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5,0out of 20 Google reviews

Electrical panel upgrade and replacement

We handle electrical panel replacement and upgrade services from 100 to 200 amps, in Montreal's Southwest and on the South Shore. Before we quote, we run the load calculation at your place: it is what says whether your service needs to go to 200 amps.

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Régie du bâtiment du Québec
RBQ licence
5855-0849-01
Corporation des maîtres électriciens du Québec
CMEQ member
17468
Our service

New panel or 200 amp service: what decides it

People call us for an inspection that flagged the panel, a project that no longer fits, or an old fuse panel. The panel, the breakers, transferring the circuits, the outside connection when it has to follow and the declaration of work are all part of the job. Marc-André assesses your service, and he is the one who does the work.

  • We calculate your real load before recommending a capacity
  • We handle the paperwork and coordinate with the utility
  • We replace the panel and redo the grounding if needed
  • We power it back on and check every circuit
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Outdated electrical panel before replacement

How it works

From the load calculation to the power coming back on

  1. We calculate the load at your place

    What the house already draws, what you want to add to it, and what the existing service can really carry.

  2. We prepare the paperwork and the connection

    The connection request to the utility when the service is upgraded, the declaration of work to the Régie du bâtiment when it applies. Nothing gets taken apart before that is in place.

  3. We replace the panel with the power off

    The old one comes out, the new one goes in, the circuits are transferred one by one and the grounding is redone.

  4. We label everything and bring the power back

    Every breaker is labelled, the installation is verified, then the power comes back on with you there. One year warranty on parts and labour.

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Electrician calculating the load in front of an open electrical panel
Assessment

What we assess at your place

Four things decide the job, and none of them shows over the phone. That is why the visit comes before the number.

  • What you plan to add

    An EV charger, a hot tub, radiant floor heating or a heat pump do not weigh the same in the calculation. We add them up before the work, not after.

  • What the service already carries

    The heating, the hot water, the range and the dryer take up room that is already taken. That is the starting point of the calculation, and it is specific to your house.

  • The state of the outside connection

    The mast, the meter base and the service cable. An upgrade can stop at the panel, or climb all the way to the roof.

  • What will have to be redone

    The grounding, the bonding on the plumbing and the circuits that will not pass as they are. We would rather tell you in the basement than on the invoice.

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Electrician checking cable connections inside an electrical panel
The budget

What moves the panel upgrade cost

The amperage you are aiming for first, then three things no phone quote can guess.

Swapping a box and staying at 100 amps, and going to a 200 amp panel upgrade, call for neither the same material nor the same paperwork.

If the mast and the meter base have to follow the upgrade, the job climbs to the roof instead of staying in the basement.

Every circuit is transferred and labelled one by one. A twelve circuit panel and a full panel do not get picked back up in the same time.

Grounding to redo, aluminum wiring, doubled up circuits. We see it when we open the panel, and we show you before we correct it.

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The target amperage

Starting prices, taken from our estimator: starting at $3,200 to take a service from 100 to 200 amps, starting at $2,200 to replace an outdated 200 amp panel, and starting at $900 to add a subpanel.

For an upgrade, where the panel sits and the length of the outdoor conduit and wire make the spread. For a replacement, it is the service wire to the meter and the size of the panel. Grounding to redo comes on top, starting at $600.

These are starting prices, not a quote. Two houses on the same street can call for two very different jobs: we assess on site, then we quote.

The installation

What the panel change includes

The list to compare from one quote to the next. Transferring the circuits and declaring the work are part of it: a quote that leaves them out is not cheaper, it is incomplete.

It adds up the heating, the hot water, the range, the dryer and everything you want to add, using the method in the Code. It is what decides the amperage, and it happens before the quote, not after.

The box, the main bus, the breakers and the space left free for what comes next. A panel that is full on installation day is a panel to reopen at the next project.

The mast, the meter base and the service cable when they have to follow the upgrade. This part touches the utility's network and is coordinated with it.

Every circuit is picked back up on the new panel, then labelled. A label says what a breaker feeds. It does not say where the cable runs inside the wall, and nobody should let you believe otherwise.

The connection request and, when it applies, the declaration of work are filed under our licence numbers. The invoice carries the panel model and its amperage, which is what an insurer or a future buyer can ask for.

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Not included: repairing the wall finish around the panel, replacing non compliant circuits found during the work, and the utility's own intervention on its line.

