Aurora Electrical Panel Upgrade: From Load Check to Alectra Reconnection
KV Bear Electrical is a licensed electrical contractor (ECRA/ESA 7014730) based in Oshawa that does residential work in Aurora. Here's what our panel upgrade service looks like for a home in Aurora.
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An Aurora electrical panel upgrade is really three pieces of work that have to meet on one day. Inside the house, a Licensed Electrical Contractor takes out the old panel and files the job with the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA). Outside, Alectra Utilities, which supplies Aurora, cuts the power at the start and puts it back at the end. In the middle, ESA has to look at the new service equipment, because Alectra will not reconnect without ESA's go-ahead.
How big that day gets depends on the house. Statistics Canada's count of occupied homes in Aurora rose by 14.1% between 2016 and 2021, so a recent build in Bayview Northeast and a long-standing house in Aurora Heights may need quite different work. One may only need a panel with more spaces for a finished basement or a heat pump. The other may need an electrical service upgrade in Aurora that replaces everything from the mast to the main breaker. A load calculation, done before anything is ordered, tells you which job you have.
What Aurora Homeowners Should Know
Alectra Utilities books the disconnect and reconnect for a residential service upgrade through its New Connections department, at 1-833-494-3674 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday. On the confirmed date, Alectra or an approved contractor attends to cut the service, and Alectra recommends that the electrician be on site an hour ahead of the appointment and ready to wait 1.5 hours past it.
Source: Make a Service Request, Alectra Utilities (alectrautilities.com)Aurora is on the list of 17 communities that Alectra Utilities distributes electricity to, as are its southern neighbours Richmond Hill, Markham and Vaughan.
Source: Company Overview, Alectra Utilities (alectrautilities.com)Alectra's service request page offers two residential application types: a Panel Change, which covers fuse to breaker swaps, like for like replacements and moves from 60 to 100 amps, and a Service Upgrade for anything above 100 amps. The account at the address has to be in good standing, and simple jobs such as fuses to breakers or upgrades below 200 amps usually get through review and onto the calendar within 5 to 10 business days (as of October 2026).
Source: Make a Service Request, Alectra Utilities (alectrautilities.com)Alectra's home safety guidance asks for at least three working days, as a guideline, to schedule its part of the work, and power is restored only after ESA has issued a Connection Authorization to Alectra.
Source: Electrical Safety at Home, Alectra Utilities (alectrautilities.com)Where the wires arrive overhead and attach to a service mast, Alectra holds the property owner responsible from the top of that mast into the electrical panel, and it may not be able to reconnect until the owner has a licensed electrician make the repairs.
Source: Who's Responsible for Storm Damage Repairs, Alectra Utilities (alectrautilities.com)ESA's service inspection happens once the customer-owned service equipment and its wiring are installed and ready. Depending on the job, the inspector may look at the meter base, the panel board, the ground electrode and the overhead or underground conductors. After a pass, ESA authorizes the utility to energize the service, and that authorization stays valid for up to six months from the date it is issued.
Source: What Is a Service/Connection Inspection and When Does It Take Place?, Electrical Safety Authority (esasafe.com)The 2021 Census found 21,506 occupied private dwellings in Aurora, a 14.1% rise from the 2016 count.
Source: Focus on Geography Series, 2021 Census: Aurora, Statistics Canada (www12.statcan.gc.ca)Northeast Old Aurora is the Town's only heritage conservation district. The Town says the owner of any property in such a district needs approval for exterior alterations, new construction or demolition.
Source: Heritage Conservation Districts (HCD), Town of Aurora (aurora.ca)Aurora's Heritage Permit Guide counts interior work that leaves a building's external appearance unchanged as minor work that needs no heritage permit. Applications that are minor or that conform to the District Plan may be approved by the Town's heritage planner, while more complex ones are sent to the Heritage Advisory Committee.
Source: Heritage Permit Guide, Town of Aurora (aurora.ca)According to the Town's Highland Gate Redevelopment page, the settlement the Ontario Municipal Board approved on December 1, 2016 cut the new single-detached homes planned there from 184 to 159 and set a 10-metre buffer between existing rear yards and the new streets.
Source: Highland Gate Redevelopment, Town of Aurora (aurora.ca)The Town lists finishing a basement with no structural alteration and no added sleeping accommodation among projects that do not need a building permit, though that work must still follow the Town's Zoning By-law and, where it applies, the Ontario Building Code.
Source: Applications, Permits and Inspections, Town of Aurora (aurora.ca)
Facts checked October 23, 2026.
Breaker Panel Replacement or a 200 Amp Service Upgrade in Aurora?
Alectra puts every residential request into one of two boxes, and the box decides the pace of the project. A Panel Change is a fuse panel traded for breakers, a like for like swap, or a step from 60 to 100 amps. Anything past 100 amps counts as a Service Upgrade. Either way, Alectra wants the account at the address in good standing, so clear up any billing problem before your contractor files.
A breaker panel replacement in Aurora is the right fit when the service is big enough and the panel is the weak point. Typical reasons are a panel with every space used, breakers that keep tripping or will not reset, a make that an insurer or home inspector has questioned, or scorch marks and warm covers. The main breaker keeps its rating, and the circuits move into a new panel with room to grow.
A 200 amp service upgrade in Aurora is for a house that is short on capacity rather than space. The work usually runs from the service entrance cable through the meter base to a new main breaker, and on an overhead supply the mast often gets replaced too. To find out which side of the line a house is on, the contractor totals the heating, cooling, cooking, laundry and water heating loads, adds anything you plan to install, and compares the result with the existing rating. Simple requests under 200 amps usually clear Alectra's review and get a date within 5 to 10 business days (as of October 2026), so it pays to file as soon as the numbers are done.
