Commercial Electrical Services
Tenant improvements, small business fit-outs, service calls, and lighting retrofits for storefronts, offices, and light industrial spaces across the Fraser Valley.
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Our commercial electrical work is small and medium business scope — the kind of jobs where a single electrical contractor can handle the whole build without splitting between specialty subs. That covers tenant improvements when a business moves into a new lease space, small business fit-outs for storefronts and offices under about 5,000 square feet, service and maintenance for buildings already in operation, LED and smart lighting retrofits, and code-compliance upgrades driven by insurance renewals or a change of occupancy.
The work runs on tighter timelines than residential and has different permit paths. A commercial tenant improvement typically starts with a set of drawings from the landlord or the tenant's designer, gets stamped by an engineer for anything beyond standard commercial scope, and moves through a Technical Safety BC electrical permit alongside a municipal building permit. Inspections happen at rough-in and again at final trim, and the municipality's building department signs off on the overall CofO (Certificate of Occupancy) after the electrical inspector clears the electrical scope.
We work directly with the tenant, the landlord's property manager, or the general contractor depending on how the project is structured. About half of our commercial work runs through a GC who's already coordinating trades on the fit-out; the other half is direct to a business owner who's managing the build themselves. Either way we quote in writing before work starts, coordinate the permit and inspection schedule around the tenant's move-in deadline, and provide sign-off paperwork the tenant needs to open the doors.
Service and maintenance work on existing buildings runs differently. These are usually shorter callouts — a failing panel, a lighting circuit that keeps tripping, a code deficiency flagged during an insurance inspection, an outlet or fixture that needs replacement, or a small circuit addition for new equipment. We quote hourly rates for time-and-materials work and flat rates for scope-defined projects. Most service calls resolve in a single visit.
Every job includes
- Site walkthrough and load calculation from the tenant improvement drawings or existing conditions
- Rough-in wiring behind walls and ceilings, coordinated with the GC's framing and mechanical trades
- Lighting install (LED fixtures, controls, occupancy sensors, emergency and exit lighting per BC building code)
- Dedicated circuits for tenant equipment (POS systems, refrigeration, kitchen equipment, server racks)
- Panel work — either a new tenant panel or additions to an existing landlord-supplied panel
- Emergency and exit lighting per BC Building Code
- Technical Safety BC electrical permit pulled, inspection scheduled
- Coordination with the municipal building department for CofO sign-off
- Post-occupancy service and warranty work if issues surface after opening
Quoted per project — typical tenant improvements $8,000 to $35,000+
Commercial pricing varies more than residential because scope varies more. A small office tenant improvement (2,000 sq ft, standard lighting, a few dedicated circuits) usually lands in the $8,000 to $15,000 range. A restaurant fit-out with kitchen equipment, walk-in cooler, and specialty lighting runs $20,000 to $50,000+. Every commercial job gets a written quote after a walkthrough or drawing review — no ballpark pricing without seeing the scope.
Do you need a permit?
Commercial electrical work requires a Technical Safety BC electrical permit for the electrical scope, plus a municipal building permit for the overall build. The building permit is typically pulled by the landlord's designer or the general contractor as part of the tenant improvement paperwork; the electrical permit sits under our FSR license. We coordinate the rough-in and final electrical inspections with TSBC and time them to align with the municipal building inspector's schedule so the tenant's CofO isn't held up. For work driven by an insurance inspection or code-deficiency notice, we can pull the electrical permit as a standalone item and provide the sign-off paperwork the insurer needs.
Frequently asked
- Yes. Commercial tenant improvements (TIs) are a regular part of our work. Typical scope is a business moving into a new lease space and needing the electrical brought up to their operating requirements — new lighting layout, dedicated circuits for tenant equipment, sometimes a new tenant sub-panel. We coordinate with the landlord's property manager, the tenant's designer, and the municipal building department to get the space CofO-ready on the tenant's timeline.
- Yes, for spaces up to about 5,000 square feet in scope. Storefronts, small offices, salons, small restaurants, and light-industrial suites are our sweet spot. Above that scope we're happy to sub-contract under a larger commercial electrical contractor rather than take the lead on projects that need multiple electrical crews on site simultaneously.
- Yes. Ongoing service work — repairing a failing panel, replacing lighting fixtures, adding circuits for new equipment, fixing tripping breakers, or addressing a code deficiency flagged during an insurance inspection — is a significant part of our commercial work. Most service calls resolve in a single visit. We bill hourly for time-and-materials work; larger scope-defined projects get a flat-rate quote before work starts.
- Yes. Retrofits are one of the higher-ROI commercial projects because BC Hydro's Business Energy Advisor program often subsidizes part of the cost. Typical retrofit scope: replacing existing T12 or T8 fluorescent tube fixtures with LED equivalents, adding occupancy sensors in bathrooms and back-of-house, and installing daylight harvesting controls in areas with good natural light. We provide the paperwork the business needs to submit to BC Hydro for the rebate.
- For the electrical scope specifically: a small office TI is typically 3 to 5 days on-site plus a week of permit and inspection wait time. A restaurant fit-out with kitchen equipment is 7 to 12 days plus permit and inspection time. The overall project timeline (framing, mechanical, plumbing, drywall, paint, electrical, final building inspection) is usually 4 to 12 weeks depending on scope, and the electrical fits inside that. We coordinate closely with the GC so electrical doesn't hold up the CofO date.
- For scope that requires a P.Eng stamp — larger service upgrades, complex three-phase equipment, life-safety systems — we coordinate with a professional electrical engineer who provides the stamped drawings. The engineer designs, we build, TSBC inspects. This is common on restaurant, dental office, and light-manufacturing tenant improvements.
- Yes, with advance scheduling. Retail and restaurant clients often need work done overnight or on Sundays to avoid closing during business hours. After-hours commercial work carries a 25% premium on our standard hourly rates.
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Commercial Electrical across the Fraser Valley
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