Electrical & Mechanical Engineering in Richmond Hill.

Alectra Utilities Corporation

Alectra's company overview lists Richmond Hill among the 17 communities it serves.

Alectra's Conditions of Service list Richmond Hill within its licensed service area and refer to its distribution licence for exact boundaries.

Alectra's Conditions of Service say customers must apply in writing for new or upgraded services and consult Alectra on supply availability, voltage, service location and metering before designing a service.

Alectra's FAQ notes that reporting electrical work to the ESA is separate from getting a building permit, and a project may need both.

Alectra has applied to the Ontario Energy Board to merge its legacy rate zones into a single Alectra-wide rate zone starting in 2027.

Rate zone: PowerStream Rate Zone.

What to prepare

• An online application through the Alectra Utilities New Connections Portal
• Project details and expected project timing
• Customer and electrical contractor details, plus property owner information
• Technical requirements for the service, with electrical drawings or site plans where needed
• For generator installations, technical specifications submitted with the application
• For service upgrades, an Alectra account in good standing
• An ESA inspection: Alectra must receive the Electrical Safety Authority's connection authorization before connecting or reconnecting a service

Make a Service Request (alectrautilities.com)

Building Services Division, Planning and Regulatory Services (City of Richmond Hill)

Online applications: Permit Portal (permits.richmondhill.ca), linked from the City's 'Building Permit - Apply and Pay Online' page.

Richmond Hill's Part 3 Permit Application Process checklist (C1) asks for P.Eng.-stamped mechanical drawings (HVAC duct design, heat loss and heat gain calculations, plumbing and drain layout, roof-mounted equipment) and electrical drawings (lighting, power, emergency lighting, exit signs, and fire alarm drawings with riser details). It also lists sprinkler drawings, a site servicing permit application and, for new buildings and additions, energy efficiency forms signed and sealed by the designer.

The City's Non-Residential Permits page lists its Mechanical Unit Data Sheet, which the design engineer fills out for every rooftop unit installation, and its Plumbing and Drain Worksheet. For online uploads, each discipline's drawings go into one unprotected, single-layer, black-and-white PDF named as the City lists (for example Mechanical.pdf or Sprinkler.pdf), drawn at a scale no smaller than 3/16 inch to 1 foot; scanned printouts are not accepted.

By-law 38-25, as amended by By-law 114-25, makes all of Richmond Hill a Site Plan Control Area, covering new construction and additions or modifications to industrial, commercial, institutional and mixed-use developments. The C1 checklist lists an executed Site Plan Agreement, where applicable, as a pre-approval needed when the building permit application is made, and it is uploaded online as Agreement.pdf.

York Region

York Region requires its own permit for any work on Regional roads (such as a new or changed entrance), and Richmond Hill's building permit submission list asks for a York Region document where a property has entrances from Regional roads.

Building permit information (richmondhill.ca)York Region permits (york.ca)