Electrical planning reports in BC: what your strata needs by December 31

Stratas with five or more lots in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and the Capital Regional District must have an electrical planning report by December 31, 2026. The rest of BC has until December 31, 2028. The report is a planning-level look at how much power your building has and how much it would need for EV charging, heat pumps and cooling. The deadline also opens the formal process for owners’ EV charging requests.

This guide covers who needs a report, who can prepare one, what it must contain, how to pay for it and how to hire someone in the ten weeks left. It draws on the Strata Property Act and Regulation, and on the EPR guidance CHOA publishes, funded by BC Hydro and updated in May 2026.

Key takeaways

• The deadline: December 31, 2026 in the Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley and Capital regional districts, except islands reached only by air or boat. December 31, 2028 everywhere else (Strata Property Regulation s.5.8).
• The exemption: stratas that had fewer than 5 lots on December 31, 2023. If every lot gets power straight from the utility, you still need a report, but a two-line one.
• Who can write it: an engineer, or an ASTTBC technologist or technician, for any strata. A journeyperson electrician only where every building is a Part 9 building (s.5.10, amended October 27, 2025).
• How to pay: from the operating fund if the budget covers it, or from the contingency reserve fund by a majority vote (SPA s.96).
• Why the date matters: from December 31, an owner can make a formal EV charging request and council has 3 months to decide it (Regulation ss.5.4 and 5.6).

Who needs a report, and by when

Does my strata need an electrical planning report?

Yes, if the strata plan had five or more lots on December 31, 2023. Section 94.1 of the Strata Property Act requires the report and section 5.8 of the Strata Property Regulation sets the dates. An electrical planning report (EPR) is a qualified person’s report on how much power the building’s electrical system can carry and how much it uses at peak. It also estimates what future loads, such as EV charging, heat pumps and cooling, would need.

The deadline follows the regional district the land is in. A strata in Hope is in the Fraser Valley Regional District, so its date is 2026. A strata in Nanaimo, Kelowna or Whistler has until 2028.

A strata partly inside one of the three districts takes the 2026 date. Phased strata plans follow Regulation section 5.9. Phases deposited by the end of 2023 take the 2026 or 2028 date, and each later phase of five or more lots has five years from deposit.

A shortcut with a catch. If every lot gets electricity directly from the utility, independently of the others, the report only needs its date, the preparer’s details and a statement saying so (Regulation s.5.11(3)). The CHOA guidance says this can apply to some bare land stratas, and it warns that separate hydro bills don’t prove independent supply. If a shared vault or transformer serves the strata, you need the full report.

What changes for EV charging requests on December 31

The deadline also starts the formal process for an owner who wants a charger at their stall. Under Regulation section 5.4, an owner can make a request under section 90.1 from the earlier of two dates: the day the strata first gets a report, or its deadline. In Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and the CRD, that’s December 31, 2026 at the latest.

Council then has 3 months to decide (Regulation s.5.6) and must not unreasonably refuse (s.90.2(4)). In deciding, it may weigh the capacity of the electrical system and its current and expected demands (s.90.2(3)(b)). That’s what an EPR measures. Without one, a refusal on capacity grounds rests on a guess. Our EV charging guide covers the rest of the approval process.

From December 31, an owner’s charger request starts a 3-month clock whether or not your report is done.

Expect requests. The Province’s Zero-Emission Vehicle Update 2025 shows how far demand has moved, and how few multi-unit buildings have planned for it.

Cooling raises the same question. The May 2026 guidance tells providers to ask whether owners have asked for heat pumps or air conditioning, including as a human rights accommodation. It also asks them to estimate how many heat pumps or chargers the current capacity could take. VISOA’s guide to heat pump and air conditioner requests covers the approval side.

Who can prepare the report

The Province widened the list on October 27, 2025 (B.C. Reg. 187/2025). Who qualifies depends on whether every building in the strata is a Part 9 building. A Part 9 building is a small building under the BC Building Code: generally no more than three storeys and no more than 600 square metres in building area. Towers and most mid-rises are Part 3 buildings.

Ask each provider which category they’re in, and check the registration yourself. The report must state the preparer’s qualifications, any errors and omissions insurance they carry, and their relationship to the strata (s.5.11(2)(b)). If you’re not sure whether a building is Part 9, ask your local government.

What the report must contain

Regulation section 5.11 sets the minimum. In plain terms, the report gives:

• its date, and who prepared it, with their qualifications, insurance and relationship to the strata;
• the current capacity of the electrical system, and a list of existing demands, including any EV charging and the heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting systems;
• current peak demand and spare capacity;
• where systems now run on gas or another fuel, an estimate of the capacity needed to run them on electricity;
• an estimate of the capacity needed for future loads the strata expects, including heating, cooling, ventilation and EV charging;
• practical steps to cut demand, practical upgrades to add capacity, and how much capacity each would free up or add.

