My condo building in downtown Toronto has a 60 amp panel — can I upgrade it or is that the building's decision?

In a condo, the answer is almost always: it's the building's decision, not yours — but there's more nuance to it than a flat no.

Your individual unit panel in a condo is fed from the building's common electrical infrastructure, which means any change to your panel capacity isn't just a matter of calling an electrician and swapping hardware. The building's electrical system was designed with a specific load allocation per unit, and your 60A panel reflects what the building's engineers determined each suite would receive when the building was constructed. Upgrading it unilaterally isn't something you can do without building management involvement — and in most cases, it isn't possible at all without a building-wide infrastructure upgrade.

Why the Building Controls This

Your 60A panel is fed by a riser cable running from the building's electrical room through the common areas to your suite. That riser cable is sized for 60A — you can't simply install a 100A or 200A panel in your unit and expect it to work, because the upstream wiring can't support the additional load. The building's main switchgear, transformer (if applicable), and metering infrastructure are all sized around the aggregate load of all units at their allocated amperage. Increasing one unit's allocation affects the whole system.

This is a common frustration for downtown Toronto condo owners, particularly in buildings constructed in the 1970s through 1990s when 60A per unit was considered adequate. At the time, a typical condo suite had a few lights, a refrigerator, a stove, and maybe a window air conditioner. Today, residents run dishwashers, in-suite laundry, multiple computers, large televisions, and increasingly want EV chargers — all on infrastructure that wasn't designed for it.

What You Can Actually Do

Your first step is to contact your property management office and request a meeting with the building's chief engineer or electrical contractor. Ask specifically: what is the maximum amperage allocation per unit, and has the building ever upgraded individual suite panels? Some newer or recently-renovated buildings have 100A allocations available even if your panel currently shows 60A — the upstream capacity may already exist.

If the building's infrastructure genuinely cannot support an upgrade, your options are more limited. You can optimize your existing 60A service by ensuring circuits are properly balanced and that high-draw appliances aren't running simultaneously. A licensed electrician can perform a load calculation on your suite to identify whether you're genuinely capacity-constrained or whether your panel is simply poorly organized — sometimes a 60A panel is adequate if circuits are properly distributed.

For EV charging specifically, many Toronto condo buildings are now pursuing building-wide EV infrastructure projects funded through condo reserve funds or government incentive programs. These projects involve upgrading the building's electrical room and installing dedicated EV circuits to parking spots with individual metering — this is the proper path, not a DIY panel upgrade. Raise it at your next AGM or with your condo board directly.

The ESA and Permit Reality

Even if your building management approves an upgrade, any panel work in your suite requires an ESA permit and must be performed by a licensed electrician. The electrician would need to coordinate with building management, the building's electrical contractor, and potentially Toronto Hydro. Expect the process to take weeks to months if an upgrade is genuinely feasible — it's not a one-day job.

Never hire an electrician to upgrade your condo panel without explicit written approval from building management. Beyond the technical impossibility in most cases, unauthorized electrical work in a condo violates your unit owner agreement, could result in the work being reversed at your expense, and creates serious liability issues if anything goes wrong.

If you're running into capacity issues and want a professional assessment of what's actually possible in your specific building, Toronto Electrical Repair can match you with a licensed electrician experienced in downtown Toronto condo electrical work. Browse local professionals through the Toronto Construction Network at torontoconstructionnetwork.com/directory?trade=electrical.