Interpretation

1  In this regulation:

"Act" means the Electrical Safety Act;

"accredited representative" means an individual who holds a valid accredited representative certificate issued under section 8 of the Electrical Safety Regulation;

"annual permit" means a permit issued under section 26 of the Electrical Safety Regulation;

"branch" means the Electrical Safety Branch of the ministry responsible for the Act;

"campus area" means the grounds and buildings of a university or college;

"electrical installation" has the same meaning as in the B.C. Electrical Code Regulation;

"electrical installation value" means the actual cost, verifiable by contracts or invoices, of electrical work, but does not include the cost of utilization equipment;

"kVA" means kilovolt amperes;

"operating permit" means a permit issued under section 27 of the Electrical Safety Regulation;

"registered electrical contractor" means a person registered in accordance with section 6 of the Electrical Safety Regulation;

"registered representative" means an individual who is registered with the branch under section 10 of the Electrical Safety Regulation;

"regular permit" means a permit issued in accordance with section 22 of the Electrical Safety Regulation;

"regulatory authority" means the chief inspector or a municipality that has the authority to inspect electrical work and which maintains an electrical inspection service;

"school district" means a group of schools, within a geographic location, administered by a school board;

"site" means the address where an electrical installation is located;

"supplementary permit" means a permit issued in accordance with section 23 of the Electrical Safety Regulation;

"survey permit" means a permit issued in accordance with section 24 of the Electrical Safety Regulation;

"temporary entertainment permit" means a permit issued in accordance with section 25 of the Electrical Safety Regulation;

"utility permit" means a permit issued in accordance with section 28 of the Electrical Safety Regulation;

"utilization equipment" has the same meaning as in the B.C. Electrical Code Regulation;

"worker qualification certificate" means a certificate issued in accordance with section 11 of the Electrical Safety Regulation.

 Fees

2  (1)  Except in the case of fees established by a municipal regulatory authority, fees payable under the Act and regulations are payable to the Minister of Finance and Corporate Relations.

(2)  Fees payable to a municipal regulatory authority are not governed by this regulation.

(3)  If a permit results in services being provided outside of the regular working hours of the branch, a 50% surcharge will be applied in addition to the fees otherwise payable.

(4)  Fees payable under this regulation will be rounded off to the nearest dollar as follows:

(a) amounts ending in 1¢ to 49¢ are rounded down;

(b) amounts ending in 50¢ to 99¢ are rounded up.

 Hourly fee

3  Despite any provision of this regulation that prescribes a fee, if the fee does not cover the cost of the services provided, including travel and administration time, a fee of $84 for each hour, or part of an hour, applies.

[am. B.C. Regs. 120/97, s. 1; 81/98, s. 1; 78/99, s. 1.]

 Electrical contractor registration

4  The annual fee payable for registration as a registered electrical contractor is $107.

[am. B.C. Regs. 120/97, s. 2; 81/98, s. 2; 78/99, s. 2.]

 Electrical qualification certificate examination

5  (1)  The fee payable for an application for examination to obtain a qualification certificate is as follows:

(a) accredited representative certificate of qualification, class "A", $85;

(b) accredited representative certificate of qualification, class "B", $80;

(c) accredited representative certificate of qualification, class "C", $74;

(d) accredited representative certificate of qualification, class "R" ("Restricted"), $71;

(e) electrical worker qualification certificate, $71;

(f) electrical inspector certificate of qualification, $71.

(2)  A fee payable under this section is not refundable.

[am. B.C. Regs. 120/97, s. 3; 81/98, s. 3; 78/99, s. 3.]

 Electrical registered representative registration

6  The fee payable for registration as a registered representative is $21.

[am. B.C. Reg. 120/97, s. 4.]

 Replacement cards and certificates

7  (1)  The fee payable to replace a registration card is $21.

(2)  The fee payable to replace a qualification certificate is $74.

[am. B.C. Regs. 120/97, s. 5; 81/98, s. 4.]

 Regular permits

8  (1)  The fee payable for a regular permit issued to a registered electrical contractor is based on the installation value of all electrical materials and labour, but does not include the cost of any utilization equipment.

(2)  The fee payable for a regular permit issued to the registered owner of a residential dwelling is based on a deemed installation value of two times the cost of materials, but does not include the cost of any utilization equipment.

(3)  No single item of material is considered to have an electrical installation value of more than $11 000.

(4)  If the electrical installation value has been falsely declared in the application so as to result in a fee that is less than the fee otherwise payable, a penalty equal to the fee properly payable will be assessed in addition to the outstanding fees.

(5)  If an inspector finds that electrical work has been done by a person without the required permit, a regular permit must be obtained by the person for that work and a penalty equal to the fee properly payable will be assessed.

