Are you installing an electric furnace in your home? Adding a heated greenhouse? Building an addition onto your house? Any significant increase in the amount of electricity you need could mean that you will have to upgrade your electrical service.
This is a process that could take several weeks or even months, so you will want to contact Yukon Energy early.
You should also understand that your plans to increase your service may require Yukon Energy to upgrade our equipment too (things such as transformers and power poles). The electric system is very sensitive to variations in load, so any change in service must be carefully designed to maintain reliable service to all customers, and to conform to electrical codes. In most cases, Yukon Energy will cover the costs of its own equipment upgrades, but in certain situations you will be required to pay some or all of that expense. Speak with Yukon Energy about your particular situation FIRST, before moving ahead with any upgrade.
1. Complete and email us the Electrical Service Form below that applies to you. Receiving this information at the start of the process helps us provide you with a more accurate cost estimate and schedule. We recommend downloading and saving a copy of the Electrical Service Form to your computer before filling it out. Doing this will allow you to add information, make changes and complete the form at a later date, if needed without having to re-enter information.
2. We will visit your property to determine if our facilities can serve the increased load. The original installation would have been designed to the size initially needed and permitted. With a higher load, the transformer and supporting pole may not be sufficient and may need to be upgraded.
3. If your plans for an upgrade result in Yukon Energy needing to replace some of our own equipment, we will assess your unique situation and determine if you are responsible for any of our upgrading expenses. In cases where common infrastructure serves multiple customers (e.g. adjacent properties on a residential street), YEC pays the full cost of new transformers or poles, and the customer covers any expenses related to equipment from our transformer to your home. However, in more remote or rural areas where you might be the only customer on a distribution line, and you are the only one benefitting from an electrical upgrade, you may be responsible for the cost of a new transformer or pole. If this is the case, we will provide you with a price, and you can then decide if you wish to go ahead with the upgrade. If no easement is in place for the existing service connection (this is sometimes the case for older properties), we will at that time also request that you, as the property owner, sign an easement that gives Yukon Energy access to our overhead wiring.
4. If you decide to proceed with the upgrade, you will at this point need to hire an electrician to perform the electrical work on your home. The electrician is responsible for changes to your electrical system, and for holding the required electrical permits from the Yukon government’s Building Safety Unit.
5. Once the work on your wiring is complete and the electrical permit has been approved by the Electrical Inspector, the electrician notifies you, you contact Yukon Energy, and we work with you and your electrician to connect the upgraded service.