Power flickers in my Richmond townhouse every evening, is the neighbour's EV charger to blame?

Power flickering every evening in a Richmond townhouse most likely points to a loose connection somewhere in your own electrical system, not your neighbour's EV charger. That said, the timing pattern is worth taking seriously, and the fix typically runs $200-$800 for a connection repair, rising to $3,500-$6,000 if the fault turns out to be a failing service or panel.

Why the Timing Feels Suspicious but Usually Isn't

Evening flickers are extremely common in Metro Vancouver because that is when households draw the most power simultaneously: ovens, dryers, dishwashers, electric baseboard heaters and, yes, EV chargers all ramp up between 5 and 9 pm. The increased load exposes loose or corroded connections that hold fine under light daytime use. A neighbour's Level 2 charger draws 24-48 amps on a dedicated circuit fed from their own panel and service, so it cannot directly cause a voltage drop in your unit. What it can do is contribute to a shared transformer being heavily loaded, but that would typically affect the whole street, not just your townhouse.

The more likely culprits, in order of probability, are a loose neutral connection at your in-suite panel, a corroded connection at the meter base or in the common electrical room, a failing breaker, or a loose connection at a heavily used outlet or appliance. Townhouses built in Richmond between the 1970s and 1990s sometimes have aluminum branch wiring, and aluminum connections loosen over time, especially under thermal cycling from repeated heavy loads. A warm, buzzing or discoloured panel face or outlet is a sign to stop using that circuit and call an electrician the same day.

Richmond is served by Technical Safety BC for electrical permits and inspections, not a municipal electrical department, so any repair work that goes beyond a like-for-like device swap will involve a Technical Safety BC permit. For a townhouse, you also need to be clear on what is in-suite versus common property. The wiring from the electrical room to your meter and panel is almost certainly strata common property, which means the strata corporation is responsible for it and any repair there requires strata council involvement before an electrician touches it.

What a proper diagnosis looks like: An electrician will start with a service call ($150-$300) and use a voltage logger or clamp meter to confirm whether the voltage is actually dropping or whether the flicker is a loose connection causing a momentary interruption. Those are different faults with different fixes. Ask the electrician to check the meter base connections, the main breaker, and any aluminum wiring terminations while they are there.

Before hiring, confirm the contractor holds a Technical Safety BC licence and that their FSR (Field Safety Representative) number is current. Ask whether the service call fee applies toward the repair if they find the fault on the first visit, and whether a permit is included if new work is needed. If the fault is in the common electrical room, loop in your strata council before authorizing any work.

Want quotes for this? Vancouver Electrical Repair can match you with local Richmond electricians for free.