ABB’s Microlectric BP320 Series Meter Socket Now Available Throughout BC to Support Increasing Demand for Service Upgrades

July 17, 2025

By Blake Marchand

ABB’s Microlectric BP320-A Self-Contained Meter Socket is now available through distribution channels in BC. Launched in 2015, the BP320 is also certified by Hydro-Quebec for use in Quebec, as well as some areas in Atlantic Canada.

Initially, ABB was contacted by Hydro Quebec to develop a 320 A meter socket to meet the demand they were seeing for a bridge between the 200 A and 400 A service. Similarly, BC Hydro has been collaborating with ABB on addressing increasing electricity demand and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

The BC grid is largely renewable electricity, and the province is leaning into energy efficiency with their current Electrification Plan. They recently reaffirmed their commitment by launching two requests for expression of interest (RFEOF) to guide future planning around increasing renewable capacity and technologies that increase energy efficiency. Like with many provinces across the country, BC will use incentive programs for low-carbon electrification in residential and commercial buildings.

The target for BC Hydro’s Electrification Plan is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 900,000 tonnes per year from 2022 to 2026. A significant aspect of that is swapping gas powered furnaces for electric heat pumps and transitioning to more electric vehicles. While those measures are necessary to support electrification and reduce emissions, they can also add to the electrical load for residences.

Collaboration between manufacturing and utility sectors as well as industry and government, like ABB and BC Hydro in this instance, is key to the electrification transition because of the unique challenges the transition presents. Current trends suggest that electricity demand in residential areas is increasing with colder winters and hotter summers, the adoption of electric cars and home charging, the transition toward more electric heating and cooling, as well as things like heated pools, spas, and heated floors.

With the option for a 320 A meter base, when a service is maxed out for a residence, ABB Canada Product Manager, Chantal Fleury explained, “If you have an approved 320 A then, like for Quebec, you don’t need to have an electrical room – which takes about a 10-foot wall in in your basement usually, and across Canada they do have access to 400 A on their outside walls – but for the utilities it means test switches and transformers, which are electrical equipment that has been hard to get and are very costly to maintain, also.”

“When you have an upgrade to do on your service entrance, it’s quite easy to move from 200 A to a 320 A because you can keep your 200 A panel,” she said. Instead of replacing the panel, you can install a 100 A panel beside the existing panel.

“Faster, easier, and less costly for everybody,” noted ABB’s Priscilla Bergeron, on the 320 A option.

In the areas where the Microlectric 320 A meter base is approved, it is sold through the distribution channel. The meter socket is CSA approved and is Canadian Electrical Code compliant, but products/equipment need to be approved by the utility for use in that coverage area.

“Just for an example,” explained Fleury, “let’s say the one for Quebec has a neutral that is downsized, and like other areas in Canada [BC Hydro] wanted full neutral. So, we had to make design adjustments so that we would accommodate the full-size neutrals.

They provided us with their requirements: we designed, they approved – and then it’s up to them to publish the Bulletin that tells the electricians what to do with it, how to install.”

When a utility comes to ABB to design a product like this, Fleury said that the timing depends on the complexity of the design. When it comes to the design and manufacturing process, she said, “we’re very lucky because at ABB, Microlectric is designed here in Quebec, and it’s manufactured also in Quebec. All our meter sockets are manufactured here, so we have cross relationships, and we’re very close to utilities, also.”

What typically takes the most time is the certification process – the product needs to be approved by CSA.

Now, Fleury said they have six units that can meet the needs across Canada.

Microlectric BP320 Features & Installation

A key aspect of the trend toward 320 A meters is avoiding more costly upgrades compared to going with a 400 A service, which requires an external current stepdown transformer that is maintained by the utility. Transformers are increasingly difficult to source when it comes to lead times, due to demand and supply chain challenges. As Fleury explained, the homeowner avoids a more costly upgrade, and so does the utility.

320 A is the highest amperage that you can install on a meter socket before you need a transformer to step down the current. The Microlectric BP320 features a bypass mechanism that transfers the current so that the meter can be uninstalled safely without arching, while maintaining service. To ensure safety, a seal prevents access or tampering and unites the bypass mechanism cover and the meter sealing ring.

Safety and simple installation are key factors for ABB in the design.

“We always try to optimize the design,” Fleury noted, “because we know it’s important for the homeowner that has it on the wall and also the electrician that installs it.”

For flexibility, multiple hub locations at the top and knockouts at the bottom allow for multiple conductor configurations.

When you are upgrading from 200 A to 320A you are able to keep the original panel and install a 100 A panel beside it. Conductors are installed as you would with a 200 A service – there is no current transformer or test switch. On the line side, the wires from the grid to the meter socket need to be properly sized to support the upgrade.

Other notable features:

• Multiple EVs can be charged at one time.
• Underground and Overhead Installation
• A factory installed jumper plate maintains electrical services during installation.
• Lexan* protective shield covers all bus bars and connections and complies with CSA standard Z462 for electrical safety in the workplace.
• Optimized hub openings and knockout locations for built-in installation flexibility.
• Type 3R weatherproof enclosure.
• Bonding connectors accept conductors from 2 to 14 AWG.
• Grounding connector on neutral accepts conductors from 2/0 to 14 AWG.

(* Lexan is a registered trademark of SABIC Global Technologies B.V.)

Microlectric BP320-A Self-Contained Meter Socket

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