Why your Victoria home's electrical panel might need an upgrade (and what affects the cost)

When a 100A panel can't carry a new heat pump, EV charger, hot tub, induction range, suite or air conditioner, the fix is a 100A-to-200A service upgrade.

Every upgrade is quoted after a site visit. The price depends on the distance from BC Hydro's service drop, the meter location, the condition of your wiring, and whether there's knob-and-tube in the attic (common in James Bay and other pre-1950 neighbourhoods).

Why it comes up now

Through the 1970s and 1980s, 100A was plenty. Most Victoria homes heated with oil or gas, and the big electric loads were the dryer and range.

In the last decade that changed:

• Heat pumps. An air-source heat pump needs a dedicated 30A circuit (7,200W of new nameplate load), and cold-climate units pull more.
• EVs. A Level 2 charger draws 32–48A, similar to running a dryer for six hours every night.
• Induction and air conditioning. A 40A induction range plus a 20A circuit for a ductless air conditioner adds another 60A.

Add a hot tub (40A), a workshop sub-panel (50A) and a 30A garage outlet for a future EV charger, and a 100A panel is well past its capacity.

The CSA load calculation decides whether a panel can legally carry the planned loads. BCEC 2024 changed it in some cases, for example by allowing EVEMS load-sharing.

Check your panel

Open the panel door. Don't touch any wires.

1. Count the spaces. If you have 24 spaces, mostly doubled up with tandem breakers (two slim breakers in one space), you're out of room. A 200A panel typically has 40.
2. Check the main breaker. The biggest breaker at the top is labelled, usually 100A, 125A or 200A. At 100A or less, you almost certainly can't add a 40–50A EV circuit and a 30A heat-pump circuit without going up in size.
3. Look for an FPE Stab-Lok or a Zinsco. Both are linked to breakers failing to trip, and many insurers won't renew policies on homes that have them. See below.
4. Look for knob-and-tube. In pre-1950 houses in Fairfield, James Bay, Oak Bay South, Fernwood or Rockland, check the basement and (carefully) the attic. K&T is single cloth-wrapped wires on white ceramic knobs. We don't connect knob-and-tube circuits to a new panel; they get replaced.

What 200A gets you

• More load. 200A at 240V is 48,000W. That covers a heat pump, EV charger, induction range and hot tub without tripping the main.
• More spaces. A typical 200A panel has 40 spaces, and most take tandem breakers, for up to 60 circuits.
• Up-to-date protection. The new panel meets the current BCEC: AFCI protection for bedrooms, GFCI for kitchen, bathroom and exterior circuits, and dual-function breakers for most living spaces. Insurers notice.

What affects the cost

No two 100A→200A upgrades are quite the same. We quote after a site visit, and these are the things that move the price most:

Add the Technical Safety BC permit (roughly $150–$200, passed through at cost with no markup) and the BC Hydro service-connection charge.

BC Hydro sets that charge in the Electric Tariff. Its published Express Connections minimum charges for a single-phase residential service upgrade are:

• Overhead service, up to 200 amps: $880 plus GST
• Underground service, up to 200 amps: $1,400 plus GST
• Alteration of existing wire/cable: $820 plus GST

These cover the wire or cable to your meter base, not the meter. Grid-side changes cost more. Under its Distribution Extension Policy, BC Hydro may cover part of the cost for some customers.

Cutover day

Power is off for most of the day, starting in the morning.

1. Week before. We pull the Technical Safety BC permit and submit the connection request through BC Hydro's Express Connections. BC Hydro wants 5–10 business days' notice.
2. Morning. BC Hydro pulls the meter. Power goes off.
3. Cutover. Old panel out, new panel in (Eaton, Square D or Siemens 40-space). New ground rod and bonding, mast updated if required, every circuit terminated, labelled and tested.
4. Inspection. The Technical Safety BC inspector checks the work.
5. Reconnect. BC Hydro reconnects the meter.

Wi-Fi smart-home devices may need to be reconnected afterward.

FPE Stab-Lok and Zinsco

If you have either brand, plan to replace the panel soon whether or not you're adding anything.

Federal Pioneer Stab-Lok. Canadian-made, roughly 1965 to the early 1990s. Independent testing documented elevated rates of breakers failing to trip on overload. Many insurers won't write new policies on these homes, and some won't renew existing ones. A same-amperage swap is usually done in a day.

Zinsco / Sylvania-Zinsco. US-made in the 1970s, with similar (some say worse) failure problems. Rarer in BC than Ontario, but we still see them in older West Shore homes, and insurance is a growing problem. A swap usually takes a day.

Rebates

A standalone panel upgrade isn't rebate-eligible. Related rebates can help:

• EV chargers. Provincial rebates of up to $2,350 on home EV chargers in select Victoria neighbourhoods, until Dec 31, 2026 (full guide here). We help with the rebate paperwork.
• Heat pumps. Provincial rebates cover the heat pump, not the panel work. We handle the electrical side of heat pump installs (the circuit, disconnect and panel capacity) and work with your heating contractor.

FAQ

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