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Serving Waterloo & City of Waterloo

Electrical & Mechanical Engineering in Waterloo.

Electrical and mechanical engineering for Waterloo campus, technology, office, industrial, institutional and mixed-use projects.

Discuss a Waterloo projectExplore local services
Electricity distributor
Enova Power Corp.
Building permits
Building Standards Division (City of Waterloo)
Regional services
Region of Waterloo

Local Project Support

Campus and technology-building coordination in Waterloo.

Waterloo projects often involve campus and institutional facilities, technology workplaces, laboratories, commercial space, industrial buildings and multi-residential development. Critical cooling, controls, redundancy, research equipment and phased occupancy can influence both electrical and mechanical design.

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

Architects and facilities teams can review our integrated consultant workflow and the MEP coordination checklist.

Verified local information

Utility connection and permits in Waterloo

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

Enova Power Corp.

Enova Power Corp. was created by the merger of Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro and Waterloo North Hydro, and serves the City of Waterloo, the City of Kitchener and the Townships of Woolwich, Wilmot and Wellesley.

Before the merger, Waterloo North Hydro served the City of Waterloo and the Townships of Wellesley and Woolwich (Waterloo North Hydro rate filing posted on Enova's website).

Enova keeps a separate developer page and service request form for Waterloo, Wellesley and Woolwich properties, distinct from the Kitchener/Wilmot form.

For commercial properties going through municipal site plan review, Enova's connection process asks customers to contact Enova before submitting site plan, zoning change or committee of adjustment applications; the municipality circulates the electrical site plan to Enova for review.

Rate zone: Waterloo North Rate Zone.

What to prepare

  • Enova's Service Request Form for properties in Waterloo, Woolwich or Wellesley (Kitchener and Wilmot properties use a different form)
  • Customer, electrical contractor and (where applicable) consultant contact details
  • Whether the request is for a new or an existing service, with the existing and requested amperage, voltage and overhead or underground service type
  • For an existing service, the scope of work (for example a panel change, meter base change, or adding or removing a meter), plus any supporting files
  • For commercial projects: an approved site plan drawing in PDF and DWG formats
  • For commercial projects: a final load calculation prepared to ESA guidelines and a single-line diagram, each sealed by an electrical P.Eng.
  • For commercial projects: a list of equipment that could affect power quality (such as large motors or welders) and, where applicable, vault room drawings, customer-owned transformer specifications with a protection coordination study, or a remote grounding design

Properties in Waterloo, Wellesley, or WoolwichRequirements source

Building permits

Building Standards Division (City of Waterloo)

Online applications: City of Waterloo Online Applications (the City's building permit portal).

The City's 'Multi-unit residential and non-residential' permit page asks for mechanical and electrical plans prepared by an engineer or BCIN-qualified designer, with all drawings to scale and dated, and SB-10 forms for some Part 3 and Part 9 non-residential applications. Where it applies, the City's Energy Efficiency Certification Form carries the seals and signatures of the people responsible for the building envelope, mechanical systems and electrical systems.

The same page says required planning and zoning approvals (site plan approval, a minor variance, or a zoning bylaw or official plan amendment) must be in place before applying. The City's Engineering and Landscape Manual (Volume 2) adds that a permit is issued only once the Site Plan Agreement is executed and registered on title, though a conditional or partial permit for foundation work may be considered on request.

On the Erb Street corridor, the Community Planning Permit Bylaw (By-law 2026-034, passed by Council on May 11, 2026) applies instead of the Zoning Bylaw and combines zoning bylaw amendments, minor variances and site plan applications into one application. The process starts with a pre-submission consultation with a City planner, and the building permit is applied for once the Community Planning Permit is approved, with or without conditions.

Region of Waterloo

The Region of Waterloo sets its own development charges, separate from the City of Waterloo's, and issues access permits for new entrances onto properties from Regional roads.

Building permit informationRegion of Waterloo permits

Planning and growth areas

  • The Region of Waterloo's Central Transit Corridor monitoring identifies Uptown Waterloo as one of three urban growth centres, with Downtown Kitchener and Downtown Cambridge, connected by the corridor and its rapid transit station areas.

    Source: regionofwaterloo.ca

  • The Region's 2024 corridor monitoring report notes that Waterloo City Council approved Station Area Plans for the five Major Transit Station Areas outside Uptown Waterloo, from the Laurier-Waterloo Park station to Conestoga Mall.

    Source: regionofwaterloo.ca

  • Generation Park Waterloo, the City-owned employment park previously known as the west-side employment lands, was launched by the City in October 2023 with about 98 acres of fully serviced light industrial, industrial and commercial land; the City describes it as one of Canada's first zero-carbon ready industrial parks.

    Source: waterloo.ca

Typical project environments

Typical project types

  • Campus & Institutional
  • Technology Workplaces
  • Laboratory Environments
  • Commercial Space
  • Industrial Buildings
  • Multi-Residential Development

Engineering services in Waterloo

Electrical engineering

Explore electrical

Mechanical & HVAC design

Explore mechanical

Plumbing engineering

Explore plumbing

Integrated MEP

Explore integrated MEP

Starting a project in Waterloo

Who issues building permits in Waterloo?

Building permits in Waterloo are issued by the City of Waterloo's Building Standards Division. Complete applications, with drawings and forms in PDF format without passwords, are submitted through the City's online building permit portal. Please confirm current requirements on the City's apply for a building permit page.

Official source:waterloo.ca

Which approvals does Waterloo want in place before a non-residential permit application goes in?

The City's multi-unit residential and non-residential permit page says required planning and zoning approvals, such as site plan approval, a minor variance or a zoning bylaw or official plan amendment, must be complete, with the Planning team's approval given, before a building permit application is made. The City's Engineering and Landscape Manual (Volume 2) says a permit is issued only after the Site Plan Agreement is fully executed and registered on title, although a conditional or partial permit for foundation work may be considered at the applicant's request. Please confirm current requirements on the City's multi-unit residential and non-residential page.

Official source:waterloo.ca

How does the Community Planning Permit work on Waterloo's Erb Street corridor?

Council passed the Community Planning Permit Bylaw (By-law 2026-034) for the Erb Street corridor on May 11, 2026; it regulates land use, the location of buildings and structures and parking there, and combines zoning bylaw amendments, minor variances and site plan applications into a single application. The process starts with a pre-submission consultation with a City planner, and a building permit is applied for once the Community Planning Permit is approved, with or without conditions. Please confirm current requirements on the City's Apply for a Community Planning Permit page.

Official source:waterloo.ca

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

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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