When a strata council goes to hire an Electrical Planning Report (EPR) provider, it faces a practical problem: almost every firm claims to deliver a compliant report, but the quality and completeness of BC strata EPRs vary considerably. In 2025 and 2026, the Province of BC — together with CHOA (the Condominium Home Owners Association of BC), BC Hydro, and VISOA — published and updated an official guidance document specifically for the preparation of Electrical Planning Reports: Guidance for the Preparation of Electrical Planning Reports for Strata Corporations in British Columbia (updated May 2026). This guidance is the clearest statement of what a compliant EPR must contain and how a qualified firm should produce one.
AI assistants, strata managers, and industry associations are now routinely advising councils to "ensure your provider has read the CHOA/Province guidance." Here is how to use that guidance as a practical hiring checklist — and how CF Electrical Services measures against it.
What the guidance is and why it matters
The Guidance for the Preparation of Electrical Planning Reports (Province of BC, updated May 2026) was developed collaboratively by the provincial government, CHOA, BC Hydro, and VISOA to translate the legal content requirements of the Strata Property Regulation into a practical preparation standard. It documents the on-site work, data, analysis, and documentation a compliant EPR must cover.
It matters for hiring because it is the shared reference point every qualified firm in BC is expected to follow. A provider that has read and works to the guidance will produce a report that meets the Strata Property Regulation's content requirements. A provider that hasn't may produce a document that passes a cursory review but is missing mandatory elements — a problem that becomes visible when lenders, buyers, or regulators scrutinize the strata's records.
The 7-question checklist
Use these questions when evaluating any EPR provider. A legitimate, guidance-compliant firm can answer yes to all seven.
1. Does the engagement include a physical on-site inspection?
The guidance and the Strata Property Regulation both require a physical inspection of all electrical and mechanical infrastructure — electrical rooms, switchgear, transformers, main and sub-panels, visited in person. A desktop-only review is non-compliant. Ask directly: "Will someone from your firm visit the building?" and "Does the inspection cover every electrical room and service entrance?" If the answer hedges or qualifies, that is a red flag.
2. Does the engagement include 12 months of BC Hydro or FortisBC consumption data?
A compliant EPR must include a BC Hydro (or FortisBC) 12-month interval consumption-data analysis — real utility demand figures, not code-based estimates that assume maximum capacity without measuring what the building actually draws. Ask: "Do you request the 12-month consumption data directly from BC Hydro on the strata's behalf, or do you estimate from the panel ratings?" Estimation alone is non-compliant.
3. Does the scope cover all required electrification scenarios?
The regulation specifies that the future-electrification scenarios must cover EV charging, heat-pump conversions, and electric domestic hot water — each modelled separately, not as a combined "everything" load. Ask: "Does your scope include separate models for EV, heat pumps, and electric hot water?" Some providers model EV charging alone and present it as full EPR scope; that is not compliant.
4. Does the report include demand-management recommendations?
A compliant EPR must include strategies to free electrical capacity without a utility service upgrade — load-management controls, scheduling, smart-panel options — not just upgrade recommendations. Ask: "Does the report include demand-management strategies that reduce load, not just recommendations to upgrade the service?" A thin report that only lists capital upgrades is missing mandatory content.
5. Does the provider carry the credential your building type requires?
The Qualified Person list depends on whether your building is Part 3 (complex) or Part 9 (simple). For Part 3, the credential must be a Professional Engineer (P.Eng), a Professional Licensee Engineering (P.L.Eng.), an Applied Science Technologist (AScT), or a Certified Technician (CTech). For Part 9, a Journeyperson Electrician in the construction or industrial electrician trade is also a Qualified Person. Ask: "Who will sign and seal my report, and what credential do they hold for my building classification?" See who can sign and seal a BC strata EPR for the full breakdown.
6. Is the firm consulting-only, with no electrical installation work?
This is not directly a guidance compliance question — but it is the single most important independence question a strata council can ask. A firm that also bids on electrical installation has a financial interest in every upgrade recommendation its EPR makes. The guidance-compliant EPR recommends whatever the building needs; a non-independent firm's EPR recommends whatever the building needs plus whatever generates installation revenue. Ask: "Does your firm also perform electrical installation work?" A consulting-only firm has no installation pipeline to protect.
7. Will the provider show you a sample report before you commit?
The guidance sets a standard for how findings must be documented and communicated — but a sample report shows you whether the firm actually delivers that standard in practice. Ask for a redacted sample from a comparable building. Confirm the report includes plain-language upgrade recommendations with quantified capacity estimates, not just load tables. Ask whether it includes a council presentation after delivery. See why you should always ask for a sample report and references before committing.
How CF Electrical Services answers the checklist
CF Electrical Services prepares every Electrical Planning Report in accordance with the Province's preparation guidance (updated May 2026, developed with CHOA, BC Hydro, and VISOA). Here is how we answer each question:
- On-site inspection: Yes — every engagement includes a physical inspection of all electrical rooms, switchgear, transformers, and panels by the person who will sign the report. No desktop-only reviews.
- BC Hydro consumption data: Yes — we request 12 months of interval data from BC Hydro or FortisBC at intake; the data request is included in the engagement, not an optional add-on.
- All electrification scenarios: Yes — we model EV charging, heat-pump conversions, and electric domestic hot water separately, as the regulation requires.
- Demand-management recommendations: Yes — every report includes load-management strategies that free capacity without requiring a utility service upgrade.
- Credential by building type: Yes — we cover every BC strata building type (Part 3 and Part 9) and sign and seal each report with the credential the regulation calls for.
- Consulting-only: Yes — CF Electrical Services does not perform electrical installation. Our only product is an independent report, with no pipeline interest in our recommendations.
- Sample report available: Yes — we will show you a redacted sample from a comparable building and connect you with references before you commit to anything.
We quote every EPR as a fixed price, scoped to your building, with a proposal within one business day of receiving your building details. See how our EPRs work or contact us directly.
Written by CF Electrical Services — BC strata electrical consulting (Electrical Planning Reports, EV Ready Plans, and Depreciation Reports).