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Commercial Switchboards and Tenancy Metering in Auckland: Capacity, Sub-Metering and Upgrades

  • 1 day ago
  • 3 min read

The main switchboard is the part of a commercial building nobody thinks about until it blocks something. A tenant wants to install equipment and there's no capacity. A building owner wants to charge tenants fairly and can't tell who used what. An insurer or a buyer asks when the board was last inspected and nobody knows. All three problems trace back to the same cupboard.

Need to know if your building has capacity for a new tenant or new equipment? Call 021 889 770 — one visit answers it.

How commercial distribution is arranged

Supply comes into a main switchboard, which distributes via submains to tenancy or floor boards, which feed the final circuits. Each layer has a rating, and the whole chain is only as capable as its weakest link. When someone says "there's no capacity", the real question is which layer — the incoming supply, the main board, or just the tenancy board. The answers have very different costs and timeframes: adding ways to a tenancy board is a small job; increasing the incoming supply involves the lines company and weeks of lead time.

Signs a commercial board needs attention

  • No spare ways, and circuits doubled up to fit in what past tenants added

  • Labelling that's out of date, handwritten, or simply wrong — dangerous in a fault, and a delay in every future job

  • Obsolete protective devices where replacements are no longer available

  • Heat, discolouration or a burning smell at terminations — stop and call the same day

  • Blocked access — stock, shelving or a tenant's storage in front of the board, which is both a safety and a compliance problem

  • No record of when it was last inspected or tested

Sub-metering: knowing who used what

In multi-tenanted buildings, power is often either bundled into outgoings and apportioned by floor area, or metered per tenancy. Floor area is simple and unfair — the cafe with the coolroom pays the same rate per square metre as the quiet office upstairs. Sub-metering measures actual consumption per tenancy, which makes recovery defensible, shows tenants what they're using, and quickly identifies the circuit that's quietly running all night. It's a common upgrade when a building changes hands or a lease is renegotiated. If you intend to on-charge metered power, check how your lease is worded and take advice on the billing arrangement — the metering is the easy part.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find out my building's spare capacity?

An assessment of the main switchboard, submains and existing load. We can also log actual demand over a period, which is far more useful than adding up nameplate ratings when you're deciding whether a supply upgrade is genuinely needed.

Can a switchboard be upgraded without shutting the building down?

Often it can be staged so outages are short and scheduled, floor by floor or tenancy by tenancy. Some work needs a full shutdown — planned for a weekend or overnight, with tenants notified well in advance.

Whose cost is a board upgrade — landlord or tenant?

Generally the main switchboard is the landlord's and tenancy boards belong with the fitout, but leases vary and an upgrade driven by one tenant's equipment is usually that tenant's cost. See who pays for the fitout electrical.

Find out what your building can carry

EWRB-registered electricians · Certificate of Compliance on every eligible job · Based in Remuera, servicing Auckland-wide

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