Individual Convicted and Fined for Doing Electrical Work Without License

On March 21, 2012 an electrical contractor was convicted in a Windsor Ontario court of numerous charges related to performing electrical work without an electrical contractor's license and failing to make arrangements for the inspection of electrical work by the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA). He was found guilty on seven counts of performing electrical work without an electrical contractor's license, seven counts of failing to apply for inspection, four counts of failure to procure a connection authorization, and one count of falsely representing himself as a licensed electrical contractor. The total fine was $19,000 for the violations plus $4,750 as a victim impact surcharge.

Under Ontario Regulation 438/07, Licensing of Electrical Contractors and Master Electricians, only Licensed Electrical Contractors are permitted to contract to perform electrical work in Ontario.

"Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous players out there who present themselves as being able to do electrical work when they don't hold the appropriate license and they don't follow the rules and regulations. If you hire them, you may end up with unsafe electrical wiring, or may need to arrange to have a licensed electrical contractor make repairs to their work," said Scott Saint, ESA's VP and Chief Operating Officer. "We remind anyone considering hiring someone to do electrical work to follow 'the three Cs': check to ensure the contractor holds a valid electrical contractor license; confirm that they are arranging the appropriate inspections from ESA; and call ESA at 1-877-ESA-SAFE (1877-372-7233) if you suspect someone is misrepresenting themselves."

ESA reminds consumers of the requirement to ensure that anyone you hire to perform electrical work has a valid ECRA/ESA Electrical Contractor Licence. This will ensure that the Electrical Contractor you have hired:

is fully insured

uses qualified electricians to perform the electrical work you require

will arrange for permits with the ESA

can deliver an ESA Certificate of Inspection

can provide references

will prepare a written cost estimate of the work