What is a full 200A service upgrade?
When a panel swap alone will not do it, a full service upgrade replaces the service mast, meter base, and coordinates the utility disconnect and reconnect with Toronto Hydro. Our crew handles the point-of-attachment work, ground plate, and OESC-compliant scope end to end, files the ESA permit, and schedules the inspection so your 200A service is ready for EV charging and future loads.
The distinction matters for your budget. An electrical panel upgrade deals with everything behind the meter. A service upgrade deals with the incoming supply itself: the weatherhead where the utility drop lands, the mast holding it, the meter base, the service conductors, and the grounding electrode system. If any of those are undersized or deteriorated, replacing only the panel leaves the actual bottleneck in place.
Most homes that need this are pre-1980 builds on 60A or 100A overhead service, and the mast and meter base are usually the same age as the house.
When do you actually need one?
Three signals point to a full service upgrade rather than a panel swap.
Your service is 60A or 100A and your load calculation says the upgrade is real. Not just “the panel looks full,” but an OESC Section 8 calculation showing the connected demand exceeds what the service can carry.
The mast, weatherhead, or meter base is deteriorated. Corrosion, a loose point of attachment, a cracked meter socket, or a mast pulling away from the wall. None of that gets better, and the utility will flag it eventually anyway.
You are adding more than a car. A heat pump, a second EV, a basement suite, an induction range, or a hot tub. Doing the service once with spare panel capacity is much cheaper than doing it twice.
If none of those apply and you just need headroom for one charger, say so, and we will price an EV load management device or a dedicated subpanel instead.
Common problems we solve
- Corroded or undersized service masts on older Etobicoke, East York, and Toronto core homes.
- Failing meter bases the utility has already tagged or flagged.
- Inadequate grounding. Common in pre-1970 homes and corrected as part of the upgrade.
- 60A services that cannot support modern living, let alone a 48A continuous charger load.
- Heritage and restricted-access properties where the mast route and point of attachment need planning rather than improvisation.
How does the utility coordination work?
This is the part homeowners dread, and it is entirely our job. We file the ESA permit and submit the service upgrade application to the utility that serves you: Toronto Hydro in the City of Toronto, Alectra Utilities across Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, Markham, and Aurora, Elexicon Energy through Durham and parts of York, and the local distributor in Oakville, Burlington, Milton, or Newmarket.
The utility schedules a disconnect so we can work the mast and meter base safely, then reconnects once the ESA inspection is satisfied. That scheduling is what makes a service upgrade a 1 to 2 week job rather than a same-day one, and it is the single biggest variable in the timeline.
On upgrade day the old mast and meter base come off, the new ones go up with a proper point of attachment, service conductors are pulled, a copper ground plate and bonding conductors are installed, and the new 200A panel goes in with labelled circuits. Power is back the same day in nearly every case.
What does it cost across the GTA?
A full 200A overhead service upgrade runs $3,500 to $5,500 CAD, including the mast, weatherhead, meter base, conductors, grounding, panel, ESA permit, and inspection. Bundled with the Level 2 charger install, most homes land between $5,000 and $7,300 CAD.
Underground service laterals cost more because of trenching and conduit. Heritage properties, tight side yards, and restricted-access sites are quoted after inspection rather than off a price list, because the routing genuinely changes the labour.
A whole-home surge protector is worth adding while the panel is open, both for the charger electronics and for everything else modern in the house. We quote it as its own line so you can decide. And the 2026 Home Renovation Savings program pays up to $5,000 CAD toward an eligible EV charger installation, which we file for you.
What a full 200A service upgrade includes (mast, meter base, disconnect)
A full 200A service upgrade replaces every component from the utility point of attachment down to the interior 200A panel. On a typical Toronto home that means: new galvanized service mast (typically 8 feet, some homes need 10), new 200A rated meter base with hub, new 4/0 or 2/0 copper service entrance conductors, new grounding electrode conductor and copper ground plate, weatherhead and drip loops sized for the new service, new 200A main breaker panel, and where the mast penetration needs relocation, new roof flashing and interior repairs.
The utility side (Toronto Hydro, Alectra, Oakville Hydro, Burlington Hydro, Elexicon Energy, Hydro One, Newmarket-Tay Power) attends on install day to pull the existing drop conductors, physically disconnect the service, energize the new service once the new mast and meter base are ready, and reseal the meter after inspection. That utility visit is what makes the service upgrade a coordinated event rather than a same-day install.
Whole-home surge protector installation is often bundled with the service upgrade because the panel bar is already exposed and the incremental cost is small. Recommended for homes with sensitive electronics, home offices, or EV chargers because the surge protector clamps voltage spikes before they reach downstream branch circuits.
Toronto Hydro service upgrade timeline and fees
The Toronto Hydro timeline from Service Layout Request submission to energized new service typically runs 2 to 4 weeks. Elective urgent bookings sometimes land in 7 to 10 days when Toronto Hydro has crew capacity, and complex ones with vault access or shared services can stretch to 6 weeks.
Toronto Hydro fees on a residential 100A to 200A service upgrade generally include a Service Layout Request fee ($150 to $300 CAD depending on scope), the utility crew disconnect and reconnect fee ($300 to $600 CAD), and any temporary service if the disconnect window is extended. We itemize these on the quote separately from our labour and materials so you see exactly where the money goes.
Alectra Utilities, Oakville Hydro, Burlington Hydro, Elexicon Energy, and other GTA utilities have similar fee structures, typically within $100 to $200 CAD of the Toronto Hydro numbers. Hydro One rural service upgrades sometimes involve pole work that pushes fees higher and timelines longer.
Panel upgrade vs full service upgrade: what’s the difference?
A panel upgrade replaces the breaker panel inside the home while keeping the existing mast, meter base, service entrance conductors, and utility drop. Same-day work, ESA inspection within 72 hours, no utility involvement, $2,500 to $4,500 CAD total.
A full service upgrade replaces the mast, meter base, service entrance conductors, ground plate, and typically the panel too. Requires utility disconnect and reconnect, ESA inspection coordinated around the utility work, 1 to 2 weeks total elapsed time, $3,500 to $5,500 CAD total.
The decision comes from what is undersized. If the mast is a modern 200A rated mast with a current-generation meter base and the only bottleneck is the panel bar rating, the panel upgrade is sufficient. If the mast is 60A or 100A vintage, the meter base is glass-and-copper era, or the service entrance conductors are 100A copper feeding into a proposed 200A panel, the full service upgrade is the only compliant answer. We confirm which one is required at the site inspection and quote accordingly.
