Master electricians · Gatineau
Aylmer, Hull, Gatineau, Buckingham or Masson-Angers: STM-Électrique now serves Gatineau, from panels to generators, with a written price before the work starts.
In short
STM-Électrique is adding Gatineau to its service area. Our offices are in Mirabel and our warehouse in Laval; in Gatineau, our master electricians take on residential and commercial jobs, from houses to plexes, condos and businesses.
Whatever the job, the first step is the same: we look at the installation, then a written quote details each item. Here is what we handle in Gatineau.
Switching to breakers, going up to 200 A
We remove old fuse boxes in favour of a breaker panel, upgrade a 60 or 100 A panel to 200 A, or install a subpanel when there is no room left. It’s the load calculation, done at your home, that sets the amperage.
200, 320 or 400 A
When demand exceeds what the service entrance can deliver, we rebuild it from the mast to the panel. A rusted or poorly secured mast is replaced during the same job: you avoid a second visit and a second service interruption.
Level 2, often a FLO
We mostly install the FLO Home X3, designed in Canada, and Siemens chargers; if you have already bought yours, it must carry a CSA or cULus mark. The load calculation must include the charger.
Portable or automatic start
An outdoor power inlet and a manual transfer switch for a portable unit; an automatic transfer switch for a permanent propane or natural gas generator, which switches the circuits over in a few seconds. The gas portion is handled by a gas contractor.
Disconnect switches, baseboards, basement
Replacing 100 A disconnect switches, baseboard heaters and thermostats, and the water heater disconnect, installing recessed lights and GFCI outlets, troubleshooting and wiring a basement under renovation.
Have several small repairs in mind? Put them on the same list: we take care of them in a single visit, and the estimate costs you nothing. The price depends on the work, the number of outlets or fixtures, and access.
A general electrical project? Your contact details and a few questions are all it takes.
Get a quoteGatineau was born in 2002 from the merger of five cities: Aylmer, Buckingham, Gatineau, Hull and Masson-Angers. It lies on the north shore of the Ottawa River, across from Ottawa, and had 291,041 residents in 2021, making it the fourth most populous city in Québec. Its population has grown by about 5.4% since 2016.
The census counts 126,480 occupied dwellings there, and close to 60.2% of households own their home. Single-detached houses make up barely more than a third of them; apartments, about as many. Here is what each type of dwelling leads us to check.
| Dwelling | Share in 2021 | What we check |
|---|---|---|
| Single-detached house | 36.5% (46,215) | The capacity of the service entrance and the panel before an EV charger, a spa or a permanent generator. |
| Semi-detached or row house | 20.8% (26,280) | The free slots in the panel and the cable route between the panel and the desired location. |
| Duplex | 5.7% (7,215) | The meter that will feed the addition and each unit’s separate supply, with its own protection. |
| Apartment | 36.7% (46,360) | In a condo, the condo board’s role for common areas and the sharing of consumption. |
As for age, across the city, 13.2% of dwellings date from 1960 or earlier, 26.6% from 1961 to 1980, 15.3% from 1981 to 1990, 14.4% from 1991 to 2000, and 30.6% were built since 2001.
In houses built from 1965 to 1975 especially, you may find aluminum wiring. We redo its connections with parts designed for aluminum, AlumiConn connectors or CO/ALR devices, we replace damaged circuits, and you receive a report of the work for your insurer.
Gatineau’s permits page names electrical work explicitly. In its table of work that requires a permit, the line “Electrical, plumbing or heating/air conditioning work over $26,000” (our translation) is checked in the “Required” column. Below that threshold, calculated on the cost of labour and materials before taxes for an existing building, the permit is not required.
Two nuances apply. The permit becomes mandatory again, whatever the amount, if the work is subject to a site planning and architectural integration program (PIIA) or a municipal heritage designation by-law. And the City itself points out: “Even if a permit is not required, standards apply and must be respected.” (our translation) A pool or a spa, its access and its enclosure require a permit in all cases. If in doubt, the City offers URBAIN, its virtual urban planning assistant.
The municipal permit and the declaration of work, when they are required, are our business: you have nothing to fill out.
Gatineau is not one of the nine municipal networks that distribute their own electricity: its distributor is Hydro-Québec. If a panel or service entrance replacement requires cutting the power, we handle the request with Hydro-Québec and tell you when to expect the interruption. For a panel, plan on half a day to a full day without electricity.
