Electrical panel upgrade in Québec: cost and how the day goes

Most people who call us about a panel don’t ask about the price first. They ask: “How long am I going to be without power?”

This guide answers that, and everything that comes with it: who does what, in what order, and what can throw off the schedule.

Before: the calculation, the permit, Hydro-Québec

What happens before the day of the work decides whether that day goes well.

The load calculation

It comes first, and it’s not a formality. The calculation adds up your living area, how you heat, your fixed appliances and anything you plan to add, like an EV charger, a heat pump or a spa. It decides what capacity to install.

There are three possible outcomes: your current panel is enough and you may not need to change it, it’s enough with load management, or you need more capacity.

The municipal permit

Replacing a panel generally requires a municipal permit. The electrical contractor applies for it, and also declares the work to the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ). The cost and the wait vary from one city to the next on the North Shore, and that’s one of the things that can push a date back.

Coordinating with Hydro-Québec

To change a panel, the power has to be cut upstream. Depending on the work, that means Hydro-Québec disconnects the service and then reconnects it. We place that request and we follow up on it. You don’t have to call, book an appointment or juggle the calendar.

It’s also the one part nobody fully controls. A delay at Hydro-Québec pushes the date back, and it’s the number one reason a panel job doesn’t happen the week it was requested.

The day of the work, step by step

Here’s what a typical day looks like at your place.

The longest part isn’t the one you’d expect. It’s not removing the old panel or installing the new one: it’s connecting and, above all, identifying the circuits. In an older house, the original labels almost never match reality, because thirty years of renovations have been through there. We trace each circuit before labelling it, because a poorly labelled panel costs time on every future service call.

How long you’ll be without power

The honest answer: half a day to a full day for the vast majority of residential panel replacements. We give you the exact window before the work, not that morning.

What makes the outage longer:

• The service entrance redone at the same time (mast, meter base, supply cable)
• A large number of circuits to trace and connect
• Non-compliant wiring found when we open things up, which has to be fixed before reconnecting
• Waiting for Hydro-Québec to reconnect the service

What we suggest you plan for: run down what’s in your freezer in the days before, keep a cooler for whatever has to make it through, and if you work from home, plan to work somewhere else that day. If you have medical equipment that plugs in, tell us when you ask for your quote: it changes how we organize the day.

Electrical panel upgrade cost, and what changes it

Here’s the electrical panel upgrade cost at STM-Électrique for a single-family house, from a simple replacement to a 100 amp to 200 amp upgrade:

These are ballpark figures for a typical house, not firm prices. Nobody can give you an exact price without seeing the place, and here’s why:

• The distance between the panel and the meter. Three metres or fifteen metres isn’t the same cable or the same amount of time.
• The condition of the service entrance, the mast and the meter base. If they need redoing, that’s a second job added on top of the first.
• The number of circuits. Twenty circuits or forty shows up over the course of the day.
• Access to the panel. A panel in a finished basement, behind a closet or in a cluttered space needs work before we can even start.
• The municipal permit, whose cost varies by city.
• Bad surprises. Non-compliant wiring behind the old panel does happen, and it has to be fixed.

How we work: we look, we put a price on it, and that price is written in the quote before anything starts. If we find something along the way, we call you before going any further.

After: labelling, inspection, paperwork

Three things close out the job, and each one matters.

Labelling. Each breaker is labelled by what it actually powers, not by what the old label said. That’s what lets you shut off the right circuit five years from now without guessing.

Inspection. The work is declared and goes through the inspection required by regulations. That’s the other side of the permit.

Paperwork. You receive the details of what was done. Keep them: that’s what your insurer, your future buyer or their inspector will ask for. Work that’s well done but not documented won’t solve your insurance problem.

Frequently asked questions