Resources - Greater Victoria

This page is regularly updated with information about programs and incentives from governments, utilities and other institutions available to properties within the Greater Victoria 2030 District.

BC Hydro

BC Hydro incentive and rebate programs vary by building type, energy consumption and region. A selection of programs available as of March 2021 is summarized in the table below. Get started by plugging your account number into the eligibility search tool to find programs that you’re eligible for.

Energy Storage Offer Up to 80% funding available for the purchase and installation of new battery systems to boost resilience.	Varies	/energy-storage-system-incentive
Self-Serve Incentive Program Large commercial customers apply for customized incentives for upgrades to lighting and compressed air systems between 40-300 horsepower. To qualify as a large commercial or industrial customer, each SIP application needs to focus on a single site that currently consumes 500,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) or more per year.	Up to 75% funding to a maximum of $1 million	/sip
Integrated Energy Audit For commercial customers with >2GWh parent level consumption. Combines energy efficiency, demand response, and low carbon electrification. Can include Load Displacement (solar PV).	Funding up to $50,000	/integrated-energy-audit
Integrated Energy Study Combines energy efficiency, demand response, and low carbon electrification. Currently accepted on a project-by-project basis.	Varies	/studies-audits
Demand Response for Business For commercial customers with 550MWh+ per year. This is a behavioral program required to shift/shed at least 5% of seasonal peak demand. Receive event notification 12 hours in advance.	5-year agreement	/large-demand-response
CleanBC Custom Lite & Express Custom lite (500-1,200 tCO2e lifetime threshold) • Study: up to $2,000 • Incentive: up to $72,000 • Commercial Express • Simple, smaller electrification opportunities with no energy study requirement	Up to $100,000	/incentives/cleanbc-custom-lite-program/
Business energy-saving incentives Upgrade lighting, HVAC system, refrigeration or mechanical systems and BC Hydro will provide funding to cover about 25% of the upfront costs (on average) through energy-saving incentives. Eligibility varies.	Varies	/business-incentives
Improve refrigeration system performance For systems that use more than one gigawatt-hour of electricity per year, for a 200 horsepower system that’s about 6,000 hours of operation.	Up to 75% of upgrade costs	/technologies-equipment/refrigeration
Lighting Incentives depend on energy use.	Up to 75% of upgrade costs	/technologies-equipment/lighting-systems
Fans and Pumps For systems that use more than one gigawatt-hour of electricity per year, for a 200 horsepower system that’s about 6,000 hours of operation.	Up to 75% of upgrade costs	/technologies-equipment/fans-pumps
Small Commercial Electrification Electrification, including HVAC, for small buildings.	Up to $100,000	/cleanbc-commercial-express-program/

Visit the BC Hydro website for more details. Programs are subject to change.

Fortis BC

Commercial Energy Assessment Program For small and medium-sized commercial and industrial customers to identify low- and no-cost energy conservation improvements.	No cost	/business/energy-assessment
Continuous Optimization Working with BC Hydro, the program offers no-cost* recommissioning consultations to large, commercial buildings to help you save energy and improve operations, without having to undertake a major capital investment.	No cost	/business/continuous-optimization
Commercial New Construction For Part 3 developments/new construction associated with the District, with rebates increasing with performance. Includes major retrofits. Major building renovations are defined as one of the following, all of which require a building permit and certified building plans by a licensed professional: Change of use and reconstruction of existing building space or space within; or Change Construction work of a nature requiring the building or space within to be out of service for at least 30 consecutive days; or Renovations that are worth at least 50% of the existing building’s value and impact the building envelope.	Up to $500,000 in capital Up to $15,000 in energy modelling	/commercial-new-construction-performance-incentives /cleanbc-commercial-new-construction-program/ (includes electrification bonus)
Air Curtains Installation of air curtains at entrances.	Up to $2,000	/business/air-curtain-rebates
Commercial Kitchens Rebates for installation of EnergySTAR appliances. Does not include ventilation.	Up to $2,000 per cooking equipment	/business/natural-gas-kitchen-equipment-rebates

More FortisBC rebates can be found here.

Other incentives and programs

Canadian Federal Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit A new refundable clean technology investment tax credit has been introduced. The credit is equal to 30% of the capital cost of eligible clean technology property that is acquired and that becomes available for use after March 27, 2023, and before 2034.	Varies.	/whats-new-corporations
Saanich Climate Action Tax Exemption (CATE) This program provides a tax holiday for projects that replace a fossil fuel mechanical system with an electric mechanical system for the building’s space heating and/or domestic hot water. For commercial buildings, the base incentive is calculated as 50% of Project Costs (after accounting other rebates) with a maximum exemption lasting three years. Residential buildings can get up to 100% of eligible project expenses and a 10 year exemption.	Varies.	/ClimateTaxExemption
Vancity Commercial Retrofit Financing Program Vancity can offer preferred pricing and terms for financing of building upgrades that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and are on a pathway to net-zero building. In addition to financing, there are limited spots available for Vancity members to receive retrofit development support that can include: initial assessment of building and capital plan, procuring energy studies in line with project objectives, developing a business case, supporting with project implementation, consultant management.	Varies	/financing/retrofit-financing-program/ greenbusiness@vancity.com
BOMA BC’s Decarbonization Accelerator Program Buildings, anywhere in BC, can receive one on one guidance – at ZERO cost to assess and identify opportunities to lower their building’s energy and carbon emissions.But that’s not all, each building will receive a decarbonization plan, a guided roadmap, free education and training sessions for building personnel, energy consumption tracking and benchmarking on ESPM.		/decarb-accelerator-program/
BOMA BC’s Deep Energy Retrofit Procurement Guide Buildings, anywhere in BC, can receive one on one guidance – at ZERO cost to assess and identify opportunities to lower their building’s energy and carbon emissions. But that’s not all, each building will receive a decarbonization plan, a guided roadmap, free education and training sessions for building personnel, energy consumption tracking and benchmarking on ESPM.		/deep-energy-retrofit-procurement-guide/
Toronto’s New Net-Zero Carbon Tool Our colleagues at the Toronto 2030 District have developed a Net-Zero Buildings Pathways Tool for building owners, building portfolio managers, policy-makers, and building-sector stakeholders. It is a free, easy-to-use, well designed, colour-coded workbook tool.	No cost	/Toronto-2030-District-Net-Zero-Buildings-Pathways-Tool-FINAL-Guide-and-Methodology-May-2024.pdf
CleanBC Commercial Program Three fuel switching and electrification programs, plus other programs for renovating commercial properties.	Varies based on program	www.betterbuildingsbc.ca
Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure program Percentage of project costs for installing charging infrastructure up to set amounts. Up to $5,000 per L2 charger Up to $75,000 per DC fast charger	Varies	energy-efficiency/transportation-alternative-fuels/zero-emission-vehicle-infrastructure-program/
Building Benchmark BC A free program that helps you monitor the energy and GHG data from your buildings and enables you to compare its performance against similar properties	Free program	www.buildingbenchmarkbc.ca