What an Electrical Planning Report is
An Electrical Planning Report (EPR) is a statutory document required of every strata corporation in British Columbia of five or more lots. It documents the building's existing electrical infrastructure, calculates available capacity, models future-electrification scenarios (EV charging, heat pumps, gas-to-electric conversion), and recommends specific upgrades. The EPR is a council deliverable that becomes part of the strata's permanent record — disclosed to buyers, lenders, and insurers for as long as the strata exists.
The EPR's job is to give council a clear answer to a hard question: how much capacity does this building actually have, what stops it from supporting modern demand, and what specific upgrades would change that? The Strata Property Act doesn't allow that question to be answered with guesswork.
The deadlines, by region
BC stratas of five or more lots are split into two deadline groups under the EPR mandate:
- December 31, 2026 — Metro Vancouver Regional District, Fraser Valley Regional District, and Capital Regional District (Victoria, Saanich, and the rest of the CRD).
- December 31, 2028 — All other BC stratas (Vancouver Island outside CRD, the Sea-to-Sky corridor, Sunshine Coast, Okanagan, Kootenays, Cariboo–Thompson, and Northern BC).
The deadline is determined by the strata's regional district — not the city. A strata in Hope (Fraser Valley RD) has the same 2026 deadline as one in Vancouver. A strata in Salmon Arm (Columbia Shuswap RD) has the 2028 deadline. For the full breakdown — including what happens if a strata misses its date — see our guide to BC's EPR deadlines by region.
What must be in the report
BC strata law specifies the required content. A compliant EPR must include each of the following:
- Physical inspection of electrical and mechanical infrastructure. Electrical rooms, switchgear, transformers, panels — visited in person, not reviewed from a desktop.
- Electrical drawings and strata plan from the municipality. The legal as-built configuration, retrieved through municipal records.
- BC Hydro 12-month consumption-data analysis. Real demand data, not code-based estimates that overstate available capacity.
- Peak demand, spare capacity, and load-diversity calculations. Modelled to electrical-code standards.
- Future electrification scenarios. Modelled capacity demand for EV charging, heat-pump conversions, and electric domestic hot water.
- Gas-to-electric conversion estimates. Capacity required to convert gas-fired systems to electric.
- Demand-management and load-reduction recommendations. Strategies to free capacity without service upgrades.
- Upgrade recommendations with estimated capacity freed. Specific actions, with the amount of capacity each would unlock.
A report missing any of these is non-compliant — and a non-compliant report is visible to everyone reviewing the strata: buyers, banks, insurers, future councils.
One narrow variant exists: where every strata lot receives electricity directly from the utility and the strata owns no shared electrical infrastructure, the regulation permits a reduced short-form EPR. Few stratas qualify, and an on-site assessment is still how eligibility is established.
Who is qualified to prepare an EPR
BC strata law sets out who can prepare an EPR by building type: a Professional Engineer (P.Eng, EGBC), a Professional Licensee Engineering (P.L.Eng., EGBC), an Applied Science Technologist (AScT), or a Certified Technician (ASTTBC) for Part 3 (complex) buildings, or a Journeyperson Electrician for Part 9 (simple) buildings. CF Electrical Services covers every BC strata building type — concrete highrises and mid-rises through wood-frame walk-ups and townhouse complexes — and signs and seals each report with the credential the regulation calls for. A single CF Electrical Services engagement covers any strata in BC; councils don't need to verify scope or seek different providers for different building types. Our guide to who can sign and seal a BC strata EPR walks through the Part 3 / Part 9 distinction in detail.
How CF Electrical Services delivers
We own the process end-to-end. That includes the parts most strata managers don't have time for: BC Hydro consumption-data requests, municipal drawing retrieval, EV-charging assessments, and final council presentation. You don't chase paperwork; we do.
Seven steps:
- Intake. Building details, fixed-price proposal within one business day.
- Onboarding documents. Strata plan, electrical drawings, past reports, and the BC Hydro data authorization — whatever the strata doesn't have on file, we retrieve.
- Site visit. Physical inspection of every electrical room, switchgear, transformer, and panel.
- Analysis. Load calculations to electrical-code standards on twelve months of BC Hydro consumption data, future-electrification scenarios, and capacity-freeing recommendations.
- Report preparation. Findings translated into a plain-language report written for council, not for other engineers.
- Review window. Council reviews the draft and submits feedback before the report is sealed.
- Sealed delivery. Report signed and sealed by the credential the regulation calls for, delivered with a Living Report — an interactive web version every owner can open — and presented to council.
Cities we serve for EPRs
CF Electrical Services delivers Electrical Planning Reports across British Columbia. A few starting points:
- EPR in Vancouver
- EPR in Burnaby
- EPR in Surrey
- EPR in Richmond
- EPR in Victoria
- EPR in Saanich
- EPR in Abbotsford
- EPR in Chilliwack
See all BC regions we serve.