Our circuit breaker panels must be inspected and certified to satisfy our insurance carrier for the current year and hopefully renew our earthquake insurance policy next year. Therefore, the Board of Directors is issuing an Emergency Resolution for the following reasons:
1. Most of our 50-year-old plus units contain their original Square-D circuit breakers. Normally, circuit breakers are guaranteed to last for 20 to 40 years and ours are well beyond that. It’s time to replace the circuit breakers for the safety of our entire community.
2. Instead of homeowners independently obtaining bids for this work, we have found a bonded commercial electrical company willing to give the community a bargain rate for the entire community much cheaper than hiring our own contractors.
Homeowners will have the option to replace their entire electrical panel at a moderately increased cost. Each owner will be billed back for the work that was completed on their electrical panel. There is no one-size-fits-all assessment because that would be unfair.
A separate fee includes conducting an electrical load-bearing test and issuing a certificate of compliance for the successful test.
The contract with JPR Electrical is still in the process of being reviewed by our legal counsel. Also, efforts are underway to finalize the Resolution.
JPR Electrical is managing the project, and they will be contacting the individual homeowners to arrange scheduling for circuit breaker panel work and electrical load bearing teasts. They are hoping to begin work in early October.
Why is this necessary?
During the August Board meeting, the Cherrywood Board of Directors adopted a resolution for the safety of our community and to satisfy a requirement from our insurance company. The Board will hire JRP Electric to: 1) Perform electrical panel inspections, and repairs; 2) Execute electrical system load-bearing tests; and 3) Provide Certificates of Inspection for all 98 units. This project is essential because our insurance company at present requires the Certificates of Inspection. This demand must be satisfied for our current policy, renewal next year, and to assure the homeowners that our 50-plus-year-old homes are safe. If your home’s electrical system has been recently upgraded you may produce a Certificate of Inspection signed by a certified electrician. If the insurance company rejects the non-JRP Certificate, then you will be required to obtain one from JRP.
How do we pay for this project?
The projected cost for the project is $210k, which will be borrowed from our reserve funds. The expectation is that all homeowners will pay their portion of the project based on services provided. The price will range from a minimum of around $550 for testing plus Certificate of Inspection to an additional charge for replacement of all circuit breakers, all the way to a complete replacement of the electrical panel. Homeowners will have the option to upgrade their electrical panels for an additional cost.
What is the schedule?
After the contract has been signed, JRP will establish a work schedule that will be immediately shared with the homeowners. Notice to Access will be served by the Board to all homeowners to allow JRP on all patios to perform the work.
The circuit breakers for our 50-year-old homes need to be certified safe for our community to continue to obtain property insurance. We discussed this issue during our July HOA meeting with our insurance broker. Even now, our insurance company is awaiting documentation from a certified electrician proving that all circuit breakers for our 98 homes have been inspected and are safe.
We were able to obtain property insurance for our 26 buildings this year, but there is no guarantee that we will be able to obtain coverage next year. Our insurance broker has requested, on behalf of our insurance company, that we obtain Certificates of Inspection for our electrical circuit breakers by the end of the year for all homes in our community.
Over the years, we all have most likely increased electrical demands in our homes, so we are recommending at the very minimum that all units undergo electrical load-bearing tests and replace any deficient individual circuit breakers to keep our homes as safe as possible.
The April newsletter made it clear that homeowners are responsible for the safe operation of electrical systems in their homes, and that every unit must be inspected by a certified electrician to ensure compliance with the City of Sunnyvale’s electrical systems code. There is still a major concern that our HOA might be denied insurance simply because of the age of our supposedly safe circuit breakers.
The Board has chosen a preferred electrical contractor in order to obtain a group discount on circuit breakers. Many homes have upgraded electrical systems already and will only need to be inspected.
The Board is still working out details for a circuit breaker inspection and replacement plan. Details will be passed along when we know more.
As a requirement to obtain insurance this year, we had a licensed electrician inspect a handful of units. There was a major concern that our aged circuit breakers might be on the list of brands known to be defective. Our original Square D panels were considered acceptable by the electricians.
Homeowners are responsible for the safe operation of electrical systems in their homes, so every unit must be inspected by a certified electrician to ensure compliance with City of Sunnyvale electrical systems code. Most upgraded electrical systems in our community have an additional circuit breaker to safely bear the load of today’s electrical demands. Please make sure your home is safe and get your circuit breaker inspected by a certified electrician.
Also, please bear in mind that we will not be able to get an affordable insurance rate for our community next year unless we have full compliance by December 31, 2025. Without compliance our insurance costs can easily double or triple as has been the case with other HOAs in similar situations. Again: Please get your circuit breakers checked!
While attempting to obtain insurance for 2025-2026 our carrier, Arden Insurance Services, made the following recommendation:
“The building is of an age that the electrical system may not be suitable for modern load and current demands. To reduce the risk of an electrical system related fire, hire a qualified and licensed electrician to inspect the buildings electrical system and make the appropriate upgrades and repairs.”
In accordance with the Association’s CC&Rs under Exhibit C, “Maintenance Duties – Owners of the Units are responsible for the Maintenance, Repair and Replacement of the Electrical Lines, Circuit Breakers, and Subpanels solely servicing such Unit (although located outside such Unit).”
The Board is requesting that all homeowners hire a licensed electrician to check their circuit breakers and subpanels to ensure that they are indeed safe. Here is a list of older circuit breakers that are considered unsafe and may not meet current electrical safety standards (although this is not a complete list and may not include recalled panels):
· Federal Pacific
· Stab Lok
· Zinsco
· Challenger
· Sylvania
· Pushmatic
· Trumbull
Please let Dan, our CMS Property Manager, know if you have already upgraded your electrical panel(s). If you have not done so, the Board is strongly urging homeowners to upgrade their electrical panels before the end of the year. Otherwise, our community might find it impossible to obtain insurance for 2026-2027.