Electrical installation, panel and service upgrades, lighting, equipment power and EV charging for offices, warehouses, retail and industrial facilities. Delivered alongside your cabling and network infrastructure by one project team.
Velocity delivers the electrical scope on commercial projects across Toronto and the GTA. Regulated electrical work is performed by Licensed Electrical Contractors, and Velocity manages the project and performs the structured cabling and low-voltage infrastructure directly. One team, one schedule, one point of contact.
Commercial electrical work rarely arrives as a standalone job. It shows up inside something else: a tenant improvement on the eleventh floor, a warehouse taking on a new packing line, a restaurant fit-out with a kitchen equipment schedule, an office adding forty workstations, a server room that has outgrown the two circuits it was built with.
What those projects share is coordination. The electrical scope has to line up with the general contractor's schedule, the mechanical contractor's rooftop units, the equipment vendor's power requirements, the landlord's shutdown windows, and the inspection process. Get that sequencing wrong and the electrical becomes the thing everyone is waiting on.
That coordination is the part we handle. We scope the electrical work, bring in the Licensed Electrical Contractor who performs it, sequence it against the other trades, and run the low-voltage side ourselves so the power and the data arrive together instead of six weeks apart.
The work covers new construction, tenant improvements, renovations, equipment additions, service expansions, lighting upgrades, and the troubleshooting calls that come when something stops working and nobody can say why.
On licensing. In Ontario, electrical work for hire must be performed by a Licensed Electrical Contractor, which is a business licensed by the Electrical Safety Authority and identified by a seven-digit ECRA/ESA number. Velocity is a commercial low-voltage and structured cabling contractor. The regulated electrical portion of your project is performed by a Licensed Electrical Contractor, and we tell you who that is before work starts. You can verify any LEC through ESA.
Grouped by what the work actually is, rather than split into a list of thirty separate line items.
Complete electrical for new construction, tenant improvements and renovations. Rough-in, conduit, branch wiring, devices, panels, lighting, controls and equipment connections, coordinated against the construction schedule.
Read morePanel replacement and upgrades, distribution panels, subpanels, breakers, feeders, transformers, switchgear and disconnects. Single-phase and three-phase, including the capacity assessment that comes first.
Read moreOffice, warehouse high-bay, retail, exterior and parking lot lighting. LED retrofits and replacements, occupancy sensors, timers, daylight and dimming controls.
Read moreEmergency and egress lighting, exit signage, battery backup units, testing, replacement and repair. Requirements vary by occupancy, so scope gets confirmed against the building rather than assumed.
Read morePower for machinery, HVAC and rooftop units, kitchen equipment, server racks and UPS, signage, AV and specialty equipment. Voltage, phase, amperage and disconnect requirements confirmed against the equipment schedule.
Read moreEmployee, customer, tenant and fleet charging. Level 2 and higher-capacity equipment, with the service capacity, load management and future expansion worked out before hardware gets selected.
Read moreRepeated breaker trips, partial power loss, failed circuits, overheating, flickering, unexplained equipment shutdowns. Diagnosis first, then a scoped repair, plus scheduled preventive maintenance where wanted.
Read moreOutlets and data drops at the same workstation, power and fiber into the same IDF, camera power and camera cabling on the same pull. One scope instead of two contractors negotiating a ceiling.
Read moreThe Licensed Electrical Contractor files the ESA Notification of Work and coordinates inspection. We sequence it against the build so the inspection is not what holds up occupancy.
Read moreA commercial electrical installation covers everything from service entrance to device: distribution, feeders, branch circuit wiring, conduit, boxes, devices, lighting, controls and equipment connections, installed against the electrical drawings and inspected before closeout.
On new construction the electrical follows a known sequence. Rough-in goes in while walls are open, conduit and boxes are set to the drawings, homeruns land at the panel, and the work gets inspected before anything is concealed. That last point drives the schedule more than people expect. Closing a ceiling before the electrical has been reviewed is an expensive mistake to reverse.
Tenant improvements are different work with the same name. The building is occupied, the drawings describe an as-built that is frequently wrong, existing circuits are unlabelled, and the available capacity at the panel is whatever the last three tenants left behind. Those projects start with finding out what is actually there.
Where this usually starts. On a tenant improvement the first useful question is not what you want installed, it is how much spare capacity exists at the panel and how many spare breaker spaces are left. That answer decides whether the project is a straightforward circuit addition or a panel upgrade with a shutdown window attached.
Most commercial electrical projects eventually reduce to one question: does the existing service and panel have the capacity for what you are adding? If it does, the work is circuits. If it does not, the work is a service or panel upgrade, and the scope, cost and schedule all change.
