Bill 52 adds a new section to the Building Code Act, 1992 requiring builders of new, permanent houses covered by Part 9 to install specified electrical infrastructure to enable later fitting of electric vehicle supply equipment. The rule requires a minimum 200 amp panel board, a pullable conduit at least 27 mm trade size, and a square 4‑11/16 inch electrical outlet box located in the garage, carport or adjacent to the driveway; the conduit and box must block gas and exhaust passage.
This is a forward‑looking technical mandate: it does not require immediate installation of a charger but mandates preparatory wiring and service capacity during construction. The measure reduces retrofit costs, influences early electrical service sizing decisions, and shifts discrete compliance and cost responsibilities onto builders, with knock‑on effects for municipal permitting and distribution utilities planning.
At a Glance
What It Does
The bill amends the Building Code Act by adding a new statutory requirement that builders install during construction a minimum 200 amp main service, a conduit (≥27 mm trade size) equipped for cable pulling, and a specific sized outlet box in the garage/carport or next to the driveway; the conduit and box must be gas‑ and exhaust‑resistant. The provision references Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment that meets section 86 of the Electrical Safety Code.
Who It Affects
Primary compliance falls on residential builders and developers of Part 9 houses, and on electrical contractors who size and install panels, conduits and outlet boxes. Municipal building authorities will incorporate these elements into plan review and inspections; local distribution companies must consider aggregate service capacity implications.
Why It Matters
By creating a province‑level minimum for EV readiness, Ontario sets a technical baseline that reduces the incremental cost and disruption of later charger installs, but also creates up‑front cost and design decisions for new builds and forces utilities and municipalities to adjust capacity planning and inspection protocols.
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What This Bill Actually Does
The bill operates by inserting a single, focused new provision into the Building Code Act that applies only to newly constructed, permanent houses regulated under Part 9 of the building code and connected to a distribution system. It does not require immediate installation of charging hardware; instead, it requires builders to fit specific electrical infrastructure during the construction phase so owners can add compliant electric vehicle supply equipment later without major retrofit.
Technically, the law sets three distinct obligations: provide a main service/panel board rated at least 200 amps; run a conduit sized no smaller than 27 mm trade size and fitted so cables can be pulled through it at a later date; and mount a square electrical outlet box of the 4‑11/16 inch trade size where a vehicle is normally parked. The bill ties the future charging device to section 86 of the Electrical Safety Code, meaning the installed EVSE must meet existing provincial electrical safety rules when finally connected.The bill also adds a practical safety requirement: the conduit and the outlet box must act as an effective barrier against the entry of gas and vehicle exhaust.
That is a site‑safety feature aimed at avoiding the conduit becoming a pathway for hazardous fumes between an attached garage/carport and conditioned spaces. The measure excludes seasonal recreational buildings and applies only to homes connected to a distribution system, so off‑grid or temporary seasonal structures are out of scope.Finally, the act does not come into force automatically; the Lieutenant Governor in Council will set the commencement day.
That gives the province administrative flexibility to coordinate the rule with implementation steps — for example, guidance for building officials, training for inspectors, and transitional notices for builders — but also leaves an open window before the duty becomes enforceable.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill requires a minimum 200 amp panel board to be installed in each qualifying new house during construction.
Builders must install a conduit of at least 27 mm trade size that includes a mechanism to pull cables in the future; retrofitting without conduit is therefore discouraged.
A square 4‑11/16 inch trade size electrical outlet box must be placed in the garage, carport or adjacent to the driveway to receive future EVSE.
The conduit and outlet box must provide an effective barrier against the passage of gas and vehicle exhaust fumes, adding a ventilation/safety consideration to placement and sealing.
The requirements apply only to houses built after the law comes into force and connected to a distribution system; the start date is set later by order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Scope — which houses must comply
This subsection lists five threshold criteria that must be met for the rule to apply: the building must be a Part 9 house, include a garage, carport or driveway, be connected to a distribution system under the Electricity Act, not be a seasonal recreational building, and be constructed after the section comes into force. Practically, that narrows the mandate to conventional, permanent residential construction and excludes cottages and off‑grid dwellings.
