September 15, 2008

Health and Safety

Residential electrical work in British Columbia performed without permits

RICHARD GILBERT

staff writer

Contractors operating in the underground economy are undertaking more than one-third of all residential electrical installations in B.C.

Late last month, the BC Safety Authority (BCSA) released its fourth annual State of Safety Report 2007. According to the report, an increasing amount of work in B.C. is being done without a permit.

“A major concern detailed in the 2006 State of Safety Report was electrical work performed without a permit, and un-permitted work continued to be an issue in 2007,” said the report.

“Overall construction activity was very high throughout the province in 2007, leading to a shortage of licensed contractors available for electrical installation work.”

Stephen Hinde, provincial electrical safety manager with the BCSA, uses the term grey market to describe a market where a contractor sometimes operates illegally, and at other times legally.

He said there has been an increase in greymarket activity, due to a booming construction industry and a shortage of qualified electrical contractors.

This situation has created a problem for homeowners, who find it extremely difficult to find contractors to do work.

General contractors also need to be aware of this problem, when hiring subcontractors to do a small part of a job.

“Estimates of the size of the (black) market vary depending on who we talk to in the industry,” said Hinde. “We estimate that 30 to 80 per cent of the residential market is underground. At the 80 per cent end, it may be an isolated case in a geographic area that lacks contractors. East of the Fraser River, in places like Abbotsford and Chilliwack, 30 per cent of the work is done underground.”

Hindes estimates that about 14,200 electrical installations a year are done in B.C. without a permit. He calculates this figure by taking the 42,710 permits that were issued in B.C. for residential construction, and dividing that figure by 30 per cent or the lower end of the estimate of the size of the greymarket.

“There is nothing we can do about it unless it is brought to our attention, because the work is being done without our knowledge,” Hindes explained.

“We can’t control work we don’t know about. So, the only choice we have is to educate people to get involved with the safety system.”

According to Hindes, work done by large contractors and on large jobs is generally done above board with permits. On large jobs companies understand liability and like to do things correctly.

However, during the current construction boom in B.C. many of these good contractors are getting work on steady and lucrative jobs.

So, the number of contractors left to do small jobs, such as a home renovation, is reduced.

“The lack of contractors was particularly prevalent for residential renovation work, where we saw an increase in un-permitted work by unlicensed contractors or homeowners,” said the report. “The BC Safety Authority has worked hard to identify such work, and in the many cases where we found numerous deficiencies, owners were required to hire licensed contractors to correct the deficient work.”

Added to this problem is the fact that it often takes months or years to find a contractor to do the work, and they often charge exorbitant rates for a one or two day job. For many contractors, it is an inconvenience to take a small job, when they can work on a big project for a much longer period of time.

“Particularly, in residential and small commercial construction there is a tendency to do work yourself or start dealing with the handyman,” said Hinde. “Some are legal and do a good job, but a lot are into the grey market.”

The BC Safety Authority (BCSA) is responsible for the regulation and safety of electrical installations in residential, commercial and industrial sites throughout B.C., under the Safety Standards Act and the Electrical Safety Regulation.

The BCSA administers a licensing program for all electrical contractors and certifies representatives to inspect the work of electrical contractors.

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