BC Hydro-owned switchgear

Switchgear is a set of high-voltage electrical devices that allows a utility to safely turn power on and off, to isolate electrical faults, and to re-route power during maintenance or outages. It operates at medium voltage (also referred to as primary service) before electricity is stepped down to lower voltages for the building.

We operate and maintain switchgear directly as part of standard system operations.

• It allows us to coordinate maintenance across the system while reducing the impact of power outage events and/or their duration.
• It supports fault isolation and safety for utility crews and customers.
• It allows us to coordinate BC Hydro electrical protection devices with those of the customer.
• It improves reliability and operational flexibility for service upgrades and network configuration.

As stated above, builders and developers of mid-rise, five to 12 storeys, and high-rise residential projects and industrial/commercial buildings of significant size should expect the need for switchgear and plan for it. While there are many reasons switchgear can be required, it’s generally required when:  

• Transformer size is 2 MVA or greater in 12 kV areas, or 4 MVA or greater in 25 kV areas.
• Canadian Electrical Code total calculated loads are 1.5 MW or greater in 12 kV areas, or 3 MW or greater in 25 kV areas.

When a switchgear installation is required, BC Hydro may help offset costs as system improvement contributions under our distribution extension policy. But the customer pays for any costs beyond those covered by us. These costs are part of the Distribution Tariff and are regulated by the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC).

Get acquainted with our new distribution extension policy, which came into effect on July 25, 2025.

For detailed requirements, see the Customer Guide to BC Hydro-Owned Switchgear Placement and Requirements [PDF, 778 KB].

When customers are required to contribute to switchgear installation and related project costs, those costs differ depending on the project size and our needs.

We typically pay for the design, including testing, commissioning and installation of the switchgear, transformers and primary cables. As part of our distribution network, we also pay for the switchgear’s maintenance, protection coordination, and system performance.

We will design and develop a detailed cost estimate, which will include any related switchgear costs. Costs to the customer can vary widely. While project costs can be as low as $100,000 or less, we generally advise customers that total costs – before BC Hydro contributions are subtracted – are typically around $500,000 when one BC Hydro-owned switchgear is required, and $1 million when two are required. Again, the location and complexity of installs, and the extent of BC Hydro contributions, can cause wide variations in customer cost.
Customer costs typically include:

• Provision and maintenance of civil infrastructure on private property. Costs may include ducts/trenches, vaults/pads/lids, bollards, access doors, ventilation, and statutory right of way (SRW) documentation.
• Service connection costs. Under our updated Distribution Extension Policy, customers may incur extension fees and standard charges for the site-specific service connection, minus their revenue contribution.
• Design deposits and fees. Exact charges depend on the project. For design connections that involve underground feeders and BC Hydro switchgear, typical deposits are a minimum of $5,000 for large scale design projects.

Based on our load assessment during the design connections process, we will advise a customer about the need for BC Hydro-owned switchgear.

This typically happens when:

• A customer submits a design connection request for service.
• Load forecasts or service configurations indicate primary service needs.
• Site plans show constraints that make secondary service impractical.

We clarify requirements early in the connection design phase and document them through technical standards and utility guidance.

For details, see the Customer Guide to BC Hydro-Owned Switchgear Placement and Requirements [PDF, 778 KB].

While BC Hydro supplies and operates the switchgear, customers are responsible for preparing suitable space and civil infrastructure. Early planning with us helps ensure that switchgear requirements are understood and accommodated in project designs.

Many B.C. municipalities require that switchgear be installed on private property. Provided that a statutory right-of-way is in place, switchgear is ideally located outside buildings and near roads or property lines for easy access.

While we provide some general information around switchgear below, always refer to the Customer Guide to BC Hydro-Owned Switchgear Placement and Requirements [PDF, 778 KB] for specifics around the placement and requirements for switchgear. That go-to document includes: 

• The seven available options for installing BC Hydro-owned switchgear on private property.
• Statutory Rights of Way requirements.
• Requirements for switchgear on private property.
• How and where to start a design file with BC Hydro.
• Switchgear space planning for all seven location options.

Switchgear becomes an integral part of BC Hydro service delivery to the building, and also becomes a part of the local electricity grid. Switchgear has connections to the main feeder circuits and to customer loads. The electrical connections are made through programmable circuit breakers, that can be adjusted to coordinate with your building’s electrical system protection devices.

To give you an idea of the work and potential costs involved, here are two recent projects involving switchgear in B.C. To protect customer privacy, we’ve removed the customers’ names and locations of their projects.

Please note: Requirements are determined by engineering on a case-by-case basis. As the reasons and conditions in the examples below are not directly transferable from one project to another, customers must engage early with BC Hydro to confirm switchgear requirements and get project-specific guidance. Costs to the customer will vary considerably depending on project scope and complexity.

A food processor's growth: Vista switchgear, three-phase power line 

A new food processing plant was proposed for Surrey that would eventually require 7.5 megawatts of power. The customer required energization as soon as possible, and switchgear was required to coordinate the customer’s electrical protection with BC Hydro’s protection. BC Hydro also upgraded a section of overhead power line servicing from single-phase to three-phase to accommodate future power demands, system capacity and reliability. 

While we prefer to install switchgear on public property, the municipality is among many in B.C. that requires that it was installations on the customer's property. We installed above-ground Vista switchgear on customer property, with the customer paying for civil works related to installation of the switchgear and a low-voltage control box. We also needed space to install a single-phase pad mount transformer power supply.  

The total project cost to upgrade electrical service to the plant was about $660,000 (including costs for design, system improvement, extension, service connections, switchgear, civil construction, right of way, and metering). With BC Hydro’s revenue contributions – which reflect the updated distribution extension policy –  the end cost to the customer was about $54,000 for the upgrade including switchgear.

Mid-rise apartment: switchgear, undergrounding of power lines 

The owner of a planned mid-rise 371-unit apartment building in Richmond requested that BC Hydro supply an electrical demand of 3.3 megawatts. The customer also requested that existing overhead power lines in an adjacent laneway be replaced with underground lines.

To meet system and customer needs, the project also required above-ground automated switchgear on the customer’s property.

BC Hydro work included removal of 10 spans of three-phase overhead feeder lines and installation of 270 metres of underground distribution cable in their place. Installation of the switchgear required construction of a low-voltage enclosure) along with the addition of a single-phase pad mount transformer.

The total cost of the project was about $2.66 million, including extension fee, right of way and metering, civil works related to the switchgear installation, and other construction. Following BC Hydro's revenue contributions and updated distribution extension policy, the customer paid about $56,000 for the service connection including switchgear.