Electrician noting a load calculation in front of an open panel
New electrical panel, installation completed
5,020 avis
Google
200 A

The service we upgrade to

That is the amperage we aim for when a 100 amp service is no longer enough. The load calculation says whether your project calls for it, and how much room it leaves afterwards.

2,000+

Residential projects completed in the trade

180

Projects a year, the same master electrician on each one

1 year

Warranty on parts and labour

What makes us legitimate

The panel is where everything starts

A master electrician, roughly ten years in the trade, and the panel at the starting point of every project.

An EV charger, a hot tub, radiant floor heating, a heat pump: each of those projects begins with the same question, and it is the panel that answers it. We open it, we calculate, and we tell you what it can take before you order anything.

Who is behind VGI Électrique
What people say about us
  • Charles Tremblay-RoyGoogle review★★★★★

    « Service impeccable ! L'électricien a été ponctuel, professionnel et a fait un travail de grande qualité. Tout fonctionne parfaitement. Je recommande sans hésitation ! »

  • Isabelle GervaisGoogle review★★★★★

    « J'ai fait affaire avec cette entreprise quelques fois et je recommande fortement. Service super professionnel, et le travail est impeccable. »

  • Etienne Gauvreau-HurtubiseGoogle review★★★★★

    « Véritable allié stratégique pour nos projets d'électricité, Marc-André est efficace, courtois et rapide. Nous le recommandons! »

  • joel touchetteGoogle review★★★★★

    « Service professionnel, offre des options pour ne pas augmenter le prix inutilement concernant le choix des travaux à réaliser »

  • Charles Tremblay-RoyGoogle review★★★★★

    « Service impeccable ! L'électricien a été ponctuel, professionnel et a fait un travail de grande qualité. Tout fonctionne parfaitement. Je recommande sans hésitation ! »

  • Etienne Gauvreau-HurtubiseGoogle review★★★★★

    « Véritable allié stratégique pour nos projets d'électricité, Marc-André est efficace, courtois et rapide. Nous le recommandons! »

  • Isabelle GervaisGoogle review★★★★★

    « J'ai fait affaire avec cette entreprise quelques fois et je recommande fortement. Service super professionnel, et le travail est impeccable. »

  • joel touchetteGoogle review★★★★★

    « Service professionnel, offre des options pour ne pas augmenter le prix inutilement concernant le choix des travaux à réaliser »

1 / 4
Price estimator

An idea of the panel
upgrade cost before we open it

The price comes down to the amperage you are aiming for, the state of the outside connection and the number of circuits to transfer. The tool asks a few questions and shows a range. It is an estimate to place your project, not a quote.

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Électricien qui répond aux questions d’une cliente avant les travaux

Your questions

Frequently asked questions

Nothing here promises a timeline or an amount: for that, we need to see the job.

When it no longer has room for what you want to add, when it still runs on fuses, or when an inspection flags it as obsolete. A panel that works is not necessarily a panel that is enough: the load calculation decides that, not the way it looks.

Not systematically. A 100 amp service can take a charger, depending on what the house already draws. Only a load calculation can say so, and it happens at your place before anything is ordered.

Starting at $3,200 to go from 100 to 200 amps, and starting at $2,200 to replace an outdated 200 amp panel. The spread comes from where the panel sits, the outside connection and the number of circuits to transfer. The online estimator places your project, and the final number comes after the visit.

It is more nuanced than what you read elsewhere. The Régie du bâtiment du Québec requires a declaration of work from the electrical contractor, but it exempts two situations: work already listed in a connection request filed with the electricity distributor, and work of 10 kW or less that requires neither replacing nor adding wiring. A service upgrade goes precisely through a connection request. We establish what your case calls for and we file what is needed, either way. Some municipalities also ask for a permit of their own, and we tell you during the visit.

Not for the panel itself. The programs in force cover what gets connected to it, such as an EV charger, and not the service that feeds it. We would rather say it plainly than leave you searching.

Every question, all services
Service area

Where we install

Verdun, Brossard, LaSalle, Lachine, Châteauguay, Longueuil, and the rest of Montreal’s Southwest and the South Shore. Not sure you are in the area? A text message at (514) 929-9963 does the job.

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Often paired
with this service

One project often leads to another. Here is what we most often install at the same time.

All our services
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Tell us about your project

Describe it in a few words, even if it is still just an idea. We assess on site what your installation can take, and you decide from there.

(514) 929-9963

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A photo of your panel or of the spot often saves us a back and forth.

Thank you! Your request is on its way. Marc-André gets back to you as soon as he can.

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