Electrical panel replacement in Montréal

In Montréal, STM-Électrique replaces 200 A and 100 A panels, with a power cut of about five hours; the price is in the written quote, free of charge. Allow about two weeks before the work, as a rule, Hydro-Québec steps included. The City no longer issues permits for electrical work.

How much does a panel replacement cost in Montréal?

For 200 A as for 100 A, installation included, the price is in the quote, written and free of charge. The precise price of your panel is in the written quote, which costs you nothing.

The price changes with the house; adding a secondary panel costs less.

If the mast, the meter base and the cable need redoing too, it’s usually all done at once, service entrance and panel included.

Included in that price: the load calculation, Hydro-Québec’s forms, the declaration of work, and every circuit labelled in the new panel.

Montréal, from houses to duplexes: which panel, which amperage

Montréal is first of all a city of apartments. The 2021 census counts 816,338 occupied dwellings there: about 56.9% are in a building of fewer than five storeys, 13.2% in a duplex, and only 7.1% are single-detached houses.

It’s also an old housing stock: about 66% of dwellings were built before 1981, including 293,880 in 1960 or earlier.

House or unit, the amperage is decided by the load calculation, which we do before replacing anything. With electric heating, a heat pump or an EV charger, the current standard is 200 A, the capacity the main breaker lets through before it trips.

The details by amperage: 60 amps, 100 amps and 200 amps.

One plex, several panels: what changes

In a duplex or a triplex, we can replace the panel of a single unit: we identify that unit’s panel and meter, then plan the work to cut only what needs to be cut, letting the other occupants know if needed.

Before adding a heat pump or an EV charger in a unit, we first do the load calculation: if the service has the capacity, a dedicated circuit is enough; if not, we present the options before any work.

When it’s the building’s meter stack that’s at issue, it’s a different job, explained in our guide on meter stack replacement.

Fuses, Federal Pioneer, Commander: the panels to watch

With two dwellings out of three built before 1981, we open all kinds of panels in Montréal. The ones we replace: fuse boxes, 60 or 100 A panels too tight for today’s home, Federal Pioneer panels with Stab-Lok breakers.

Federal Pioneer Stab-Lok panels are something Adam Chirola changes constantly; Commander, CEB and Sylvania panels come up often too. Before any recommendation, we look at the panel’s condition: the name on the door isn’t enough to condemn it.

Our brand guides: Federal Pioneer Stab-Lok, Commander, Zinsco and Sylvania, Pushmatic and ITE, and the fuse box.

The permit in Montréal

The City of Montréal no longer issues permits for electrical, plumbing and heating work. It points out that you must nevertheless comply with provincial regulations. This text appears in the sections of 18 of its 19 boroughs.

The Saint-Léonard borough, for its part, states that it doesn’t issue permits for strictly electrical work.

No municipal permit, then, but no shortcut: Québec law reserves this work for an electrical contractor, even in their own residence, and it’s a master electrician who sends the declaration of work to Hydro-Québec.

RénoPlex: the Montréal grant that names the panel

The City of Montréal’s RénoPlex program (pages read on November 3, 2026) is for buildings of 1 to 5 units. In its amounts by type of work, it names the replacement of an electrical panel: $1,300 per panel of at least 200 A, and $625 per panel of at least 100 A and less than 200 A.

Two conditions change everything. The application must reach at least $3,000 in grants, which a panel alone doesn’t reach; and you have to wait for the City’s confirmation before starting, which takes three to four months. RénoPlex therefore suits a broader renovation that includes the panel.

The building’s property value is also capped. The details and the application are on the City’s website.

Westmount: a grid that isn’t Hydro-Québec’s

Westmount has its own distributor. Hydro Westmount maintains the network that supplies all homes and businesses in the city.

The City of Westmount lists the replacement of the electrical box serving a single residential unit among the electrical work that doesn’t require a construction permit; the exemption doesn’t waive the bylaws.

Our electrician in Westmount page covers other work in that city.

Replacement day in Montréal

On the power cut: plan for about five hours without electricity on the day of the work.

Hydro-Québec’s paperwork is our business: forms, disconnection, reconnection. Nobody in your home has to make a call.

The original panel comes out, the new one takes its place, and we label the circuits one by one before turning the power back on; then we check the installation before leaving.

Frequently asked questions