On December 6, 2023 Order in Council OIC 671-23 brought into effect the requirement for strata corporations to obtain electrical planning reports. The order also contains regulations that provide details about the requirements.
Watch the videos of VISOA’s recent webinars: Electrical Planning Reports for BC Strata Corporations and Electrical Planning Reports – A Guide for Professionals Working with BC Strata Corporations.
The sections of the Strata Property Act (SPA) and Strata Property Regulation that relate to electrical planning reports are:
- SPA section 94.1 requires strata corporations to obtain an electrical planning report
- There is no option to waive or defer the report
- SPA sections 92(a)(iii) and 96(b)(i)(A)(IV) deal with how to pay for the report
- Regulations 5.7 to 5.12 provide details
- The electrical planning report has been added to the Form B.
Section 90.1(2)(b) of the Strata Property Act is also relevant as the timing of when an electrical planning report is obtained (or the strata’s deadline to obtain one) determines when an owner may request that the strata approve their proposed alteration to common property to install EV charging infrastructure. See our blog post Regulations Make it Easier to Install Electric Vehicle Charging in Stratas.
1. What is an electrical planning report?
This is a report to help strata councils and owners understand your electrical system and assess whether your buildings have electrical capacity for future needs. For example, if your strata has a gas boiler, at some point you won’t be able to replace it with another gas boiler. The CleanBC Roadmap to 2030 sets out a commitment to ensure that all new space and water-heating equipment sold and installed in BC after 2035 will be 100% efficient. Whether your strata corporation’s goals include cooling, heat pumps, electric vehicle charging, or electrification of other fuelled building systems, your electrical planning report is an important tool to help you plan for the future and avoid costly electrical service upgrades.
2. Is an EV Ready Plan the same as an electrical planning report?
No. While these reports might contain some of the same information such as the current capacity of the electrical system, the current peak demand and spare capacity, the reports have different information and purposes.
- An electrical planning report provides an overview of your electrical system to help you plan for the future. The strata is required by law to obtain the report.
- An EV Ready Plan focuses on electric vehicle charging only and includes a budget to proceed with a defined project. The EV Ready Plan is not required by law. It exists for the purpose of applying for rebates from the Clean BC – Go Electric EV Charger Rebate Program to install EV charging infrastructure. An EV Ready Plan doesn’t contain all of the information that the Strata Property Act and Regulation require for an electrical planning report.
3. Which stratas are required to obtain an electrical planning report?
Strata corporations of fewer than 5 strata lots are not required to obtain an electrical planning report.
All other strata corporations are required to obtain an electrical planning report. This includes condo, townhouse, bare land, residential, commercial, hotel, industrial, and other types of strata corporations. There is no ability to waive or defer the requirement. See section 94.1 of the Strata Property Act and Regulation 5.8(3) and 5.9.
4. How often must the strata obtain an electrical planning report?
Most stratas will only be required to obtain one electrical planning report. Many stratas that are built in phases will have to do additional reports as the number of strata lots increase. Whether another report is required each time a new phase is deposited at the Land Title Office depends on how many units are in the phase. See Regulation 5.9 for details.
5. What is the deadline to obtain an electrical planning report?
For existing strata corporations (the strata plan is filed on or before December 31, 2023), the deadline to obtain an electrical planning report is either December 31, 2026 or December 31, 2028. It depends where your strata is located. See Regulations 5.7 and 5.8.
- The deadline is December 31, 2026 for stratas located within the Capital Regional District (map), Fraser Valley District (map), and the Metro Vancouver Regional District (map). Stratas located on islands within these districts have until December 31, 2028 if the island is accessible only by air or boat such as the Gulf Islands.
- The deadline is December 31, 2028 for stratas in all other areas of BC.
For new stratas (the strata plan is filed after December 31, 2023), the deadline is 5 years after the date that the strata plan is filed at the Land Title Office. New phased stratas generally have a 5-year deadline as well. See Regulation 5.9 for details.
