BC Hydro Charging Incentives
BC Hydro is working with the Government of B.C. and FortisBC to offer provincial rebates for the purchase and installation of electric vehicle (EV) chargers to get homes and workplaces across B.C. ready for EVs. The EV charger rebate program came into effect on September 26, 2019 and funding was updated in April of 2021. The program is funded by the Government of B.C

Single family homes
Single-family homes can get a rebate of up to 50% of the purchase and installation costs of an eligible Level 2 EV charger, to a maximum of $350. This includes duplexes or townhouses with private garages or dedicated parking.

Apartment and condo buildings
There are two provincial rebate options to help apartment and condo buildings get ready to support EVs.

1. EV Ready rebates
   You can apply for these rebates together to streamline the EV-related upgrades to your building, or you could apply for them one at a time as your project progresses.

EV Ready plan rebate: A rebate of up to $3,000 for the creation of an EV Ready plan – a professional strategy for your building to make at least one parking space per residential unit EV Ready.

EV Ready infrastructure rebate: A rebate of up to $600 per parking space to install the electrical infrastructure required to implement your EV Ready plan, to a maximum of $80,000.

EV charger rebate: A rebate of up to $1,400 per charger to purchase and install Level 2 networked EV chargers to implement your building’s EV Ready plan, to a maximum of $14,000.

2. Standalone EV charger rebate
   EV charger rebate: A rebate of up to $2,000 per charger to purchase and install Level 2 networked EV chargers at your building’s residential parking spaces, to a maximum of $14,000.

Workplaces
Workplaces can get a rebate of up to $2,000 per charger to purchase and install eligible Level 2 networked EV chargers for employee use, to a maximum of $14,000. Pre-approval from BC Hydro is required prior to purchasing and/or installing chargers. Eligible workplace organizations can have separate applications for different locations, up to a maximum of four.

Please visit official website for most up-to-date info.

More information can be found online at the following link.

BC Scrap It Program
The Scrap It program is a voluntary early retirement vehicle program that provides incentives to help British Columbians replace higher polluting vehicles with cleaner forms of transportation.

The program offers up to $6,000 trade in incentive for qualifying new battery electrics, and $3,000 trade in incentive for qualifying used battery electric vehicles.

There are only a certain number of Scrap Its available in the market during the course of a calendar year. In 2021, there were 1,750 new EV incentives, and 250 used EV incentives available to BC residents.

“Scrap It tickets” are dealt out or assigned to individual dealerships in BC, and are connected / associated with the EV vehicles available. To get more information about this program and to see if your old vehicle qualifies as a Scrap It vehicle, check out the program details at the following link.

Clean Energy Vehicles for BC Incentive
The province of British Columbia has renewed funding for the Clean Energy Vehicle (CEVforBC) Point of Sale Incentive Program. The new program includes point-of-sale incentives for battery electric and some Plug in Hybrid Vehicles.

The program is managed by the New Car Dealers Association of BC, and offers up to $3,000 off the purchase price of a qualifying new battery electric, and $1,500 off the purchase of qualifying plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Effective June 22, 2019, vehicles with a MSRP of over $55,000 shall not be considered eligible for the incentive rebate.

More information can be found online at the following link.

Administered by Plug in BC with funding provided by the Province of British Columbia, the Specialty-Use Vehicle Incentive Program offers rebates between $50,000 and $100,000 depending on vehicle type. A variety of electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are eligible for the rebate. Vehicle categories include cargo e-bikes, motorcycles, low-speed vehicles, medium/heavy duty trucks and airport/ port vehicles.

More information can be found online at the following link.

Government of Canada Zero Emission Vehicle Program
The Government of Canada recently announced a Federal Electric Vehicle Purchase Incentive. Effective May 1, 2019, Transport Canada will provide an incentive for consumers who buy or lease an eligible ZEV.
This incentive is also administered by your new car dealer, so there is no additional application needed.

There are two levels of incentive:
Battery-electric and longer range plug-in hybrid vehicles are eligible for an incentive of $5,000
Shorter range plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are eligible for an incentive of $2,500.

Vehicles with a MSRP of over $55,000 shall not be considered eligible for the incentive rebate.

More information can be found online at the following link.

Canada’s ZEVIP Program
The Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP) is a 5-year $280 million program ending in 2024 and its objective is to address the lack of EV charging stations in Canada; one of the key barriers to ZEV adoption, by increasing the availability of localized charging opportunities where Canadians live, work, and play. This funding will be delivered through cost-sharing contribution agreements for eligible projects that will help meet the growing charging EV Charging demand.

The Request for Proposals (RFP) focusing on public places, on-street, multi-unit residential buildings, workplaces and light-duty vehicle fleets is now open until June 22, 2021 NRCan will target having funding decisions by October 2021.

NRCan’s contribution through this Program will be limited to fifty percent (50%) of Total Project Costs up to a maximum of five million dollars ($5,000,000) per project. The maximum funding per type of infrastructure is as follows:

EV Advisor Service for Strata and Workplaces
EV advisory services are available to Workplaces and Multi-unit residential buildings with shared parking garages in British Columbia. The EV Advisor can provide up to five hours of free advice to employers, staff, residents, or strata councils on:

• Charging incentives,
• Charging installation processes,
• User guidelines within stratas
• Workplaces,
• Benefits of acquiring chargers.

EV advisors can help walk you through the process of getting electric vehicle charging in your building by providing lunch & learn sessions, presentations at AGMs/SGMs, or webinars for decision makers. Detached houses, duplexes, rowhouses and townhouse units with individual private parking areas are not eligible for the EV Advisor service.

Go Electric Fleets Program
Funded by the Province and administered by Fraser Basin Council Society (FBC), the program supports fleets in British Columbia in their efforts toward deploying Zero-Emission vehicles by offering technical and financial support through:

• Resources and tools via the West Coast Electric Fleets Toolkit,
• Training sessions and webinars,
• Zero-emission Vehicle (ZEV) Fleet Advisor,
• Rebates for ZEV Fleet Assessment,
• Rebates for Facility Assessment,
• Rebates for Electrical Infrastructure,
• Rebates for the purchase and installation of charging stations.

Checklist – Setting Up Homeowner and Tenant Charging

Checklist – Strata Council and Property Manager Electric Vehcile Charging

For Local Governments – A Residential Electric Vehicle Charging Guide

EV Charging Guide

Level 1 Charging
Level 1 charging is the slowest form of charging, although it is quite versatile due to the ubiquity of 120V outlets. The Canadian Electrical Code requires a dedicated 120V 20A circuit for Electric Vehicle Charging.

Level 2 Charging
Level 2 charging is the most common type of public charging infrastructure in British Columbia. The charging rate is typically more than doubled as compared to Level 1 charging, due to a higher voltage (208V or 240V vs 120V) and higher amperage circuits (40A being the most common, vs 20A circuits for Level 1). Level 2 charging can be conducted on a non-networked (basic charging only) or networked basis. (higher functionality)

Networked stations are part of a charging network, connected via the internet, and can provide functions such as billing, access control, display screens for communication, advertising, and brand promotions. Networked stations typical have a higher costs and require annual networking fees ranging from $150-$380 per charging station.

Level 3 Charging (DC Fast Charging)
Level 3 or DC fast charging stations provide a high power DC current, generally 50kW up to 120 kW. These stations are found in public and commercial spaces and pass energy directly to the electric vehicle’s battery without using onboard AC/DC converter.

For more information on which level of EV charging is right for you, please refer to our EV charging guide.

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