Electrical Planning Reports
There are now special provisions in SPA (Strata Property Act) and SPR(Strata Property Regulaton) regarding approving the funding of infrastructure, the management of electricity, and obtaining related reports. Under SPA, most strata corporations now have a statutory obligation to obtain an electrical planning report. This change came into effect on December 6, 2023.
The SPR9 spells out the required content of an electrical planning report.
Electrical planning reports provide information on the current capacity of the strata corporation’s electrical system and estimates of the capacity needed for future demands on the system. The reports will provide insight on whether the strata’s infrastructure can handle growing electrical vehicle (“EV”) charging demand and how far away additional EV infrastructure is from reality.
The deadline for each strata corporation to obtain an electrical planning report depends on whether it is an “existing strata corporation” or a “new strata corporation” as well as if the land in the strata plan is inside or outside of a “specified area.” There are also exemptions such as strata corporations with fewer than five strata lots.11 For most existing strata corporations, inside of specified areas, the deadline to obtain an electrical planning report will be December 31, 2026.
EV Charging
Changes to SPA provide that EV charging infrastructure may be installed at the strata corporation’s initiative or at the request of an owner.
Owner's Request
SPA now provides for a mandatory process for owners to follow who are requesting to make alterations to common property related to an EV parking stall.16 SPA now also provides a process for the strata corporation to address those requests. The strata corporation must decide whether to approve the owner’s request within three months.
SPA sets out what the strata corporation can consider18 as well as the criteria for approval of a request.19 SPA also allows a strata corporation to require an owner to agree to reasonable conditions of an approval.
SPA provides flexibility to the strata corporation to make the alteration itself or allow the owner to make the alteration.21 This would be decided before any approval is granted. Either way, the strata corporation may make the owner responsible for the alteration’s associated costs. If the strata corporation is making the alteration, the owner, unless otherwise agreed, must prepay the cost to cover the expense associated with making the alteration. Excess funds will be returned to the owner. If there are insufficient prepaid funds, the owner must pay the difference. The installation of an EV charging station made at an owner’s request does not affect the owner’s rights or permissions to a parking stall.
July 2023 News Release The Road Is Being Paved for EV Charging Stations on Strata Properties(opens in a new tab) as a starting point for additional inquiries.