Licensed Residential Electrician in Etobicoke

Toronto Hydro owns the service wire and the meter. The homeowner owns the service mast, the clevis, the meter base and the conduit, so any of those that need replacing fall within your electrical contractor's scope along with the panel. ESA explains that for a service upgrade the utility has to disconnect the power, and the new equipment must be inspected before power is restored. In practice an Etobicoke upgrade runs in a fixed order: the request to Toronto Hydro, the electrical work, the ESA inspection, and then reconnection by Toronto Hydro.

A house from the early or mid-1970s sits inside the window ESA identifies for aluminum wiring, and some homes have a mix of aluminum and copper. Warning signs ESA lists include cover plates that feel warm, discoloured switches or receptacles, flickering lights and a smell of hot plastic. A licensed contractor can confirm the conductor type at the panel and at a sample of outlets. Repairs follow ESA Flash 25-18-FL: push-in terminations must not be used on aluminum, and switches and receptacles rated 20 amps or less need an aluminum-rated marking such as CO/ALR, unless each aluminum conductor is pigtailed to copper with a connector marked for that combination.

If your home qualifies, yes. As of October 2026, the City of Toronto's Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program covers up to 80 per cent of the invoiced cost of a sump pump, to a maximum of $2,250, and up to $300 more for a battery backup. The application needs photos of the pump and of the discharge pipe outside the house. The pump itself is plumbing work, but it depends on a power supply at the sump; if there is no suitable outlet there, adding a circuit is electrical work that needs an ESA permit and a Licensed Electrical Contractor.

In Ontario, anyone you pay to do electrical work in your home must be a Licensed Electrical Contractor, and that licence belongs to the business, so the quote should show a seven-digit ECRA/ESA number. KV Bear Electrical's number is 7014730. Ask who will file the ESA notification before work begins, whether the price covers any Toronto Hydro steps for a service upgrade, and when you will receive the ESA Certificate of Acceptance, a document your insurer may request and that can matter when the house is sold.

The two are separate. The City of Toronto notes that almost all electrical work in Ontario requires an electrical permit from ESA, obtained apart from any building permit. Finishing a basement does not need a City building permit when there are no structural or material alterations and no new dwelling unit, but installing or changing heating or plumbing does, and so does adding a second suite. Whichever applies, the new circuits, lights and receptacles are covered by the ESA permit.