BC Government Electric Car EV Charger Rebates and Grants for 2021
Welcome to a new edition on the MJR blog space. Today we are reviewing the top 3 available rebates and grants that BC Hydro is offering as of April 21, 2021. These rebates are limited so apply now. First come, first served!
Many of you have already, or are thinking about purchasing an Electric Vehicle, and are considering the financial incentives currently offered by the BC government. These are the new top 3 rebates as offered from BC’s power authority – BC Hydro for EV Chargers.
1.) Single detached dwellings EV Wall Charger rebate of $350
The EV Wall Charger rebate is back for a limited time. This rebate changes each year, and for 2021 is $350 for an **eligible EV Charging Station to be installed in a single family detached house. To qualify to receive the maximum rebate of $350, your eligible costs must exceed $700 for the EV Wall Charger, including installation. Eligible costs include the cost of the wall charging unit and the professional installation of the unit itself. For most EV charger installations, certified electricians charge at least $800, depending on the scope and distance from the charger location to the panel. Make sure your electrician has completed and provides you with a comprehensive demand calculation to ensure your home’s EV Charging installation is to code. You must include the certified electrician demand calculation documentation to receive your rebate!
2.) Standalone EV Charger installations- Workplaces or Strata/Condos – $2000 per charger (maximum $14,000)
Standalone EV Chargers for MURBs (multi-unit residential buildings) or workplaces will see a potential rebate of up to $2000 per charger for eligible installations, to a maximum of $14,000 or 7 chargers. For an installation to be eligible – **eligible networked chargers must be purchased (see link below), and the building must have been built before new building codes were required to have EV stalls installed during construction. Eligible installations must also be ‘future-proofed’; where at least 200’ of oversized conduit is installed, with multiple accessible junction boxes for the entire parkade, not just the stalls receiving the EV chargers. This is to assure that future EV adoption is made easier with existing electrical infrastructure in place. That said, despite the conduit being there, it does not necessarily mean the wires can be run for those additional chargers, as most buildings are close to or over electrical capacity, and cannot support additional EV charging circuits without an upgrade to the buildings electrical service.
**eligible EV Chargers** https://electricvehicles.bchydro.com/incentives/rebate-eligible-ev-chargers#apartments-workplaces
3.) EV READY PLAN – (MURB only rebate- up to $97,000 for full program rebates)
As mentioned above- electrical capacity can be a major roadblock for EV installations in apartment buildings, stratas or MURBS. Most MURB buildings were designed without EV Charging in mind and are not equipped with the electrical service to take on additional loads like Level 2 EV charging. For a building to be eligible to receive EV Ready rebates, the building must have been built before new building codes were required to have EV stalls installed during construction. If your building was built before 2015 you are eligible for the BC government rebates outlined in this article.
With the new EV Ready Plan, a long-term EV charging strategy is planned, adopted, and ultimately installed: where the end result is to provide every building unit with a parking stall with access to Level 2 Charging. Having every residential parking stall equipped for EV charging increases the value of the individual units in the building and is a huge convenience for the owners. Access to Level 2 EV charging is growing increasingly competitive, and the additional value for a residential building equipped to handle every tenant’s charging need may be an attractive feature to homebuyers and tenants alike.
In most instances, the power required for every parking stall to be EV Ready can only be achieved by means of an electrical service upgrade to the building, which can be quite costly for strata members. However, now with eligible ‘EV Ready’ planning and installations, the building can receive up to $97,000 in eligible EV rebates. This significantly reduces the overall cost of the large project and preparing the building for long term EV charging. With rebates equalling 50% of the eligible costs (up to $97,000 total)- participating in the EV Ready Program is an option that every EV owner and those considering getting an EV living in a MURB should consider or inquire about.
If your building or strata is interested in participating in the first step of planning for the future of EV charging needs, BC Hydro will reimburse 75% of approved ‘EV Ready’ Plans to a maximum of $3,000. MJR Electric starts their comprehensive EV Ready Plans at $2,000. With the rebate, the net cost to the strata would be $500. There is no requirement that an individual receives pre-approval from strata to adopt and execute the EV Ready Plan to receive this rebate. The goal is to identify the upgrade requirements for each building. Receiving a rebate for an EV Ready Plan does not disqualify a building or strata members for receiving a rebate for a Standalone EV installation.
As an additional incentive, MJR will credit your strata’s final cost of the EV Ready plan towards the final installation cost if you proceed with the installation with us.
Thanks for reading about BC’s 2021 EV Rebates. If you want to take advantage of any of these incentives while they are available, or take the first step of inquiring what is possible for your building or residence, do not hesitate to reach out to MJR Electric. We will help direct you through the first steps, go over your potential options for EV installations, EV Ready Plans, and what is eligible for BC Hydro Rebates.
Happy charging!