Changeover Day: Booking Alectra and Passing the ESA Service Inspection
Once the request is accepted, the disconnect and reconnect are booked by phone with Alectra's New Connections team. Alectra asks for at least three working days of notice as a guideline, so pick a date with some slack in it, and do not plan a tight renovation step for the same morning.
On the day, Alectra or one of its approved contractors cuts the supply at the booked time. Because Alectra suggests the electrician arrive an hour early and be ready to wait an hour and a half beyond the appointment, the start of the day can feel slow. After the cut, the old panel comes out, the new panel and main breaker go in along with any meter base or mast work, and every existing circuit is reconnected and labelled.
Next comes ESA. Its service inspection covers the equipment the homeowner owns, which can include the meter base, the panel board, the ground electrode and the service conductors. A pass sends a Connection Authorization to Alectra, and Alectra then restores the supply. That authorization stays valid for up to six months, so a short wait for Alectra's crew does not undo the inspection.
For the people living there, the house has no power from the disconnect until Alectra returns. Think ahead about the fridge and freezer, a sump pump, a garage door that will need opening by hand, and anyone at home who depends on powered medical equipment. Alectra gives each residential customer one scheduled disconnect and reconnect a year for electrical maintenance, during regular business hours, at no cost (as of October 2026).
Panel Upgrades in Aurora Heights, Highland Gate and Northeast Old Aurora
Aurora's neighbourhoods were built at different times, and the panel usually shows it. The Town's electoral system review describes Aurora Heights and Highland Gate as historic communities and Bayview Northeast as a newer one. For a panel upgrade in Aurora Heights, the first thing to settle is whether the service has ever been replaced since the house went up. The label inside the panel door and the rating stamped on the main breaker are the place to start.
Highland Gate is mixed. The 2016 settlement for its redevelopment allows 159 new single-detached homes beside established ones, with a 10-metre buffer between the older back yards and the new roads. So a panel upgrade in Highland Gate could involve an original service on one side of that buffer and a recent one on the other. Judge each house by what is in its basement, not by its street.
Northeast Old Aurora adds a heritage check. It is the Town's only heritage conservation district, and changes to the outside of a building there need Town approval. Replacing a panel in the basement is interior work that leaves the house looking the same, and the Heritage Permit Guide treats that as needing no heritage permit. A new meter base on the front wall, a taller mast or a service entrance moved to a new spot is a different matter, so raise it with heritage staff before the Alectra request goes in.
Anywhere in town, if the supply comes in overhead, the mast and everything below it belong to you. Alectra places the owner's responsibility from the top of the mast into the panel, so a rusted mast or a worn meter base is replaced by your contractor as part of the upgrade, not by the utility.
Panel Upgrade in Aurora: Common Questions
Can an Aurora house get a new breaker panel without a full service upgrade?
Yes, when the load calculation shows the existing service has room. Alectra files fuse to breaker swaps, like for like replacements and changes up to 100 amps as a Panel Change rather than a Service Upgrade. The supply usually has to be cut at the meter for the swap, so the job needs an Alectra appointment and an ESA filing either way.
How much notice does Alectra need to shut off power for an Aurora panel change?
Alectra's guideline is at least three working days to schedule its work, and the appointment is booked through New Connections at 1-833-494-3674 on weekdays. Before that, the request itself has to be reviewed. Simple upgrades under 200 amps are usually reviewed and booked within 5 to 10 business days (as of October 2026).
Do I need a heritage permit to change the panel in a Northeast Old Aurora house?
Not for work that stays inside and leaves the outside of the house unchanged. Exterior alterations in the district need Town approval, so a meter base, mast or service entrance that moves or looks different from outside should go to heritage staff first. Minor applications, and those that match the District Plan, can be approved by staff; more complex ones go to the Heritage Advisory Committee.
My Aurora basement finish needed no building permit. Does the wiring still go to ESA?
Yes. The Town skips the building permit for a basement finish with no structural alteration and no added sleeping space, but the electrical work is a separate filing with ESA. If the new circuits leave the panel short, the upgrade is filed too. If the basement becomes a second unit, the Town requires a Change of Use Permit or Building Permit plus an ESA inspection. When ESA passes the work, whoever filed the notification receives the ESA Certificate of Acceptance, so ask your contractor for a copy.
What does an electrical panel replacement in Aurora usually cost?
For a typical upgrade from 100 to 200 amps, the range KV Bear Electrical publishes is $2,500 to $5,000 (as of October 2026). Changing only the panel, next to a meter that stays put, keeps a job near the bottom of that range. A new meter base, mast or entrance cable, a panel that has to move, or old circuits that need repair before they are reconnected push it higher. Any Alectra charges are separate. To book a load check at your Aurora home, call 905-999-5048 or request a quote.
What Our Customers Are Saying
“Kyle has done a lot of electrical work at my home over the last couple of years, from upgrading my electrical panel to fixing my smart thermostats. He is friendly, highly professional, and genuinely cares about what’s best for his customers. I would recommend him to anyone looking to get electrical work done.”
“I have utilized the services of KV Bear on a number of occasions and the level of service, professionalism, and knowledge has been excellent. For my home, Kyle has installed a new circuit breaker panel, a dedicated circuit and interface for a portable generator, and a level 2 EV charging station. For each installation, the installation practices have been top notch and permits/inspections have been dealt with professionally. I would not hesitate to recommend KV Bear to anyone looking for a competent electrical contractor.”
“Kyle replaced my 100A panel with at 200A and did a great job. I would definitely use KV Bear again.”
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