Thrive Electrify is proud to be a BC Hydro Alliance member since 2015. Earlier this year, the Thrive team attended the highly anticipated BC Hydro Alliance member event. At this gathering, BC Hydro provided valuable insights, which we’re excited to share with you here. Managers Jacqueline Spray, director of projects, customer engagement and sales; and Tamara Berger, industrial and large commercial sector manager dove deep into important BC Hydro plans, programs and updates.
1. BC Hydro is ready for electrification
A new call for power will deliver electricity to the grid as early as 2028. Starting April 2024, BC Hydro will start to communicate to potential developers about how to participate in the Call for Power, with a target of 3,000 GWh per year.
The objectives of the Call are to acquire energy from:
A
Clean or renewable resources that are cost-effective for ratepayers.
B
Projects that can come online as early as fall 2028.
C
Projects that have a meaningful First Nations partnership component.
BC Hydros’ new capital plan will invest $36 billion over the next 10 years. Read the Capital Plan here.
2. More funding for energy managers
Energy managers form the backbone of many of BC Hydro’s initiatives. They’re now offering increased flexibility and backing a wider array of programs and ideas. For large commercial enterprises, there are demand-side programs focused on capacity, including load shifting, aimed at aiding customers in load management. BC Hydro is ready to extend partial funding to facilitate the hiring of a commercial energy manager. Their role will be to monitor and enhance your business’s energy efficiency in the long run. Here’s what’s included:
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50% of your energy manager’s salary funding, up to $60,000 per year.
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Access to funding for energy studies and equipment upgrades.
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Energy management training sessions, consulting services, and networking opportunities.
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Coaching to develop a strategic energy management that aligns with your organization’s objectives.
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A professional energy management assessment.
3. Mid-size customers: Cohort program
Commercial customers who haven’t qualified for strategic energy management programs in the past can get the help they need under the cohort program. It’s available to businesses that use between 3 and 15 gigawatt-hours of electricity per year. In this fully funded, two-year program, an energy expert leads a group of about 12 industrial or large commercial customers to implement a holistic approach to energy management.
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Group learning and strategy sessions
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Development of an energy model
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Customized energy coaching
4. Alliance members are vital for energy audits and feasability studies
The BC Hydro Alliance of Energy Professionals is a network of energy efficiency trade professionals registered with BC Hydro. Members help business customers find opportunities to save energy, install energy-efficient products, and get incentives. To qualify customers must use an accredited Alliance member. Receive capital funding for:
Integrated Energy Audits: 100 % funding for an energy expert to conduct an energy audit of your facility
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May look at your entire facility or certain systems/areas
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Determine major areas of energy usage
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Identify best opportunities for improved efficiency, like LED lighting Retrofits
Feasibility Studies: Get up to 100% funding for an energy expert to conduct a feasibility study at your site
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Flexible, allowing for investigation of one or multiple measures, address energy savings and or/fuel switch and load management opportunities.
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Proves customers with an in-depth analysis of the options and costs so they can make a strategic decision.
| Project Type | Funding Available |
| Energy opportunity of 200,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) or more per year or a total demand impact of more than 100kW. | Study is 100% funded. |
| Energy opportunity of 25,000 – 200,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, or a total demand impact of 25 – 100 kW. | Study is 50% funded. |
5. Improved access to incentive programs
Last summer, large commercial customers with a key account manager, or who use at least two gigawatt-hours annually at the parent company level, were given access to programs and incentive amounts formerly only available to large industrial customers. Part of that change was a move from business energy-saving incentives (BESI) to the self-serve incentive program (SIP). Incentives are based on the estimated energy savings and cost of your project. The following incentives are available for lighting upgrades:
| Program | Who | Funding |
| BESI | Eligible customers are generally smaller Commercial or Industrial businesses with site consumption <.5Gwh/year. | About 25% of the upfront costs. |
| SIP | Minimum site size ≥ 0/5 GWh/year with no minimum project size. | The average incentive is about 25% of a project’s cost, but for some projects, it’s upwards of 50% |
| CUSTOM | Energy savings must be ≥ 25,000 kWh/year OR energy increase must be ≥ 200,000 kWh/year. | Higher funding for complex projects, with up to 75% funding. |
So for any sort of capital retrofit, including through the custom program, incentives on the commercial side have increased significantly over the last year. And that’s to help support getting more customers to be able to do those projects with us.
6. As technologies become standard, incentives are phased out
Many technologies that currently qualify for incentives will be phased out as codes and standards evolve.
We just won’t be able to incent technologies that are now part of what customers are mandated to do. But as some incentives disappear, others will be added.
We need to be able to accelerate some of that technology adoption through incentives, we can do demo projects. All that is on the table now, and we’re relying on Alliance members who know what’s going on in industry to be able to bring those technologies forward to us.
7. Solar power generation is about to get a boost
BC Hydro will be revisiting and potentially revising the net metering program, which has been set up to provide credits for feeding solar power into the grid.
It’s not my area of expertise, but we’re looking to file amendments to our net metering program in June of this year, and it may include a revision to the current 100-kilowatt limit for putting solar on your rooftop. We’re also seeing a lot of interest in solar on the commercial side and are working on programs to turn this interest into projects.
Why Choose Thrive Electrify?
Our Uniqueness Sets Us Part