Capacity gets consumed quietly. A building sized for a 1990s office load now carries dense workstations, a server room, more HVAC, LED lighting on a fraction of the old draw, and possibly EV chargers in the garage. Some of that reduced load, some of it added a lot.
What triggers an upgrade is usually specific and identifiable: new production machinery, an added rooftop unit, a kitchen build-out, an office expansion, a UPS for the server room, or EV charging. Each of those arrives with a nameplate, and the nameplate either fits inside available capacity or it does not.
Where a full service upgrade can be avoided, it usually should be. Load management, redistributing existing circuits, or a subpanel fed from spare capacity are all cheaper than a new service. That assessment happens before anyone quotes equipment.
Safety note. Nothing on this page is instruction for performing electrical work. Panel and distribution work is live-hazard work and must be performed by a Licensed Electrical Contractor.
| Trigger | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| New machinery | Three-phase feed, disconnect, often a dedicated subpanel |
| Added HVAC / RTU | New feeder and disconnect at the unit, roof penetration coordination |
| Office expansion | Additional branch circuits, possible subpanel, more panel spaces |
| EV charging | Largest single driver of service upgrades on commercial sites |
| Server room / UPS | Dedicated circuits, redundant feeds, load sized to rack draw |
| Commercial kitchen | High connected load, dedicated circuits per appliance, gas interlock |
| Warehouse equipment | Conveyor, compressor and charging loads, often three-phase |
| Lighting retrofit | Usually reduces load, sometimes frees capacity for other work |
A lighting retrofit is worth doing when the existing fixtures are failing, maintenance access is expensive, light levels are poor, or the load is worth reducing. The saving depends entirely on the fixtures being replaced, hours of operation and local rates, so it should be calculated for your building rather than quoted as a percentage.
High-bay warehouse lighting is where the numbers are usually most obvious, because the fixtures run long hours and replacing a lamp at twelve metres means booking a lift. Office and retail retrofits are more often driven by light quality and controls than by consumption alone.
Controls are the part that gets skipped and then regretted. Occupancy sensors in storage areas, washrooms and meeting rooms, daylight harvesting near glazing, and time scheduling on exterior and parking lighting all reduce runtime without anyone having to remember a switch.
Emergency lighting provides illumination along egress paths when normal power fails, and exit signage marks the route. What is required for a specific building depends on its occupancy classification, size and layout, which is determined by the applicable building and fire codes rather than by the electrical contractor.
The practical work is usually one of three things: a new installation as part of a fit-out, replacement of units that no longer hold charge, or periodic testing and battery replacement on an existing system. Battery-backed units degrade quietly, and a unit that passes a button test can still fail a duration test.
Where a building has requirements set by a fire safety plan, an inspection report, or an authority having jurisdiction, we scope the work against that documentation. Where those requirements are unclear, that gets resolved before quoting rather than assumed.
Every piece of commercial equipment arrives with an electrical requirement: voltage, phase, full load amps, and often a disconnect requirement. Matching that to available panel capacity is what determines whether a piece of equipment can be installed where you want it, and it is worth checking before the equipment is ordered rather than after it is delivered.
| Equipment | Typical electrical consideration |
|---|---|
| Server racks & IDF | Dedicated circuits sized to rack load, separate circuits for redundant PSUs, capacity for UPS |
| UPS systems | Input circuit sized above rated load, output distribution, bypass considerations |
| HVAC and rooftop units | Dedicated feeder, disconnect within sight of the unit, roof penetration coordination |
| Commercial kitchen | High connected load, dedicated circuits per appliance, coordination with gas and ventilation |
| Production machinery | Often three-phase, disconnect requirement, motor connection, sometimes motor controls |
| Compressors & conveyors | Three-phase feed, starter or VFD coordination, dedicated protection |
| Signage | Exterior circuit, timer or photocell control, weather-rated connection |
| AV and display systems | Dedicated circuits to avoid shared-load interference, coordination with data drops |
| CCTV, access control, paging | Circuit for head-end and NVR, plus low-voltage cabling scope |
Send the equipment schedule. The fastest way to get an accurate answer on equipment power is the manufacturer specification sheet plus a photograph of the existing panel and its directory. That combination usually tells us whether the circuit is straightforward or whether capacity is the real problem.
Commercial EV charging is an electrical capacity problem before it is an equipment choice. The question that decides the budget is how much spare capacity exists at the service, and whether load management can keep the project inside it instead of triggering a service upgrade.
