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Electrical panel replacement on the South Shore
A 200 A panel means about five hours without power; the permit rule, however, changes from one city to the next. The table of the six cities with their own page, and the link to yours.
On the South Shore, a 200 A panel replacement at STM-Électrique cuts the power for about five hours; the price is in the written quote, free of charge. We handle the steps with Hydro-Québec; the permit rule, however, changes from one city to the next, and none of the cities we read names the electrical panel in its bylaw.
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How much does a panel replacement cost on the South Shore?
At STM-Électrique, the price of a panel replacement, 200 A or 100 A, is in the quote, written and free of charge. We can’t give an exact price without seeing the installation; that one is written in the quote, free of charge.
The price of a panel replacement changes from one house to the next, and a secondary panel costs less.
If the service entrance has to follow, it’s often redone in the same job, which costs less than two jobs.
Find your city
Six South Shore cities have their own panel replacement page (in French), with their permit rule, their housing and their questions.
- Panel replacement in Longueuil
- Panel replacement in Saint-Hubert
- Panel replacement in Brossard
- Panel replacement in Sainte-Julie
- Panel replacement in Châteauguay
- Panel replacement in Beloeil
Your city doesn’t have a panel page? It has an electrician page (in French): Boucherville (in French), Candiac (in French), La Prairie (in French), Saint-Constant (in French), Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville (in French), Varennes (in French) and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (in French); Brossard also has its page in English: electrician in Brossard. All cities: electrician on the South Shore (in French).
Longueuil and Brossard: two cities, two ages of houses
Longueuil and Brossard weren’t built at the same pace, and it often shows in the panels of their houses.
In Longueuil, the 2021 census counts 113,085 occupied dwellings, about 55% of them built before 1981: 18,450 in 1960 or earlier, and 44,100 from 1961 to 1980.
Brossard is younger. The city was incorporated in 1958, the Champlain Bridge opened in 1962, and of its 35,885 occupied dwellings, only 1,495 date from 1960 or earlier. More than a third were built from 1961 to 1980, and 13,220 since 2001.
In both cities, the question is the same: a house that has kept its original panel has often seen appliances arrive that the panel was never planned for, and the insurer is often the first to notice.
The permit: each city has its own rule
We read the bylaw or the official page of each of the six cities. None names the electrical panel: they speak of “electrical work”, “systems” or “minor work”. Here is what each one says.
| City | What the City says |
|---|---|
| Longueuil | Bylaw CO-2024-1285 exempts certain repairs from a permit, but states that electrical work isn’t considered repair or maintenance work: a permit may therefore be required. |
| Saint-Hubert | A borough of Longueuil: same bylaw, same rule. |
| Brossard | The City lists “electrical work” among the procedures that don’t require a permit. |
| Sainte-Julie | Bylaw 1104 exempts normal maintenance and minor repairs, without naming electrical work; the City asks you to contact an inspector before any kind of work. |
| Châteauguay | No permit to replace an electrical system in a dwelling of 4 units or fewer; a permit for a multi-family dwelling of 4 units or more. |
| Beloeil | Minor work is exempt under $5,000, outside heritage zones and outside a PIIA; the bylaw names the service entrance, not the panel. |
We confirm the rule with the city before starting, and the permit, when one is needed, is part of our job.
Which amperage for which house?
Before any replacement, we do the load calculation: it’s what tells you whether your house needs 100 A, 200 A or more.
200 amps is the rated capacity of the service, what the main breaker lets through before it trips. It’s today’s standard as soon as the house is heated electrically or gets a heat pump or an EV charger.
The details: is 100 amp service enough?, the 200 amp panel and the load calculation. The older models to watch have their guide too: fuse box, Federal Pioneer Stab-Lok and Commander.
Replacement day: about five hours without power
Expect about five hours without electricity.
Before that day, we fill in all of Hydro-Québec’s forms and coordinate the disconnection and the reconnection. Only a master electrician, a CMEQ member, can send the declaration of work to Hydro-Québec.
On site, we remove the old panel, install the new one and label every circuit, then check the installation once the power is back.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a panel replacement cost on the South Shore?
The price of a 200 A or a 100 A panel is in the written quote, free of charge. You get the quote after the visit. The service entrance and the panel are often redone together on a single-family home.
Which South Shore cities require a permit to replace a panel?
None of the six cities we read names the panel. Brossard lists electrical work among the procedures without a permit; Châteauguay requires none up to 4 units; in Longueuil and Saint-Hubert, a permit may be required. We confirm the rule with your city before starting.
Do you come across aluminum wiring on the South Shore?
Yes: Adam Chirola, our master electrician, comes across a lot of it on the South Shore. It’s something to look at when replacing the panel. Our guide on aluminum wiring explains what it involves.
Do you also do service entrances on the South Shore?
Yes. The service entrance is very often redone at the same time as the panel, and it costs less that way. The mast, the meter base and the cable are covered on our service entrance page.
What we install. Most often, a Siemens panel: it’s the brand we install most, and Adam Chirola considers it reliable and high quality.
Your city isn’t in the table? Send us a photo of the open panel: we check your city’s rule and tell you the next steps.
Get a quoteor call 438 542-7304To go further