Electrical Permits
Changed: Definition of Contractor Installation Permits – Single Family Residential. We propose changing the definition of “Single Family Residential” installation permits to align with the definition in the Electrical Safety Regulation instead of the definition in the BC Electrical Code. This change clarifies that only one installation permit is needed for duplexes, row housing, laneway housing, and secondary suites. The “Single Family Residential” installation permit fee category will only apply to fully detached dwellings which contain only one dwelling unit. As a result, buildings which contain multiple dwelling units (e.g. duplexes, row housing, houses with secondary suites) will instead use the “Contractor Installation Permits – Other” fee category and will only be required to obtain one permit.
Current |
Proposed change |
|
Definition |
BC Electrical Code: “Single family dwelling”: a dwelling unit consisting of a detached house, one unit of a row house, or one unit of a semi-detached, duplex, triplex or quadruplex house |
Electrical Safety Regulation: "fully detached dwelling" means any of the following if occupied or intended by the owner to be occupied as a permanent residence: (a) any detached building containing only one dwelling unit; […] |
Interpretation |
|
|
Client portal settings |
Selecting “Contractor Residential Multi-unit dwelling” defaults to “Contractor Installation Permits – Other” fee category |
Selecting “Contractor Residential Multi-unit dwelling” defaults to “Contractor Installation Permits – Other” fee category (no change proposed) |
This proposal clarifies two issues that cause confusion:
-
Which service installation rating to use when calculating fees. Single Family Residential permit fees are calculated using the “final rating of each service installation”. Without a clear definition of “service installation” in the BC Electrical Code, it is unclear whether:
- multiple permits are needed, and each permit fee is calculated using the rating of the main breaker of each unit; or
- one permit is needed, and the permit fee is calculated using the rating of the supply before it enters the meterbase.
Our proposal to use the “Contractor Installation Permits – Other” fee category means that the fees are calculated using the job value rather than the service installation rating, and clarifies that only one permit is needed.
- Online Services default settings. Currently, if you take out a permit for a building such as a duplex or row housing in your online services account, the settings default to using the “Contractor Installation Permits – Other” fee category. We propose to keep the settings the same and change the definition in the fee schedule to use the Electrical Safety Regulation definition of “fully detached dwelling” for the “Contractor Installation Permits – Single Family Residential” fees.
Installation permits for small jobs. We propose reducing fees for lower job value installation permits. A new tier for jobs valued $150 and lower will be added and the next tiers will be adjusted to include jobs valued $0–$150, $151–$400 and $401–$1000. We’ve heard feedback from electrical contractors that they felt our permit fees were for simple jobs were disproportionately high and that it discouraged contractors from taking out permits. We hope this change encourages building owners to hire licensed contractors to conduct regulated work while also encouraging contractors to take out permits. In turn, we will receive data and insight into these lower risk, simple jobs.
Current Tier |
Fee 2023 |
New Tier |
Proposed Fee 2024 |
Proposed Fee 2025 |
<= $150 |
$14 |
$15 |
||
<= $250 |
$59 |
$151 to $400 |
$35 |
$36 |
$251 to $1,000 |
$103 |
$401 to $1,000 |
$111 |
$115 |
Installation permits for large jobs. We propose increasing fees for higher job value installation permits (with job values higher than $1000) by 8% in 2024 and 4% in 2025 to better reflect the level of risk involved in larger installations.
Current Tier |
Fee 2023 |
New Tier |
Proposed Fee 2024 |
Proposed Fee 2025 |
$1,001 to $2,500 |
$177 |
$1,001 to $2,500 |
$191 |
$199 |
$2,501 to $5,000 |
$287 |
$2,501 to $5,000 |
$310 |
$322 |
$5,001 to $10,000 |
$441 |
$5,001 to $10,000 |
$476 |
$495 |
$10,001 to $20,000 |
$722 |
$10,001 to $20,000 |
$780 |
$811 |
$20,001 to $35,000 |
$1,057 |
$20,001 to $35,000 |
$1,142 |
$1,188 |
$35,001 to $50,000 |
$1,474 |
$35,001 to $50,000 |
$1,592 |
$1,656 |
$50,001 to $100,000 |
$2,114 |
$50,001 to $100,000 |
$2,283 |
$2,374 |
$100,001 to $200,000 |
$3,167 |
$100,001 to $200,000 |
$3,420 |
$3,557 |
$200,001 to $1,000,000 |
$2,880 + 0.5% of job value |
$200,001 to $1,000,000 |
$3,110 + 0.5% job value |
$3,234 + 0.5% job value |
$1,000,000+ |
$5,759 + 0.25% of job value |
$1,000,000+ |
$6,220 + 0.25% job value |
$6,469 + 0.25% job value |
