Service mast and meter base in Ottawa: the outside wall your side owns

Three parts on the wall, two owners

An overhead service reaches the house in a chain. Hydro Ottawa’s wires run from the pole to the attachment point. From there the parts are yours: the mast (the pipe carrying the wires down the wall or up through the roof), the wires inside it, the meter base, and the wires on to your panel. The meter in the base is Hydro Ottawa’s, sealed, and removed only through Hydro Ottawa.

That split decides who pays. Damage on your side lands on your contractor’s quote; damage on the street side is Hydro Ottawa’s. Call (613) 738-6418 first so it can confirm which equipment is whose.

Wear that has nothing to do with a storm

Hydro Ottawa’s Conditions of Service make the owner responsible for a tight seal where the service enters the house, against water and animals. A base that rusts through or lets water in is your repair.

Ice is the Ottawa part. The same document says a service should sit where ice cannot build up across the wires or meter base, and Hydro Ottawa takes no responsibility for removing that ice or for its damage. A meter in a spot prone to ice needs protection against falling ice, typically an ice rack. Storm damage has its own page: storm damage.

Bent, creased or pulled off the wall

ESA’s guideline for utility crews sorts masts by damage. A steel mast that is broken or creased may hide damaged wires, so the crew leaves it bent and isolates the service. A mast bent without a crack may stay live for a while if the meter base inside is intact; so may a plastic conduit pulled apart with its wire insulation whole. Each case is reported to ESA, and the owner is told repairs are required. Say in your request which one you have, with a photo.

From your request to the power back on

A Licensed Electrical Contractor applies for an ESA permit, repairs your side and passes the inspection; then Hydro Ottawa books the reconnection. Someone must be home, with the main breaker off. Contractors may not tamper with Hydro Ottawa’s seals or wires without its approval: they file the permit and Hydro Ottawa isolates the service. After a temporary repair authorized by ESA, the permanent one must follow within 30 days. Half the house dark after the hit? See partial power outage.

When a repair turns into an upgrade

Under section 2.1.4 of Hydro Ottawa’s Conditions of Service, a job that needs an ESA permit and a Hydro Ottawa isolation brings non-standard setups up to standard: a meter inside the house, water in the service equipment, too little working room around the meter. Hydro Ottawa credits one isolation toward it. A side-wall standpipe and meter base go within 1.5 metres of the corner nearest the supply, and an overhead service tops out at 200 A. Weighing a size change too? Read 100 A or 200 A.

Siding and paint near the mast

For non-electrical work that needs no ESA permit, Hydro Ottawa isolates and re-energizes a service free once per property per rolling year, in business hours. Its examples: tree trimming, painting, siding and brick pointing. If the siding crew finds a cracked base, that part becomes permit work, so give both dates in your request.

What sets the price and what the quote lists

A Canada-wide HomeStars guide puts meter base or mast upgrades at $500–$1,500 and a full service upgrade at $3,000–$5,000. Ottawa electricians charge about $100–$160 an hour, and after-hours work runs 1.5 to 2 times that. The total moves with which parts failed, a wall or roof mast, any standard Hydro Ottawa triggers, and the hour.

The quote should split mast, meter base, wires to the panel, labour, the ESA fee and HST; Hydro Ottawa bills its own fee. Ontario requires a written agreement for work over $50, and an estimate may rise 10% at most without a signed change.

Who you are dealing with

Ottawa Electric Desk passes your request to one independent local electrical company. That company calls you back, plans the repair with ESA and Hydro Ottawa, and does the work on your side of the wall.