On September 21, 2018, an EF3 tornado struck Mont-Bleu, in the Hull sector, before following Saint-Joseph Boulevard to de la Savane Boulevard. In Gatineau alone, 215 buildings were affected, totalling 1,686 dwellings. Across the Outaouais, more than 53,000 power outages were counted.
A generator is never plugged into the dryer outlet or into a wall outlet with a male-to-male cable: its current would flow backwards into the installation. You need a transfer switch. Here is how the two approaches compare.
| Criterion | Portable generator | Permanent generator |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel | Gasoline, to refill during the outage | Propane or natural gas, continuously, never gasoline |
| Connection | An outdoor power inlet and a manual transfer switch near the panel | An automatic transfer switch that starts it, switches the circuits over in a few seconds, then switches back when the power returns |
| Transfer switch installed and connected | Around $2,000 for a 60 A manual switch | Around $3,200 for an automatic switch |
| What is extra | The generator | The generator, its pad and the fuel; the gas connection goes to a licensed gas company |
The backed-up circuits are grouped in an auxiliary panel. Priority usually goes to the sump pump, heating, the refrigerator and freezer, a few lighting and outlet circuits and, in the country, the well pump. The dryer, the oven, the spa and the EV charger are left out.
On propane, Generac requires a tank of at least 250 US gallons for a residential generator: cylinders are not enough. The unit is placed at least 6 metres from buildings, as Health Canada recommends, never in the garage, and a working carbon monoxide detector is essential. For a permanent unit, don’t start the process in November: the wait is mostly due to permits and the fuel connection.
The process is the same for a disconnect switch or for a complete service entrance.
Explain the job to us at 438-542-7304 or through the quote request. To prepare, note the service entrance’s amperage and the panel’s brand, and attach three photos: open panel, main breaker label, overall view of the wall.
A master electrician comes over, examines the installation and calculates the load if an appliance is being added. You receive the detailed quote within 24 to 48 business hours, free of charge and with no deposit. No fixed price over the phone: we prefer to see before we put a number on it.
We work to the Electricity chapter of the Code, cutting only the circuits concerned when possible. Every circuit is tested, the declaration of work is filed, and payment is made at the end, by Interac, credit card, debit or cash.
If something unexpected comes up along the way, we warn you right away, before continuing. Buying a house in Gatineau? A master electrician reviews the panel, the service entrance and the accessible circuits, and the findings are given to you in writing.
A main breaker that trips as soon as you reset it, a burning smell, a blackened outlet: switch off the main breaker if you can do so safely, and keep your distance.
After water damage, caution is in order: Hydro-Québec asks that the installation be checked by a master electrician before the power is restored after a flood.
Panels, service entrances, EV chargers, generators, lighting, pools and spas: all our electrical work.
The likely causes and what you can safely do before you call.
Leaning mast, rusted meter base, frayed cable: the signs to watch for and what is urgent.
Yes. Gatineau is now part of our service area, for residential and commercial work alike. For a project, request a written quote or call 438-542-7304.
Only above $26,000 before taxes, labour and materials included, on an existing building. Below that threshold, no permit is needed, unless the work is subject to a site planning and architectural integration program (PIIA) or a municipal heritage designation by-law, or is among the work the City always requires a permit for (for example on a fire alarm system). Standards apply in all cases, and we take care of the permit and the declaration when they are required.
Hydro-Québec, which serves Gatineau. We make the request for you and tell you when to expect the interruption. The house is generally without electricity for half a day to a full day during the replacement.
Around $2,000 for a 60 A manual transfer switch, and around $3,200 for an automatic one, installed and connected. The generator is extra, as are the pad and the fuel for a permanent unit.
At STM-Électrique, an installed FLO charger comes to around $1,750 on a single-family house, charger included, when the panel has room and the charger is a reasonable distance away. Écorecharge, Québec’s assistance program, can pay $600 toward the price of an eligible connected charger, not toward installation.
Yes, if the load calculation allows it. It will tell whether the charger can be added as is, with a load controller, or whether more capacity is needed. The price depends mainly on the distance between the panel and the charger.
Not before a check. Hydro-Québec asks that a master electrician check the installation before the power is restored after a flood. Call us at 438-542-7304, and switch off the main breaker only if you can do so safely.
Sources · Checked on October 11, 2026
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Master electricians · Gatineau
Describe the job to us: a visit, a load calculation if needed, then a free written quote before the work begins.