Technical installation obligations during construction
Subsection (2) imposes three discrete installation duties on the builder: install a minimum 200 amp panel board; fit a conduit no smaller than 27 mm trade size with a cable‑pulling provision; and install a specific sized outlet box where the vehicle will be parked. Each requirement is a construction‑phase obligation, meaning the builder must deliver these elements as part of the work for which permits are typically issued and inspected.
Safety sealing requirement for conduit and box
This clause requires that the conduit and outlet box together form an effective barrier to gas and exhaust. That elevates sealing and placement from a matter of convenience to a matter of building safety and may affect how builders flash, seal and inspect penetrations between garages and living spaces to comply with fire and air‑quality expectations.
Definitions and linkage to the Electrical Safety Code
The subsection defines ‘electric vehicle supply equipment’ by reference to Rule 86‑100 of the Electrical Safety Code and clarifies that ‘Electrical Safety Code’ means the code adopted under O. Reg. 164/99. This cross‑reference means the eventual selection and connection of EVSE must comply with existing provincial electrical standards and rules governing installation, certification and permitted equipment.
Timing and citation
The act comes into force on a day set by the Lieutenant Governor in Council rather than on royal assent or a fixed calendar date, giving the government discretion to stage implementation. The short title provision simply establishes the act’s common name but signals the government’s policy intent to create a province‑wide EV‑ready minimum for new homes.
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Explore this topic in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- New homeowners who plan to own an electric vehicle — they will face lower retrofit costs and reduced disruption because service capacity and a route for cabling will already be in place.
- Municipalities and planners — predictable baseline infrastructure reduces ad hoc variance in new home electrical readiness and simplifies local planning for EV adoption and curbside charging strategies.
- EV installers and electrical contractors — clearer prewiring standards standardize future installation work, reducing time on site and enabling faster, lower‑risk connections.
- Utilities and system planners — a province‑level standard allows for more reliable forecasting of aggregate residential demand growth and targeted capacity upgrades.
Who Bears the Cost
- Residential builders and developers — they must upgrade or spec 200A service panels, purchase and install conduit and outlet boxes, and implement sealing measures, all of which raise upfront construction costs and coordination needs.
- Homebuyers of new houses — builders are likely to pass unit‑level incremental costs through to buyers, increasing sticker price for even households that may not require EV charging immediately.
- Small and infill builders — firms working on constrained urban lots or on tight margins may face higher compliance costs and logistical challenges compared with larger-volume builders.
- Municipal building departments — plan reviewers and inspectors must incorporate the new technical checks into their workflows, potentially increasing administrative and inspection workload without guaranteed new resources.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is a trade‑off between establishing a consistent, province‑wide technical baseline that lowers the long‑term cost and friction of EV adoption, and imposing upfront, one‑size‑fits‑all costs and design requirements on builders and buyers that may be unnecessary in some contexts and administratively awkward to enforce.
The bill sets a uniform technical floor that simplifies later EV charger installs but leaves important details to interpretation and to other regulatory regimes. 'Minimum 200 amp panel board' is a blunt instrument: while 200A is a common baseline that supports Level 2 charging without major rework, some small homes or detached infill projects may never need that capacity and will nonetheless incur the cost. The specification of a 27 mm trade size conduit and a 4‑11/16 inch box is precise but relies on trade sizing conventions; builders and inspectors will need clear guidance about equivalent metric dimensions, acceptable conduit types (rigid vs. flexible), and what constitutes an adequate cable‑pulling means.
The safety requirement that the conduit and box provide an 'effective barrier' to gas and exhaust is sensible in principle but vague in practice: compliance will depend on acceptable sealing materials, inspection methods, and integration with garage ventilation and fire‑separation details. Enforcement is another unanswered point.
The bill makes the builder responsible, but municipalities implement the Building Code Act. Without accompanying guidance, checklists, or training, municipal inspectors could apply inconsistent standards or miss non‑compliant installs until a complaint or inspection triggers correction.
Finally, referencing section 86 of the Electrical Safety Code ties EVSE selection to existing electrical rules, but it also creates a two‑step compliance path — builders prepare the infrastructure while certified electricians and utilities still control final connection — which could produce coordination friction at handover.
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