It’s a planning tool. The CHOA guidance says an EPR can’t be used to approve a new load. Before a charger or heat pump goes in, a qualified professional still has to design it and confirm capacity at the point of connection.

For an existing strata on a non-phased plan, the Regulation sets one deadline. It doesn’t require a new report on a cycle, as it does for depreciation reports. The guidance does suggest the two inform each other: a depreciation report that assumes like-for-like replacement of a gas boiler may miss what the EPR says about electrifying it.

What it costs, and which fund pays

No public body publishes a price for an EPR. The figures quoted online come from companies that sell the reports. Cost depends on the number of buildings and electrical services, how complete your drawings are and whether the provider bundles other work. Ask two to four qualified providers to quote the same scope.

Watch the bundle. The guidance says a provider must price the legally required EPR separately from any extras, such as an EV Ready Plan, a CleanBC retrofit assessment or design drawings. Extras can be worth buying at the same time, because one site visit and one set of data feed them. They aren’t what the law requires, so council should approve them as a separate decision.

Paying for it. The Act lists the report as an operating fund expense (s.92), so it can come from the operating fund if the approved budget includes it. If it doesn’t, owners can approve paying from the contingency reserve fund by a majority vote at an annual or special general meeting (s.96). Spending operating money the budget doesn’t cover takes a 3/4 vote (s.97), unless the amount fits under council’s spend-without-a-vote limit (s.98).

Rebates. BC Hydro’s rebates for apartment and condo buildings cover up to 75% of an EV Ready plan, to a maximum of $3,000, with pre-approval. They don’t rebate the EPR itself. An EPR does count as the electrical planning BC Hydro wants to see before its charger rebate.

How to get a report before December 31

1. Confirm your date. Check your regional district and how many lots the plan had on December 31, 2023. Phased plans: Regulation s.5.9.
2. Gather the documents. The strata plan, any electrical drawings, the latest depreciation report, any EV Ready Plan and the building’s electricity use history, which BC Hydro provides on request. The provider will also need access to the electrical rooms, the parkade, the roof and a sample of suites.
3. Write down what owners want. Have owners asked for chargers, heat pumps or air conditioning? The guidance says providers should ask, and must still estimate future loads if council has no plan.
4. Send the same request to two to four qualified providers. CHOA’s free request for proposal template for electrical planning reports (bulletin 400-518) sets out the scope. Ask for the EPR price on its own line.
5. Approve the money. If the budget doesn’t cover it, put a majority-vote reserve fund resolution before a general meeting. A special general meeting needs at least two weeks’ written notice (s.45), and notice by mail or email counts as given four days after it’s sent (s.61), so allow about three weeks. Our SGM checklist has the timeline.
6. File it and tell owners. The EPR is a permanent record (s.35(2)(n.3); Regulation s.4.1). Form B asks whether the strata has one and, if it does, a copy is attached. Share the executive summary with owners.

To find providers, start with our list of electrical planning report companies that work on BC strata buildings, nearest first.

If you can’t make the deadline

The Province’s EPR page doesn’t list a penalty for a late report. Missing it still costs you. Owners’ EV charging requests open on December 31 anyway, and council has to answer them without capacity numbers. Form B tells every buyer the strata has no report.

Qualified providers are busy at year end. If the report can’t be finished by December 31, hire a provider now and record in the minutes when council engaged them and when the report is due. That shows owners, and anyone reviewing a later refusal, that council acted on its duty.

Electrical planning report checklist

Print this for the next council meeting.

Related reading for your council

• EV charging in your BC strata: owner requests, votes and the costs of charging infrastructure.
• Depreciation reports in BC: the five-year report the EPR should inform.
• SGM procedural checklist: notice, quorum and votes if you need a meeting to fund the report.
• Can council spend this without a vote?: checks an amount against the section 98 limit.
• Electrical planning report companies: companies with confirmed strata work, nearest first.

Sources

Checked on October 23, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

• Strata Property Act, Part 6: finances (ss.92, 94.1, 96, 97)
• Strata Property Act, Part 5: EV charging requests (ss.90.1 to 90.3) and Part 4: records and notice (ss.35, 45, 61)
• Strata Property Regulation (ss.4.1, 5.4 to 5.12; Form B), current to October 20, 2026
• B.C. Reg. 187/2025 (OIC 497/2025), qualified persons, October 27, 2025
• Province of BC, Strata electrical planning report (June 5, 2026)
• Guidance for the Preparation of Electrical Planning Reports for Strata Corporations in BC, CHOA, updated May 2026
• CHOA bulletin 400-518, Request for Electrical Planning Report Services (April 20, 2026)
• VISOA, About electrical planning reports and Handling requests for heat pumps and air conditioners
• BC Hydro, EV charger rebates for apartments and condos
• Province of BC, Zero-Emission Vehicle Update 2025 (2026)