The shape of the program
BC Hydro's EV Ready rebates offer a maximum of $137,000 per apartment, condo, or townhome complex, split across three stages that are claimed in sequence:
- EV Ready Plan rebate — up to 75% of the cost of creating the plan, to a $3,000 maximum;
- EV Ready infrastructure rebate — up to 50% of infrastructure and installation cost, to $600 per parking stall and a $120,000 project maximum (requires having received the plan rebate first); and
- EV charger rebate — up to 50% of eligible charger purchase and installation costs. Chargers added through the EV Ready path receive up to $1,400 per charger on top of the infrastructure funding; standalone charger rebates are up to $2,000 per charger. Either way the complex maximum is $14,000, and a dual-port station counts as two chargers.
All amounts are while funding lasts; select municipalities offer top-ups, and enhanced rebates may be available for Indigenous Peoples and participating communities.
What "EV Ready" means
EV Ready means preparing the complex for high levels of future charging: each EV Ready parking space gets a final connection point in an electrical wiring installation for a charger. The plan's proposed solution must provide one EV Ready space per residential unit (or per stall, if there are fewer stalls than units), each capable of meeting residents' average daily charging needs even once every vehicle in the parkade is an EV.
The planning prerequisite
To qualify for the standalone EV charger rebate, a building must first have completed an EV Ready Plan, an Opportunity Assessment, or an Electrical Planning Report — BC Hydro's reasoning is that charger installations should not restrict others from adding chargers later. BC Hydro describes the EV Ready Plan as the best form of that planning.
How the application works
- Pre-approval first. Pre-approval is required before starting or committing to work — for the plan, infrastructure, and charger rebates alike. BC Hydro reviews applications within 30 days.
- Complete the work, then apply finally. From pre-approval, charger-only projects have six months to finish and submit; EV Ready Plan and infrastructure projects have nine months. Final applications include paid invoices, photos of installed stations, proof of charger network connectivity, and a contractor installation form.
- Payment. Once documents meet requirements, BC Hydro processes the rebate within 90 days. Rebates can be combined with other incentives, capped at the total cost of equipment and installation.
One practical note from the program page: if your building has four or fewer units, the single-family home charger rebate applies instead. And buildings in FortisBC electricity territory use FortisBC's mirrored CleanBC Go Electric program — the full list of program links is on our resources hub.
Where CF fits
CF Electrical Services prepares EV Ready Plans for BC stratas and handles the paperwork with the utility.