak demand, and any BC Hydro correspondence already on file. We can work with less, some buildings have none of this, but these documents speed the assessment up.
We prepare the technical documentation and coordinate with BC Hydro's technical review team. The formal application is submitted through the strata's BC Hydro account, but we handle the engineering correspondence throughout.
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Vancouver coverage →Start with a twenty-minute scoping call. We review the existing service, confirm whether a report is required, and return a clear proposal before anyone commits to anything.