6. Who can write an electrical planning report?
Section 94.1 of the Strata Property Act says that the strata corporation must obtain an electrical planning report from a “qualified person”. Regulation 5.10 sets out the qualifications.
Who can write your report depends on the kind of buildings on your strata property. Under the BC Building Code there are two main categories of buildings: simple buildings (Part 9 buildings) and complex buildings (Part 3 buildings). All buildings over 3 storeys in height or over 600 square metres in footprint are considered complex buildings (Part 3 buildings). If you’re not sure of the category of your buildings, your municipal building department or development services department may be able to assist you.
- Stratas with Part 9 buildings must obtain their report from an electrical engineer, applied science technologist, or a licenced electrician.
- All other stratas must obtain the electrical planning report from an electrical engineer or an applied science technologist.
7. What information must be in the electrical planning report?
Regulation 5.11 lists the information that must be included in the report:
(a) the date of the electrical planning report
(b) the name of the person from whom the electrical planning report was obtained and a description of
(i) the person’s qualifications
(ii) the error and omission insurance, if any, carried by the person, and
(iii) the relationship between the person and the strata corporation
(c) the current capacity of the strata corporation’s electrical system
(d) a list of existing demands on the electrical system, including, without limitation, demands from
(i) EV charging infrastructure, if any, and
(ii) heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting systems
(e) the current peak demand on and spare capacity of the electrical system
(f) if applicable, an estimate of the electrical capacity that would be needed to power systems, including heating, cooling and ventilation systems, that are currently powered by an energy source other than electricity
(g) an estimate of the electrical capacity needed for any other anticipated future demands on the electrical system, including electrical capacity needed to power
(i) heating, cooling, ventilation and other systems that the strata corporation anticipates may be modified or installed in the future, and
(ii) EV charging infrastructure that the strata corporation anticipates may be installed in the future
(h) steps, if any, that the strata corporation could practicably take to reduce the demands on the capacity of the electrical system
(i) upgrades or modifications, if any, to the electrical system that the strata corporation could practicably undertake to increase the capacity of the electrical system
(j) an estimate of the electrical capacity that would be made available if the strata corporation were to take steps referred to in paragraph (h) or undertake upgrades or modifications referred to in paragraph (i)
For most strata properties including bare land stratas, the utility supplies power to the property where it is then distributed to individual homes. In rare cases where the utility supplies power to each strata lot independently, the electrical planning report is only required to include details about the person and their qualifications and a statement that each strata lot is supplied with electricity by a utility independently from each other strata lot. See Regulation 5.11(3) for complete details.
8. How can the strata pay for an electrical planning report?
Just like a depreciation report, the cost of the electrical planning report can be paid from either the operating fund or the contingency reserve fund (CRF).
- To pay from the operating fund, the expense must be included in the budget and passed by a majority vote at the annual general meeting. See SPA 92(a)(iii).
- To pay from the CRF, a resolution must be passed by majority vote at an annual or special general meeting. See SPA 96(b)(i)(A)(IV).
9. How long does the strata have to keep an electrical planning report?
Section 35 of the Strata Property Act lists the records that a strata corporation must keep. This section now requires the strata to keep any electrical planning reports obtained by the strata corporation. Regulation 4.1 hasn’t been updated yet to say how long these should be retained. We suggest treating them like depreciation reports which must be kept permanently.
10. Must an electrical planning report be attached to a Form B?
The Information Certificate (Form B) has a new section (p) that asks, “Has the strata corporation obtained any electrical planning reports under section 94.1 of the Strata Property Act?” If the answer is yes, you must attach copies of all electrical planning reports. See the updated Form B – Information Certificate. Just like other attachments to the Form B, the strata may charge up to $0.25 per page.
Resources updated to December 6, 2023:
Strata Property Act
See SPA 35(2), 92(a)(iii), 94.1, 96(b)(i)(A)(IV)
Strata Property Regulation
See Regulations 5.7 to 5.12, and Form B
Strata Records Retention Guide
Form B – Information Certificate
Order in Council OIC 671-23