Ask Habitat: How Do We Upgrade Our Electrical System? And Who Pays?

HABITAT ANSWERS: Judging from your description, chances are the problem is building-wide, especially if the original electrical system has not been replaced or upgraded in a long time, if ever. Upgrading the building's electrical system will increase the overall electrical capacity, giving residents the potential to use more electrical power, but only if the existing wiring in the individual units can handle it.

Many prewar buildings have only two or four circuits per apartment, which was more than adequate when the buildings were constructed. Modern-day electrical demands, however, often outstrip the capacity of older electrical configurations. Frequently blown fuses may be a sign that the existing setup in your apartment is not sufficient to handle your typical electrical usage.

Adding new circuits, and therefore more outlets, in your unit will reduce the load on existing circuits. In particular, you may want to consider dedicated circuits for heavy-duty appliances, such as air conditioners, dishwashers, dryers and the like. Such heavy-capacity circuits will help prevent overload and reduce the potential for electrical fires.

Electrical-Load Survey

The first step in determining what components need to be upgraded is for the co-op board  to conduct a survey of the building's electrical system to evaluate reported deficiencies and complaints and determine the condition, life expectancy and anticipated replacement cost of electrical components. The evaluation should entail a "load calculation" to determine how much additional capacity is required.

Sometimes, the demand for increased power is within the building's overall capacity, except for a few residents who have especially heavy usage. In such cases, the upgrade will be limited to bringing additional power to those individual apartments, usually through new risers.

Paying for It

Who pays for the cost of an electrical upgrade is determined by the reasons and extent of the upgrade. If the upgrade is driven by an overall shareholder demand for greater power, the co-op typically assumes the costs. Individual shareholders, however, are responsible for any costs associated with bringing additional power to their apartment service box because of special demands or extra-heavy usage.

After the upgrade, the co-op will have to decide how to charge for the additional electrical capacity. If each apartment has its own submeter, then the shareholder will pay the electrical charges directly to Con Ed or a submetering firm. If, however, the owners corporation is charging for electrical usage as part of the monthly maintenance fee, then it will have to determine how to apportion the costs to fairly reflect the different levels of usage among residents.

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Adapted from "Ask the Engineer: Electrical Upgrades" (Habitat, April 2003)