This sounds basic, but it trips up more people than you'd expect: BC has two major utilities, BC Hydro and FortisBC, and they run separate rebate programs. If you're reading about a rebate that doesn't seem to apply to you, this is usually why.
How to check which one you have
Look at your power bill — the company name at the top tells you. Most of the province is BC Hydro. FortisBC primarily serves the Southern Interior (Kelowna area electricity in some pockets, though most of Kelowna is BC Hydro), parts of the Kootenays, and it's also BC's main natural gas provider almost everywhere.
BC Hydro rebates
This is the program HomePowerRebate specializes in — up to $10,000 for solar + battery, up to $4,000 for heat pumps, plus Peak Saver rewards. FortisBC electric customers (like Kelowna) can't use BC Hydro's programs. See the full side-by-side.
FortisBC: different programs, different focus
FortisBC's home energy programs lean toward efficiency upgrades — free home energy evaluations, insulation, and heat pump incentives — rather than a dedicated solar + battery rebate like BC Hydro's. If you're a FortisBC customer specifically looking at solar, your rebate math will look different, and it's worth checking FortisBC's own program details directly.
The one thing to get right first: confirm your utility before you get quotes. An installer who doesn't ask this question, or gives you BC Hydro-specific rebate numbers without checking, is skipping a step that changes your entire budget.
See everything side by side
We built a full comparison of every BC and federal home energy program — BC Hydro, FortisBC and CleanBC (the federal Greener Homes Grant is closed) — so you can see exactly what applies to your situation in one place.
Compare every BC program
See BC Hydro, FortisBC, and federal rebates side by side.
See all programs →