Ottawa Electric Desk Start a work order

Breaker trips, outlet dead, lights flicker? Write it down, and a local electrician calls you.

Say what stopped working, in which room, and since when. We pass the request to one independent Ottawa electrical contracting company, and it calls you to book the visit and set the price.

CIRCUIT SLIP Nº ______

Top copy · to dispatch
When
Any phone format, an email, or both

By sending, you agree we share your request with one local company to contact you about this job.

In short

  1. 01Electricians in mid-size Canadian cities such as Ottawa typically bill $80–$130 an hour, with the first hour of a call at $100–$200 (HomeStars, 2026 guide).
  2. 02In Ontario, anyone you hire for electrical work in your home must be an electrical contracting business with a 7-digit ECRA/ESA licence number.
  3. 03Almost all electrical work must be reported to the Electrical Safety Authority with a notification of work, filed before the work starts.
  4. 04When the work passes ESA's check, ESA issues a Certificate of Acceptance. Ask for a copy for your insurer.
  5. 05Ontario requires a written agreement for home repair work worth more than $50.
An electrician in rubber insulated gloves tests an open residential breaker panel with a yellow multimeter; the panel is mounted on a plywood backboard on a concrete basement wall.

Typical ranges

JobAreaNotesTypical range
Electrician, hourly Ottawa Mid-size Canadian cities, Ottawa named; Canada-wide range is $80–$150 $80–$130/h
First hour of a service call Ottawa Canada-wide; covers travel and diagnosis $100–$200
Outlet replacement Ottawa Canada-wide installed cost $80–$200
New outlet near an existing circuit Ottawa Canada-wide; GFCI outlets in a similar range $150–$350
Breaker replacement Ottawa Canada-wide, per breaker, part and an hour of labour $130–$250
Ceiling light, existing box Ottawa Canada-wide; new wiring from the panel runs $300–$600 or more $100–$300

Source HomeStars, Electrician Hourly Rate in Canada: 2026 Guide, Canada-wide, updated 21.08.2026, seen 29.10.2026. Licence and notification rules: ESA, Finding the Right Contractor, Notifications and Inspections, Identifying an Unlicensed Electrical Contractor, seen 29.10.2026. Contracts: Ontario, guide for home renovation businesses, seen 29.10.2026.

What to ask before you book

  1. Q1What is your ECRA/ESA licence number, and is it on the estimate?
  2. Q2Is the first hour a flat call-out charge, and what do you bill after it?
  3. Q3Will you file the ESA notification for this job, and is the ESA fee in your price?
  4. Q4Do you bring common breakers and devices, or is a second trip likely?
  5. Q5Can I have the work, the parts and the total with HST in writing before you start?

Before the visit

  • Which outlets, switches or lights stopped working, room by room
  • A photo of the panel with the door open, and of the label inside the door
  • Breakers or fuses, and which breaker trips, if you know
  • What was running when it happened: a space heater, the microwave, the dryer
  • Year the house was built, and any renovation you know of
  • A clear metre in front of the panel

Write the slip the way an electrician reads it

Three lines tell an electrician most of the job before the visit:

  1. What stopped working. “Two outlets in the kitchen went dead after the kettle and toaster ran together.” “Lights in the upstairs hall flicker when the furnace starts.” “Bathroom fan hums and does not spin.”
  2. Where. Floor, room, which wall. Say if the basement is finished.
  3. What the panel shows. A tripped breaker that resets and trips again, a blown fuse, a GFCI outlet with its button popped. A photo of the panel label helps.

Mention a burning smell, a warm cover plate or a scorched outlet in the first line. Pick Today, This week or Flexible on the form.

The jobs, page by page

  • Panel and service upgrade: 100 A to 200 A, fuses to breakers, and the Hydro Ottawa steps that come with it.
  • EV charger: Level 2 at home, whether your panel can carry it, condo rules, and what rebates exist in October 2026.

Area pages: Orléans, Kanata, Barrhaven.

What sets the price

Most companies charge a first hour that covers the drive and the diagnosis, then bill by the hour. HomeStars’ 2026 guide lists $100–$200 for that first hour and $80–$130 an hour in mid-size cities such as Ottawa. Some add a flat trip fee, so ask if it is in the first hour or on top.

The bill grows with access: a circuit run through finished drywall takes longer than one in an open basement ceiling. After-hours calls run 1.5 to 2 times the daytime rate in the same guide. Group small jobs into one visit so you pay the first hour once.

Ontario requires a written agreement for repair work worth more than $50. If it carries an estimate, the final bill can go at most 10% above it unless you sign a change.

Who may do the work in your home

Ontario law is short on this point: if you hire someone for electrical work in your home, it must be a “Licensed Electrical Contractor” (LEC), a business with a 7-digit ECRA/ESA licence number. Certified electricians and master electricians cannot be hired directly; master electricians are employed by LECs.

ESA’s warning signs of an unlicensed outfit include a quote without a licence number or ESA fees, a discount for paying cash, a request that you buy the supplies, and the line “tell them you did the work yourself”. You can search any company in ESA’s Find a Contractor tool.

Permit, inspection, certificate

The Ontario Electrical Safety Code requires almost all electrical work to be reported to ESA through a notification of work, often called a permit. It is separate from a City building permit, and some jobs need both. ESA says the fee for many small residential jobs can be under $100.

Work has to be inspected before it is covered by drywall or insulation. When it passes, ESA issues a Certificate of Acceptance to whoever filed the notification. Ask the company for a copy; ESA calls it an important document for insurance and resale.

Who you are dealing with

Ottawa Electric Desk is a request service. We pass your circuit slip to one independent local electrical contracting company. That company calls you, prices the job and does the work.

Questions

01What does an electrician cost in Ottawa?

HomeStars’ 2026 guide puts electricians in mid-size cities such as Ottawa at $80–$130 an hour, with the first hour of a call at $100–$200. A breaker replacement runs $130–$250 and an outlet replacement $80–$200 Canada-wide. The company that calls you prices your job once it knows the details.

02How do I check that a company can legally do electrical work?

Ask for its 7-digit ECRA/ESA licence number. ESA says it should be on the vehicle, the business card and the estimate. Then search the company in ESA’s Find a Contractor tool before the work starts.

03Who files the ESA permit for the job?

The person or business doing the work files the notification of work with ESA, before the work starts. ESA lists a contractor asking you to file it in your own name as a red flag for unlicensed work.

04Can a handyman swap my light fixture?

ESA says general handymen and other service providers cannot do electrical work unless they hold an ECRA/ESA licence number. ESA also expects a notification even for jobs that look small, such as pot lights.

05What if the company cannot take my job?

We ask you before passing the request to another company. Your details go to one company at a time.