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Serving Toronto & City of Toronto

Electrical & Mechanical Engineering in Toronto.

Electrical and mechanical engineering for Toronto renovations, commercial fit-outs, institutional, industrial and multi-residential projects in space-constrained buildings.

Discuss a Toronto projectExplore local services
Electricity distributor
Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited (Toronto Hydro)
Building permits
Toronto Building (City of Toronto)

Local Project Support

Engineering for dense, existing and changing Toronto buildings.

Toronto projects frequently combine dense urban sites, older services, multi-storey distribution, limited equipment space, occupied construction and changing tenant or residential needs. Capacity, room and shaft allowances, roof and façade interfaces, fire alarm work and construction sequencing should be tested before permit or tender issue.

Where a building permit is required, the City of Toronto administers the municipal review. Electrical service connections or upgrades may involve Toronto Hydro; the project address and current connection requirements should be confirmed before the design basis is finalized.

Architectural teams can review our MEP engineering workflow for Toronto design teams; electrical service work can also use our Toronto Hydro connection planning guide.

Verified local information

Utility connection and permits in Toronto

Summarized from the official pages linked below, checked on . Requirements change; confirm them with the utility and the municipality before you apply.

Electrical service connection

Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited (Toronto Hydro)

Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited owns and operates the electricity distribution system for the city of Toronto.

Toronto Hydro recommends uploading all relevant documents with the online submission; a representative then reviews the project and provides a job quote or offer to connect.

Once the electrical and civil work is installed, the customer or contractor arranges an Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) inspection, and Toronto Hydro carries out its final site inspection after it receives ESA connection authorization.

Within its service connections section, Toronto Hydro publishes a Detailed Document Explanations page describing document types such as single-line diagrams, electrical site plans, electrical room floor plans, load calculations and the City's Zoning Applicable Law Certificate (ZAP).

What to prepare

  • An online service request through Toronto Hydro's web forms (for example, the New Service Installation Request or Service Upgrade Request online form)
  • Site plan
  • Proposed electrical drawing
  • Building permit(s)
  • Zoning certification
  • Load calculations

Service connection requestsRequirements source

Building permits

Toronto Building (City of Toronto)

Online applications: Toronto Building Intake Portal (also referred to as Toronto Building's Online Service – Application Intake).

Building permit information

Planning and growth areas

  • Toronto's Official Plan steers growth to areas well served by transit and names Downtown (including the Central Waterfront), the Centres, the Avenues and the Employment Areas as the places best able to accommodate it; the Centres are Scarborough, North York, Etobicoke and Yonge-Eglinton.

    Source: toronto.ca

  • Under the Official Plan, Toronto's Employment Areas are reserved for business and economic activities.

    Source: toronto.ca

Typical project environments

Typical project types

  • Commercial Fit-Outs
  • Multi-Residential Buildings
  • Institutional Facilities
  • Industrial Conversions
  • Occupied Renovations
  • Service & Life-Safety Upgrades

Engineering services in Toronto

Electrical engineering

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Mechanical & HVAC design

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Plumbing engineering

Explore plumbing

Integrated MEP

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Starting a project in Toronto

Who issues building permits in Toronto?

Building permit applications in Toronto go to Toronto Building, the City of Toronto division that handles building permits. Applications and required documents can be submitted online through the Toronto Building Intake Portal or by email, and the City says online submission is mandatory for certain permit types. Please confirm current requirements on the City's building permit pages before applying.

Official source:toronto.ca

Who handles new electrical services and service upgrades in Toronto?

Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited operates the electricity distribution system for the city of Toronto, and new services and upgrades are requested through Toronto Hydro's online service request forms. Its connection guide asks for project information such as a site plan, proposed electrical drawing, building permits, zoning certification and load calculations. Please confirm current requirements on Toronto Hydro's service connection pages.

Official source:torontohydro.com

Is an ESA inspection needed before Toronto Hydro connects a new or upgraded service?

Yes. Toronto Hydro's process has the customer or contractor arrange an Electrical Safety Authority inspection after installation, and Toronto Hydro does its final site inspection once it has received ESA connection authorization. Please confirm current requirements on Toronto Hydro's service connection pages.

Official source:torontohydro.com

Can ETEM support both electrical and mechanical engineering for a project in Toronto?

Yes. ETEM can define the electrical and mechanical workstreams the actual scope requires. Each discipline's drawings are prepared and sealed by a licensed engineer, and shared loads, rooms, controls and construction interfaces are reviewed through one project workflow.

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