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Electrical Panel Upgrade Cost in Ontario (2026): Panel Swap vs 200 A Service, Overhead vs Underground, 400 A, the Utility and the ESA Fee
Electrical & Lighting
What a Panel Upgrade Really Costs: The Swap, the 200 A Service, the Trench and the Day Without Power
“Panel upgrade” gets used for two different jobs. One is a new panel on the same service, a box swap. The other is a bigger service: new meter base, new mast or underground cable, new panel, and the utility involved. The second costs more, $3,800 against $2,200 on our defaults, and the quotes you get will not always say which one they are pricing. This page sorts them out, prices both, and walks through the day the power goes off.
The numbers
$2,200new panel, same amperage
$3,800100 A to 200 A, overhead
$6,000100 A to 200 A, underground with a trench
$92what ESA itself charges a contractor for a service change
| Job, existing house | Range seen | Basis | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Panel replacement, same amperage | $1,500 to $3,000 | default | $2,200 |
| 100 A to 200 A, overhead | $2,500 to $5,000 | default | $3,800 |
| Meter base and mast replacement | $500 to $1,500 | usually inside the upgrade price | included |
| 100 A to 200 A, underground, yard trenched | $5,000 to $7,000 and up | middle of the range | $6,000 |
| 400 A service | $4,500 to $10,000 and up | plus what the utility charges for transformer and line | quoted |
| ESA notification, service change, single dwelling | $86 contractor fee, $92 minimum; $212 homeowner | 2026 ESA Fee Guide | $92 |
| Utility disconnect and reconnect | $0 (Hydro One, once a year) to $300 (Toronto Hydro, at the pole) | your utility’s posted fee | ask |
Prices are October 2026, before HST at 13 percent. On a $3,800 overhead upgrade the HST is $494, for $4,294 out the door. Published low figures for underground work, $1,600 and similar, assume a conduit already in the ground and no trench. Drywall patching around a moved panel is often extra.
Why Ontario prices are all over the map: the contractors and price guides we checked for this page did not come close to agreeing. For the same 100 to 200 A upgrade, a Toronto contractor advertised overhead “from $2,600”, a Toronto EV installer said $2,500 to $5,000 overhead and $5,000 to $7,000 and up underground, and a national home-services marketplace said $3,000 to $5,000. One GTA company printed $3,500 to $4,500 on one page and $1,400 to $1,800 on another, which at least saves you calling two companies. The gap is the meter base and mast, the trench, the distance from meter to panel, and whether the utility and ESA are in the price. Budget $3,800 overhead, and get two or three quotes on the same written scope.
A New Panel Is Not a Bigger Service
The service is everything from the utility’s wire to your main breaker: the drop or underground cable, the meter base, the mast or conduit, the service entrance cable and the main breaker that sets the rating. The panel is the box the breakers live in. A full panel is not a full service, any more than a parking lot with no empty stalls means the road out front is jammed.
A panel swap makes sense when the box is the problem: an old fuse panel, a make your insurer has flagged, corrosion. It does nothing for capacity. Put a 200 A panel on a 100 A service and you have a nicer box with the same 100 A coming in. The subpanel vs service upgrade page covers the cheaper fix for a box that is only out of spaces.
A service upgrade is the job when the house needs more power than its rating: a heat pump, an EV charger, a hot tub, a garage shop. Whether 100 A or 200 A suits the house is a long question the 100 or 200 amp service page already answers. Run the load calculation first; a 100 A house that wants one charger may only need a $1,000 load manager instead of a $3,800 upgrade.
Overhead, Underground and 400 A
Overhead is the cheap version. The electrician replaces the mast, the meter base and the service entrance cable, sets the new panel, updates the grounding, and the utility reconnects its drop to the new mast. On Hydro One the meter base belongs to you, not the utility, which is why it is on the electrician’s invoice; ask your own utility where its line sits.
Underground costs more because of the dirt. Bigger cable has to run from the utility’s point of supply to the house, and unless there is a usable conduit already in the ground, somebody digs a trench across the lawn, the garden or the driveway. On a rural lot with a long run, the utility gets involved in a bigger way; the utility page explains who owns which part.
400 A is for big houses with big loads: all-electric heat in a leaky frame house, a hot tub, a shop with a welder, two EVs and no load management. The electrician’s part is $4,500 to $10,000 and up, and the utility may need a bigger transformer or line, which it quotes separately. Before anyone sells you 400 A, ask for the written load calculation. An all-electric ICF house usually fits on 200 A when the loads are planned.
