Tenant improvement projects go sideways in predictable ways, and electrical is near the top of the list. A business owner signs a lease on a suite in Temecula or Murrieta, budgets for flooring, paint, and signage, and then learns that the existing service will not carry the equipment they are installing. That discovery in week three of a build-out is expensive. In week one of lease negotiation, it is leverage.
Step One: Find Out What Power the Suite Actually Has
Before you sign anything, get three numbers: the service size in amps, the voltage and phase configuration, and how much of that capacity is already committed to existing loads and other tenants.
Older retail and office suites in the valley are frequently 120/208V three-phase, but plenty of small suites are single-phase. If your equipment needs three-phase power and the suite does not have it, you are looking at either a utility service change or a phase converter — neither of which is a line item anyone budgeted for. We handle single-phase and three-phase work and can tell you quickly which situation you are in.
Step Two: Do a Real Load Calculation for Your Equipment
List everything that plugs in or hard-wires: HVAC, water heater, compressors, ovens, refrigeration, POS terminals, server rack, EV chargers if you are offering them, and the lighting you plan to install. A licensed electrician turns that list into a connected load and a demand load, and compares it against available capacity.
Restaurants, salons, med spas, dental offices, and light manufacturing are the usual suspects for exceeding an existing service. Professional offices rarely are — until someone adds a server room with its own cooling.
The Line Items That Surprise People
- Panel and distribution. A new or upsized panel and feeder is common in TI work. Commercial panel installation is rarely the biggest cost but is almost always on the critical path, because it drives inspection scheduling.
- Transformers. If you need 120/208V from a 277/480V service, you need a dry-type transformer and the space, clearances, and ventilation it requires. Transformer installation is a line item many TI budgets omit entirely.
- Title 24 lighting compliance. California's energy code requires specific lighting power densities, plus occupancy sensing, daylight zone controls, and multi-level dimming for most commercial spaces. Reusing the old troffers is usually not an option. Plan for a compliant office lighting or indoor lighting package.
- Low voltage and data. Cat6 cabling, access control, cameras, and AV all need pathways coordinated before ceilings close. Running it after drywall costs multiples of running it during.
- Emergency and exit lighting. Code-required, inspected, and frequently forgotten until the final walkthrough.
- Existing code violations. Pulling a permit on a 1990s suite often surfaces conditions that must be corrected as part of the work. Budget a contingency for code corrections.
Negotiate the TI Allowance With the Scope in Hand
Landlords in the Temecula Valley routinely offer a TI allowance expressed in dollars per square foot. That number is negotiable, and it is far more negotiable when you can show the landlord a specific electrical scope with real costs rather than a general request for more money.
Two things worth pushing for: have the landlord cover base-building items — service capacity, main distribution, anything that stays with the suite forever — and get clarity in writing on who owns the equipment at lease end.
Permits and Timeline
Commercial TI permits take longer than residential. Plan on plan check with the city building department, which in Temecula and Murrieta commonly runs two to six weeks depending on scope and workload, plus corrections cycles. Health department review adds time for food service. Build the permit timeline into your lease commencement negotiation — paying rent on a suite you cannot occupy is the most avoidable cost in this whole process.
Where Owners Save Real Money
- Get the electrician in during lease negotiation, not after signing. A one-hour site walk can change a lease term.
- Design the lighting package once, correctly. Title 24 rework after inspection is pure waste.
- Overbuild pathways, not equipment. Empty conduit and extra data drops are cheap now and expensive later.
- Check SCE commercial incentives. Lighting and HVAC controls often qualify for rebates that offset a meaningful share of the upgrade.
Get a Scope Before You Sign
Westek Electric Corp. has been doing commercial electrical work in Riverside County since 2010, from single retail suites to full new construction. If you are evaluating a space in Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, or Wildomar, call (909) 996-6678 and we will walk it with you before you commit.