What this document is
CS-4042 is BC Hydro's checklist of what an EV Ready Plan must contain to be eligible for the plan rebate. It is the standard a rebate-eligible plan is measured against — and a useful way for a council to judge whether a plan it receives is complete. It also sets out who may create a rebate-eligible plan and requires the author's declaration inside the plan that the requirements have been met; the original document lists the accepted designations.
The definition that drives everything: "EV Ready"
A parking space is EV Ready when it has a termination point in an electrical wiring installation capable of powering a Level 2 charger (EVSE), located no more than 5 metres from any part of the stall it serves. The connection can terminate in a junction box — most EV Ready designs use energy-management systems and load sharing — and junction boxes must be clearly labelled with the stalls they support. The plan must provide at least one EV Ready space per residential unit.
The five required elements
- Property and company details — the building, the stall counts (residential, visitor, existing EV stalls, stalls to be made EV Ready), and who prepared the plan, with the author's signed declaration.
- Electrical capacity assessment — in kilowatts: the existing main service size, existing peak demand and how it was determined, and spare capacity before any charger installation.
- Charging performance assessment — an analysis of the charging power needed for reasonable driving range once every stall hosts an EV: average daily distance travelled and how it was determined, minimum kW per vehicle, and the standards referenced. Climate, topography, resident demographics, and vehicle sizes may also factor in. Appendix A of the document publishes BC Hydro's minimum performance table — how many chargers may share a circuit at each breaker size, for daily driving distances from 25 to 60 km.
- One recommended solution — a single costed design: the charger-to-breaker ratio and why it was chosen, total potential charger load, spare capacity after installation, a clear statement of whether the existing service is sufficient or an upgrade is required, integration of any existing chargers, the state of the telecom/network infrastructure, and the compatible charger and energy-management models. BC Hydro accepts only one proposed solution with a single cost covering everything needed to operate, network equipment included.
- Cost estimates sufficient for budgeting — for the infrastructure, any network upgrades, and chargers if applicable.
Why the performance table matters
BC Hydro's stated reason for the minimum-performance guidelines is that, without them, designs can share load so aggressively that residents get an inadequate rate of charge. The table caps how many chargers share a circuit based on breaker amperage and residents' daily driving needs — the technical guardrail behind every compliant plan.
Note: starting July 15, 2026, BC Hydro's program guide adds further plan requirements, including documenting alternative solutions at a high level — see our rebate program brief. CF Electrical Services prepares every EV Ready Plan against the program's current requirements.