BC Hydro has eased the installation cost for laneway housing by permitting an overhead option from the house (or adjacent power pole) to the laneway house. In most cases, you can connect from the main house to the laneway house via an overhead connection. This will require a new panel at the laneway house and the meter/connection at the house may also need to be upgraded. The cost of this option will vary between $500 and $900. In some cases, an underground connection may be necessary to provide clearance above ground.
The cost to install a separate meter for a laneway house could cost between $2000 and $5000 from BC Hydro.
Fortunately in all cases, these costs are far from the $20,000 that was rumoured to be in the media awhile back.
As part of the building permit application process for a laneway house, the homeowner should arrange for a BC Hydro technician to perform a field review of the proposed connection and to provide a cost estimate. This could take up to six weeks and a $1000 deposit is required by BC Hydro.
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