A site assessment establishes the existing service size, measured demand, available panel capacity and the distance from the electrical room to the parking area. Conduit run length is frequently the largest single cost on an EV project, particularly where the route crosses a parking structure or requires trenching.
Load management is what makes larger deployments viable. Rather than sizing the service for every charger drawing full output simultaneously, a managed system shares available capacity across chargers. That often turns a project requiring a service upgrade into one that does not.
The other thing worth deciding early is provision for expansion. Running conduit and leaving capacity for chargers you will add in three years costs very little during the initial project and a great deal afterwards.
Employee, tenant, customer or fleet. These are different projects. Fleet charging is a scheduled overnight load that suits managed charging well. Customer charging is unpredictable and usually wants faster equipment. Tenant charging in a condominium or multi-tenant building brings metering and cost allocation into scope.
Most commercial electrical faults are one of a small number of things: an overloaded circuit, a loose or failing connection, a degraded breaker, a damaged conductor, or equipment drawing more than the circuit was designed for. Diagnosis is about identifying which, not about replacing parts until the symptom stops.
The sequence is straightforward: confirm what is affected and what is not, check the panel and protection, measure voltage and load under operating conditions, inspect connections at the affected devices, and isolate the fault to a specific circuit or piece of equipment. Only then does repair scope get quoted.
Where the underlying cause is capacity rather than a fault, the honest answer is that a repair will not hold. Adding a circuit or redistributing load is the fix, and we will say so rather than resetting a breaker and leaving.
For facilities where downtime is expensive, scheduled maintenance covers panel inspection, connection torque checks, visual assessment of distribution equipment, emergency lighting testing and correction of deficiencies found. Scope and interval are set against the facility rather than sold as a standard package.
Do not troubleshoot commercial electrical faults yourself. Commercial distribution carries fault energy that is dangerous to work near without training and equipment. If something is hot, smells burnt or is arcing, de-energise the circuit if it is safe to do so and call.
Nearly every commercial project needs both power and data in the same places at the same time. Running them as two separate contracts is where schedules slip, ceilings get opened twice, and nobody owns the gap between the outlet and the data drop.
Velocity already performs the low-voltage side directly: Cat6 and Cat6A structured cabling, fiber optic backbone, rack and IDF builds, wireless access point cabling, CCTV and access control infrastructure. On projects that also carry electrical scope, we bring in the Licensed Electrical Contractor and run both against one schedule.
The practical difference shows up in the details. A workstation needs an outlet and a data drop, designed together rather than by two parties reading different drawings. An IDF needs a dedicated circuit, a UPS, a rack, fiber and copper, all sized against the same rack elevation. A camera needs power at the head-end and Cat6A to the camera, pulled in one pass rather than two.
Clear scope boundaries. Regulated electrical work is performed by the Licensed Electrical Contractor. Structured cabling and low-voltage work is performed by Velocity. Both appear on one proposal with the division stated explicitly, so there is no ambiguity about who is responsible for what.
Each has a different electrical profile, and that changes what the project actually involves.
Branch circuits at density, floor boxes, meeting room power and data, lighting controls, IDF circuits.
Tenant improvements inside occupied buildings, landlord coordination, shared distribution, metering questions.
High-bay lighting, three-phase equipment feeds, dock power, charging stations, long conduit runs.
Conveyor and sortation power, packing line circuits, extensive lighting, scanner and AP infrastructure.
POS circuits, display and signage lighting, exterior signage, back-of-house, camera head-end power.
High connected kitchen load, dedicated appliance circuits, ventilation interlock, front-of-house lighting.
Machinery feeds, motor connections, three-phase distribution, disconnects, plant lighting.
Equipment circuits, imaging power requirements, clean installation in live clinical space, after-hours work.
Classroom power and data, lab circuits, gym and corridor lighting, work scheduled to the academic calendar.
Recurring work across multiple sites, consistent scope and documentation, predictable scheduling.
Dedicated circuits, UPS infrastructure, redundant feeds, coordinated with the rack and cabling build.
Working to drawings and a GC schedule, multi-trade sequencing, inspection coordination to occupancy.
Almost all electrical work in Ontario must be reported to the Electrical Safety Authority through a Notification of Work, filed before work starts. The Licensed Electrical Contractor performing the work files it. ESA then reviews the installation, and where it passes, ESA issues a Certificate of Acceptance to whoever filed the notification.
Electrical contracting in Ontario is regulated under the Electricity Act, 1998. Electrical work offered to the public must be performed by a Licensed Electrical Contractor, which is a licensed business, not an individual. Certified electricians perform that work as employees of an LEC. Every LEC carries a seven-digit ECRA/ESA licence number, which you can verify through ESA's contractor lookup.