The Permit, the Utility and the Day the Power Is Off
ESA’s fee for a service change or panel upgrade on a single dwelling is $86 for a licensed contractor, subject to ESA’s $92 minimum, and $212 if a homeowner files. Contractors often show “the ESA permit” at $100 to $600. ESA’s own fee is under $100; the rest is the contractor’s time to file, book and meet the inspector. Fair enough, but it is not ESA’s fee, and the quote should say which is which.
Utility charges vary. Hydro One does one disconnect and reconnect a calendar year for an upgrade at no charge, with 10 days notice. Toronto Hydro charges $120 at the meter in regular hours and $300 at the pole, more after hours. Alectra charges $65 at the meter and $185 at the pole in the PowerStream rate zone, and gives residential customers one free planned disconnect every 12 months. Here is how the day goes:
- The licensed electrical contractor files the ESA notification before any work starts.
- The contractor books the disconnect with your utility, on a weekday, with the notice the utility asks for.
- The power goes off in the morning. Old panel out, new mast, meter base and panel in, circuits moved over and labelled.
- ESA inspects or authorizes the connection. The utility will not reconnect until it receives ESA’s connection authorization.
- The utility reconnects and the meter goes back in. On a straightforward overhead job, plan on what is often most of a working day without power.
- ESA issues the Certificate of Acceptance to whoever filed the notification. Get a copy; your insurer will ask.
Plan the day: fridge and freezer shut, sump pump off, and in the country no well pump, so fill a few pails. Nobody sensible books a service change for the Friday before a long weekend in January. Every electrician has a story about the one who did.
Where Homeowners Go Wrong
- Hiring the wrong person. Anyone you hire for electrical work in Ontario must be an ESA Licensed Electrical Contractor. A general contractor or handyman is not licensed to do it. Check the 7-digit licence number on ESA’s contractor locator on esasafe.com; the hiring page has the rest. On our own builds and renovations, the licensed electrical contractors we hire do this work under their licence and their notification.
- Comparing a swap quote to an upgrade quote. One says $2,000 and one says $4,200, and they are different jobs. Ask each in writing: what is the new service rating, and are the meter base and mast included?
- Upgrading when a load manager would do. One EV charger on a 100 A house is often handled by an energy management system. The EV on 100 amps page runs the numbers.
- Ignoring the warning signs. A hot or discoloured breaker or receptacle, or a burning smell, means turn that breaker off and call a licensed electrical contractor today. Not on the weekend. Today.
- Losing the paper. The Certificate of Acceptance proves the work passed when you sell or switch insurers. ESA will send a copy: 1-877-372-7233.
Questions people ask
How much does it cost to upgrade from 100 A to 200 A in Ontario?
About $3,800 before HST for an overhead service in October 2026, in a range of $2,500 to $5,000, including the meter base and mast. Underground with a trench runs $5,000 to $7,000 and up. Add your utility’s disconnect fee if it charges one.
How much is a new panel without upgrading the service?
$1,500 to $3,000 for the same amperage, with $2,200 a fair budget. It fixes an old or failing box. It does not add capacity.
How long will I be without power?
Often most of a working day for a straightforward overhead job. Underground work or a utility that needs to change its own equipment can stretch it. The utility reconnects only after ESA authorizes the connection.
Who takes out the permit?
The licensed electrical contractor doing the work files the ESA notification before starting. ESA’s fee is $86, subject to its $92 minimum; the rest of a “permit” line is the contractor’s time. A homeowner working on their own home files their own, at $212, and must pass inspection.
Do I need 400 A?
Rarely. A 400 A service makes sense for a very large or very leaky all-electric house with several big loads. Ask for the written load calculation first, and price an energy management system against the upgrade.
Find out what your house actually needs first
The service capacity calculator runs the code’s load arithmetic on your house, your heat, your range, your dryer and the charger you want, and shows the amps against 100, 125 and 200 A. If the quotes are already on the table, the $99 review reads up to three of them, or one quote and your panel photos, and tells you which job each one is really pricing.
Sources and further reading
- ESA 2026 Fee Guide: the actual ESA fees for a new house, a service change, an EV charger and renovation work, contractor and homeowner rates.
- Hydro One Conditions of Service: who owns the meter base, the free disconnect for upgrades, and the rule that nothing is connected without ESA approval.
- Toronto Hydro service charges: the published disconnect and reconnect charges at the meter and at the pole.
