We're doing a major renovation. Oakville hydro are telling me I have to upgrade my 100 amp underground cable to 200 amp. The house is 3,700 sq ft (2 storeys no basement), a chunk of that is garage/unfinished storage. 4 people live there. No hot tub or pool or plan to put one in.
They are quoting $11k + !!!! Won't let our contractor dig the channel to save costs. Do we have to upgrade this?! Not sure why we have to pay for their infrastructure upgrades?!
It is not up to Oakville hydro to tell you what you need, it is your electrical contractor who must do this calculation and decide whether it is required.
You can always call the ESA (www.esasafe.com) and ask them for an inspector visit. You will need to provide an electrical plan of your new layout and connected devices.
Homes are built everyday here with only 100 amp entrances, but it also depends on the age and location of your home.
Oakville hydro is not responsible for homes requirements of renovations. If your reno requires that much electrical work, than your general contractor and electrical contractor should have prepared for this well before your reno started, if they are reputable and knew the interior electrical requirements prior to bidding on the job.
I cant belive you have gotten this far on 100 amps. Yes you do need to upgrade. Check with your utility provider to make sure they can supply your needs from the road and if there are additional costs.
The line fromthe road needs to be upgraded in most cases. Make sure the electicians are only doing electrical work. Get a temp labourer to dig the ditch.
It should be the electrical contractor who can decide your electrical service upgrade. This should be supported by proper load demand calculation base on current edition of Canadian Electrical Code. At the end of the day the electrical contractor who will make electrical declaration to the city and to Hydro that all jobs were done safe and up to code. If you have doubt to your electrical contractor, it always not a bad idea to ask for 2nd opinion of another electrical contractor.
Hi,
I need more information to tell you that you should upgrade to 200A or
not.
Sincerely,
Hassan Mosaferi
Connect Electrical Installations Ltd.
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