An ESA Notification of Work covers the electrical installation and is filed with ESA. A municipal building permit is a separate approval from the city, covering construction work, and is triggered by different things. A project can require one, the other, or both. On a tenant improvement it is common to need both, obtained through different channels on different timelines.
The 2024 Ontario Electrical Safety Code, 29th edition, came into effect on May 1, 2025. Installations on notifications filed after that date must meet its requirements. The Code adopts the Canadian Electrical Code, Part I, together with Ontario-specific amendments, and is adopted under Ontario Regulation 164/99.
Some projects require more than a standard notification and inspection. Depending on size, complexity and the type of installation, ESA plan review may apply, or an engineered design and stamped drawings may be required. Where a project needs engineering involvement, that gets identified during scoping rather than discovered during inspection.
Electrical scope is defined against drawings, equipment schedules and site conditions, and the LEC is identified.
The Licensed Electrical Contractor files the ESA Notification of Work before electrical work begins.
Electrical is scheduled against the other trades and any shutdown windows agreed with the building.
Rough-in is reviewed before ceilings and walls close, because reversing that is expensive.
ESA reviews the installation. Where it passes, ESA issues the Certificate of Acceptance to the filer.
Certificate copy, circuit directory, as-built markup and low-voltage test results delivered together.
A note on certificates. No contractor issues an ESA certificate. ESA issues the Certificate of Acceptance after reviewing permitted work. If a contractor offers to issue one for a fee without filing a notification and having the work inspected, that is a warning sign. Ask for a copy of the certificate once the work passes and keep it, because insurers and future buyers ask for it.
Authoritative reference: Electrical Safety Authority · Ontario Electrical Safety Code · Hiring a Licensed Electrical Contractor
This section explains the process in plain terms. It is not legal advice, and requirements for a specific project should be confirmed for that project.
Commercial electrical work differs from residential in load, voltage, equipment and, most of all, in coordination. A residential job has one decision-maker. A commercial job has a tenant, a landlord, a general contractor, other trades, an equipment vendor and an inspection process, all with different schedules.
| Factor | In commercial work |
|---|---|
| Loads | Substantially higher connected loads, with equipment schedules rather than assumed usage |
| Voltage | Three-phase distribution is common; 347/600V appears in larger facilities |
| Distribution | Switchgear, transformers, distribution panels and subpanels rather than a single panel |
| Lighting | High-bay, exterior and controlled lighting systems, often across large areas |
| Coordination | Landlord, tenant, GC, mechanical, IT and equipment vendors all affect the scope |
| Scheduling | Shutdown windows, occupied floors, after-hours work and construction sequencing |
| Documentation | Circuit directories, as-builts, test results and inspection records expected at closeout |
| Continuity | Downtime carries direct business cost, which shapes how work is staged |
We work on commercial and industrial facilities only. We do not take residential electrical work.
Commercial electrical pricing is driven more by existing conditions and access than by the equipment list. The same twenty circuits can differ by a factor of two between an open-deck warehouse and an occupied office with hard ceilings and a weekend-only shutdown window.
We do not publish per-circuit or per-fixture pricing, because a number quoted without seeing the building is a number that changes. These are the variables that actually move a commercial electrical quote:
The fastest route to an accurate number. Send whatever you have: electrical drawings, a single-line diagram, panel schedules, equipment specification sheets, an RFQ, or simply photographs of the existing panel and its directory. For anything beyond a small scope we arrange a site assessment, because what is already in the building determines most of the price.
Toronto is the core of our commercial work, including Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, the downtown core and the industrial corridors along the 401 and 427.
Beyond Toronto we work across Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, Oakville, Burlington and Hamilton, and into the wider GTA and Southern Ontario depending on project size. Larger projects justify longer travel; a single service call generally does not.
If your site sits outside that list, call and ask rather than assuming. Coverage depends on the scope.
Tell us the site and the scope. For anything beyond a small job we arrange a site assessment before pricing, because existing conditions drive commercial electrical cost more than the equipment list does.
Have drawings or an RFQ to send? Submit the form and reply to the confirmation email with the files attached, or email them directly to info@velocitycabling.com.
Reviewed October 2026 · Velocity Cabling, Toronto. Regulatory information on this page reflects Electrical Safety Authority guidance and the 2024 Ontario Electrical Safety Code, 29th edition, in effect since May 1, 2025. Verify current requirements at esasafe.com.