(6)  The fee for a regular permit does not include the fees for a service required as a result of a violation of the Act or regulations and for which a supplementary permit is required.

(7)  For a regular permit, the fee payable for a matter itemized in Column 1 of Table 1 is the fee set out opposite in Column 2.

[am. B.C. Regs. 81/98, s. 5; 78/99, s. 4.]

 Supplementary permits

9  (1)  The fee payable for a supplementary permit is the same as for a regular permit under section 8, except as prescribed in subsections (2) and (3).

(2)  If a supplementary permit is issued for electrical work additional to that declared in an application for a regular permit, the supplementary permit fee payable is the difference between the fee already paid and the revised total electrical installation value under section 8 (7).

(3)  If a supplementary permit is issued under section 23 of the Electrical Safety Regulation, the fee payable for the supplementary permit is $36.

[am. B.C. Regs. 120/97, s. 6; 78/99, s. 5.]

 Temporary entertainment permits

10  The fee payable for a temporary entertainment permit is $84.

[am. B.C. Regs. 120/97, s. 7; 81/98, s. 6; 78/99, s. 6.]

 Annual permits

11  For an annual permit, the fee payable for a matter itemized in Column 1 of Table 2 is the fee set out opposite in Column 2.

[am. B.C. Regs. 81/98, s. 7; 78/99, s. 7.]

 Operating permits

12  The fee payable for an operating permit is $84.

[am. B.C. Regs. 120/97, s. 9; 81/98, s. 8; 78/99, s. 8.]

 Utility permits

13  (1)  Electrical utility permit applications must not be combined with other fees.

(2)  For a utility that supplies electricity, the annual fee payable for a utility permit is $239 plus 6¢ for each kVA of connected supply capacity, to a maximum of $262 192.

(3)  For the purpose of subsection (1), if the connected supply capacity in the year previous to the application exceeded the peak demand, the peak demand may, at the option of the utility, be substituted for the connected supply capacity.

(4)  For a communication utility, the annual fee payable for a utility permit is $119 plus 1¢ for each billing customer, to a maximum of $23 876.

[am. B.C. Regs. 120/97, s. 10; 81/98, s. 9; 78/99, s. 9.]

 Survey permits or other permits

14  The fee payable for a survey permit or a permit not otherwise prescribed under this regulation is as follows:

(a) for a residential dwelling, $36;

(b) for other than a residential dwelling, $84 per hour.

[am. B.C. Regs. 120/97, s. 11; 81/98, s. 10; 78/99, s. 10.]

 Electrical equipment approval

15  (1)  The fee payable for a special inspection (SI) of electrical equipment, including an administrative charge and initial inspection charge for the first hour, is $159 plus $105 per hour for each additional hour or part of an hour.

(2)  The fee payable for the initial registration of a single conductor cord set is $84 plus a label recovery charge of $6 per cord set.

(3)  A minimum charge of $480, based on $6 per cord set, applies under subsection (2) if fewer than 80 cord sets or 160 labels are requested.

(4)  An applicant for single conductor cord set acceptance may, after paying the initial registration fee, elect to apply either subsection (2) or (3) to subsequent permits.

[am. B.C. Regs. 120/97, s. 12; 81/98, s. 11; 78/99, s. 11.]

 Refunds

16  (1)  No refund of any fee paid will be issued unless expressly authorized by the chief inspector.

(2)  The fee paid for a permit is not refundable if the permit

(a) is cancelled,

(b) was obtained as a result of a false statement made on the application, or

(c) has expired.

(3)  The fee paid for a special inspection (SI) application is not refundable.

(4)  Subject to this section, a partial refund of the fee paid for a permit may be issued where a permit has been issued but no inspection of work authorized by it has been made, nor any approval granted, or in a case where the permit holder has abandoned the work before its completion and one or more inspections have been made.

(5)  A refund issued under subsection (4) must be calculated by subtracting from the fee paid for the permit the sum of

(a) $84 for each inspection made under the permit, and

(b) a refund processing charge of $36.

(6)  Despite subsection (4), a full refund without deduction may be issued to correct a clerical error made by the branch.

[am. B.C. Regs. 120/97, s. 13; 81/98, s. 12; 78/99, s. 12.]

 Transaction fee

17  For permits issued under sections 8, 9 and 14, in addition to the fees indicated in those provisions,

(a) an additional operator fee of $1.50, plus any G.S.T. applicable to the operator fee, is payable for any permit obtained by electronic means from a location outside a government office or at a government office by a person who is not a government employee, or

(b) an additional fee of $2.00 is payable for any permit issued by a government employee in a government office or by an agent of the government specifically authorized to issue permits on behalf of the government.

[en. B.C. Reg. 132/99, s. 3.]