What You Need to Know About the December 31, 2025 PCB End-Of-Use Deadline

Canada is tightening the phase-out of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). If you own or operate facilities with legacy electrical gear or other PCB-containing equipment, December 31, 2025 is a hard stop for many remaining uses. Here is a concise brief for asset owners, utilities, campuses, and industrial sites. 

Why It’s Happening 

PCBs are persistent, bioaccumulative toxicants that threaten human health and the environment. Canada is accelerating their elimination to align with CEPA policy and international commitments. 

What’s Changing 

Amendments published in the Canada Gazette set an end-of-use deadline of December 31, 2025 for specified PCB-containing equipment, particularly at electricity generation, transmission, and distribution facilities. These changes also clarify reporting expectations and align federal oversight with accelerated phase-out objectives. 

ECCC confirms that equipment covered by subsection 33(3) of the PCB Regulations must be taken out of service by December 31, 2025. Owners must file annual reports and keep records. The PCB Regulations under CEPA remain under the governing rules. 

Who Is Affected 

• Electric utilities and independent power producers: Transformers, capacitors, and certain legacy components at prescribed and non-prescribed locations. 

• Large campuses and industrial facilities: Older fluorescent lighting ballasts, motor capacitors, switchgear, and legacy oils. 

• Owners of long-stored PCB equipment or wastes: Storage time limits and destruction timelines still apply.  

Industry notices and compliance promotion bulletins have been circulating to remind owners about the 2025 deadline and associated planning needs.  

What Building Managers/Owners Must Do Now 

1. Take Inventory And Verify 

Locate all suspect equipment and fluids. Confirm PCB status via nameplate, maintenance records, or lab analysis where needed. Different thresholds apply (e.g., ≥50 mg/kg in many equipment categories). 

2. Decide: De-Energize, Replace, Or Remove 

For units caught by the 2025 end-of-use rule, set a replacement or decommissioning plan tied to outages and grid/production constraints. Pay attention to assets at generation, transmission, and distribution facilities targeted by the amendments. 

3. Book Destruction Capacity Early 

Downstream logistics (packaging, transport, destruction) can bottleneck near deadlines. Confirm your hazardous-waste carriers and high-temperature incineration or approved destruction slots now. Sector commentators have already flagged schedule risk as the date approaches.  

4. Meet Reporting And Record-Keeping Rules 

Prepare subsection 33(3) annual reports, maintain chain-of-custody records, and update site inventories as equipment is removed or destroyed. Keep documentation to demonstrate compliance during inspections.  

5. Manage Safety And Spill Risk 

Until removal, manage leak prevention, secondary containment, and emergency procedures. Immediate reporting is required for any releases; improper storage is an enforcement risk under the Regulations.  

A Strict Timeline 

Use after January 1, 2026 is prohibited for equipment captured by the 2025 end-of-use rule. Plan to be fully complete by December 31, 2025. If you suspect your building contains these hazardous materials, work quickly to schedule outages, order replacements, line up contractors, and book transport/destruction capacity.