Electrical · Service

Commercial electrical contractors — bid on a real scope

Written for whoever has to compare the bids: scope documents, what makes numbers non-comparable, work windows, prevailing wage, and the maintenance agreement that stops you buying emergencies.

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In short

What is commercial electrical service?

Commercial electrical work covers service and distribution equipment, three-phase power, lighting and controls, life-safety and emergency systems, and the fit-out work that follows every tenant change. The difference from residential is not the wiring — it is the procurement. Work is bought against a written scope, delivered inside operational windows that suit the building rather than the crew, and governed by a contract that says who carries the risk when something is found behind a wall.

Triggers

Signs you need commercial electrical service

A tenant improvement or fit-out where the existing distribution has to serve a use it was not designed for
Recurring nuisance trips, voltage complaints or equipment faults that nobody has ever traced to a root cause
Distribution equipment that is obsolete, unsupported, or for which replacement parts are no longer manufactured
A lighting retrofit driven by energy cost, a utility incentive programme, or a lease obligation
Adding load the service was never sized for: EV charging, kitchen equipment, server or network rooms, production machinery
No arc-flash study on file, no current one-line diagram, and nobody who can say what feeds what

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The job

How commercial electrical service actually works

Establish what you are actually buying against

The single largest cost driver in commercial electrical procurement is scope quality. A bid against a drawing set and a specification is comparable; a bid against a walkthrough and a conversation is a guess that will be corrected by change order. Where no design exists, buy the design first — from an engineer or a design-build contractor — and then bid the work.

Watch for: Three bids with a wide spread. That is almost never three views of the same job; it is three different interpretations of an ambiguous scope. Reconcile the assumptions before comparing the numbers.
Survey the existing conditions

Service size and available capacity, the age and support status of the distribution equipment, the accuracy of the one-line diagram, panel schedules that reflect reality, and whether an arc-flash study exists and is current. In older buildings the documentation is usually wrong, and finding that out during construction is expensive.

Watch for: Panel schedules taken at face value. In most commercial buildings they are a decade out of date, and a de-energisation planned from them takes down something nobody expected.
Agree the work window and the shutdown plan

Occupied buildings dictate when work happens: nights, weekends, phased areas, or short planned outages with an agreed restoration time. This drives labour cost more than almost anything else in the estimate, and it needs to be stated in the scope rather than discovered by the crew on their first shift.

Watch for: A day-rate bid on a job that can only be done at night. It will be the lowest number you receive and it will not survive contact with your tenants.
Confirm the labour and compliance position

Public work, and some private work, carries prevailing wage obligations that materially change the labour rate. Alongside that: licensing in the jurisdiction, insurance limits and additional-insured status, bonding where required, safety record, and any site induction or background requirements the building imposes.

Watch for: A bid that has not priced prevailing wage on a job that requires it. It is not a saving — it is a bid that has to be re-priced or a compliance problem later.
Closeout and the documents you keep

As-built drawings, updated one-line and panel schedules, an updated arc-flash study where equipment changed, warranty documentation, commissioning and test records, and the permit sign-off. These are what make the next project cheaper, and they are the first thing dropped when a job runs late.

Watch for: Retention released before closeout documents are delivered. It is the only leverage that reliably produces them.

Money

What does commercial electrical service cost?

Commercial work is priced by scope, access and hours rather than by any published rate. The variables that move it most are the work window, the labour classification, and how much of the existing installation has to be surveyed or corrected before new work can land. Bid at least three contractors against one written scope.

See the full commercial electrical service cost guide — by material, size and region →

Straight answer

When commercial electrical service is the wrong call

Everyone else ranking for this is paid when you say yes. Here's when you shouldn't.

You are bidding without a scope document. Bids against an undefined scope are not comparable and the low number will not hold. Spend on the scope first — it is the cheapest money in the project.
The problem is an equipment fault, not a distribution problem. A single machine tripping is often a machine issue, and a full electrical survey is an expensive way to reach that conclusion. Rule out the equipment first.
The landlord is responsible under the lease. Base building distribution, life-safety systems and service equipment are frequently the landlord's obligation. Read the lease before you fund work you are entitled to have done for you.
A retrofit is being justified on incentives you have not confirmed. Utility and efficiency programmes usually need pre-approval, specified equipment and post-installation verification. Confirm eligibility before you commit, because retroactive applications are rarely accepted.
You are close to a fit-out or relocation. Improvements made months before a tenant change or a move are frequently demolished by the incoming design. Defer and fold the work into the fit-out.

Before you sign

What to check when hiring for commercial electrical service

What written scope are you bidding, and what have you assumed where it is silent?

The assumptions are where bids differ. Get them listed, in writing, alongside the price.
Are you licensed in this jurisdiction, and can you meet our insurance and additional-insured requirements?

Verify rather than accept. Certificates should name your entity and match the limits your lease or contract requires.
Is prevailing wage applicable, and is it in this number?

A bid that has not priced it is not a lower bid, and finding out mid-project is a contract problem as well as a cost one.
What work window have you priced, and what shutdowns do you need?

The biggest single driver of both cost and tenant disruption. It must be explicit in the bid, not assumed.
Who is responsible for permits, inspections and utility coordination?

On any job touching the service, the utility sets the critical path and someone has to own it by name.
What are your change-order procedure and unit rates for unforeseen conditions?

Agree the mechanism and the rates before you need them. Afterwards you are negotiating from a hole in a wall.
What closeout documentation is included — as-builts, panel schedules, arc-flash update, test records?

This is what makes the next project cheaper. Name it in the contract and tie retention to it.

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Local pros

Commercial Electrical Service near you

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Related work

Often done at the same time

Panel Upgrade

Capacity for new equipment or EV charging

Electrical Inspection

Condition survey before you scope

Emergency Electrical Repair

Out-of-hours response

Generator Transfer Switch

Standby power for critical loads

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FAQ

Commercial Electrical Service — questions people ask

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Why do commercial electrical bids vary so widely?

Almost always because the scope is ambiguous and each contractor has priced a different interpretation of it. Common divergences: whether existing conditions are surveyed and corrected, whether the work is priced at straight time or at night and weekend rates, whether permits and engineering are included, and what has been assumed about access above ceilings and inside occupied areas. Before comparing numbers, ask each bidder to list their assumptions and their exclusions — the spread usually explains itself.

What is an arc-flash study and do we need one?

It is an engineering analysis of the incident energy present at your electrical equipment, used to determine safe working practices and the labelling applied to gear. Employers with staff or contractors working on or near energised equipment are generally expected to have this information available, and contractors will ask for it. It also becomes out of date when the service, the equipment or the upstream supply changes — so if you have had a distribution change since the last study, treat the study as stale.

Should we buy a preventive maintenance agreement?

It is worth pricing when the alternative is buying emergencies. Scheduled inspection, thermal imaging of distribution equipment, torque checks, and testing of emergency lighting and life-safety systems catch the failures that otherwise arrive out of hours at premium rates. Judge the agreement on what it actually includes — frequency, what is inspected, what reporting you receive and what response time is guaranteed — rather than on the monthly figure alone.

Who is responsible for electrical work in a leased space — us or the landlord?

It depends on the lease, and it is worth reading before you spend. Base building distribution, the service equipment and life-safety systems are commonly the landlord's responsibility, while everything downstream of the tenant panel is usually yours. Fit-out work is typically the tenant's, sometimes with an improvement allowance. Where the boundary is ambiguous — and it often is around the tenant panel — settle it in writing before the work starts rather than after the invoice.