The Customer Build Program offers land developers an attractive alternative to having the utility design and build BC Hydro infrastructure. Primary manages the design and construction of this critical infrastructure to ensure that the power is available when our clients need it.

Through a BC Hydro pilot program initiated in late 2008, Primary became the major company supporting BC Hydro in its development of the Customer Build Program. The pilot program was successfully completed in 2010, with full implementation on Vancouver Island in 2011 and in the Lower Mainland in 2012.

While many competitors operate in our fair and open market economy, Primary has been able to attract and maintain a majority share of land development activity in the areas the program operates by continually providing superior quality service, safety and customer support.

Primary helped FortisBC establish the Customer Design Build Program and has proudly served the land development community in the BC interior since 2009. Land developers working on projects of all sizes and scopes have the opportunity to work with us to coordinate, design and construct all aspects of shallow utility site servicing.

Schedule is a significant driver in land development and our team is nimble and flexible. Whether at the planning stages or in the midst of construction, our responsive service and experienced staff have you covered.

In 2008, ENMAX Power Corporation (EPC) implemented a program called “Developer Choice” in their Calgary service territory. The program was implemented to give developers more choice and control over the installation of EPC electric utility infrastructure for their projects.

Primary Engineering and Construction is proud to be one of the original Developer Choice service providers and is the service provider with the most experience. Primary has been a service provider of EPC’s since 2002 and this familiarity with their design and construction standards and specifications and extensive experience in the market makes Primary the perfect service provider for your Developer Choice project. Primary has a long history of relationships with all utilities and municipalities in the service area and has efficient coordination protocols to deliver your project.

Primary’s Developer Choice objectives are to:

• Prioritize safety in the design of each project
• Minimize cost through optimization of the design and construction
• Control the schedule by using integrated construction resources
• Obtain the highest degree of quality through careful and diligent planning
• Provide commercial and residential four party design and construction. Installing power, gas, telephone and cable in a common trench. ENMAX, Fortis Alberta, ATCO Electric, ATCO Gas, Telus, and Shaw being the main utility providers we work with to provide developers with a one-stop shallow utility solution.
• Complete all aspects of onsite construction. Once construction completes the civil portion of a project, it is followed by a trades crew that pulls cable, completes terminations and performs outages if needed. Trades crews can also perform greenfield overhead construction including installing poles.
• Design and construct large, complex projects relying on years of experience.

Primary provides design build services for commercial & residential EPCOR serviced sites.

Each project receives Primary’s dedication to quality, communication and customer service regardless of scale or size. Our goal is to ensure that your project is delivered seamlessly without roadblocks. Active and effective engagement with all stakeholders is our priority and will ensure deliverables are met.

Primary has been a key provider of both Fortis’s Commercial Duct/Pads/Grounding Turnkey Process as well as the Residential Program for many years. Involvement in these programs, using our internal design and construction teams, has been predominately in the Southern Alberta development community. In 2020, Primary made significant strides to provide Northern Alberta with the same service offering and support and is working to establish a foothold in the community. Leveraging strong utility relationships that have been built through traditional contract models, as well as a growing contingent of land development clients, has enabled Primary to become a strong leader for shallow utility consulting services in Alberta.
Each project receives Primary’s dedication to quality, communication and customer service regardless of scale or size. Our goal is to ensure that your project is delivered seamlessly without roadblocks. Active and effective engagement with all stakeholders is our priority and will ensure deliverables are met.

Since the inception of the Saskatchewan Turnkey Program in 2013, Primary has been involved at the grassroots level, offering program modelling and piloting projects to help the Crowns develop the 4-Party Turnkey Program. Supporting SaskPower, SaskTel, SaskEnergy, Shaw and Access Communications during this growth period has enabled Primary to establish a strong presence in Saskatchewan. Roadway lighting has also been a value-added service we are able to offer. Primary has successfully completed over 4,000 residential lots since the start of the program in 2013 in Regina, Saskatoon and surrounding areas.

Some of the benefits of the Saskatchewan Turnkey program are:

• Gives subdivision developers more control over their schedules
• Provides timely, cost-effective and coordinated service to residential customers
• Organizes power, gas, telephone and cable line installations in a common trench with a reduced footprint
• Provides effective construction coordination with deep utilities and road contractors

Primary takes pride in being the experts in shallow utility design to residential developers in Saskatchewan.

A pioneer of design-build utility programs in Western Canada, Primary is paving the way in Manitoba with turnkey delivery of shallow servicing of new subdivisions. With our integrated engineering, construction, material procurement and project management experience, we have helped land developers bring new residential lots to market quickly and efficiently.

Primary has delivered the first projects under this new program. Primary was responsible for full turnkey delivery of the joint-use underground residential distribution (URD), including electric, natural gas and street lighting, as well as coordination with communication utilities.