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PowerScore: How We Rank Every City's Rebates

We scored all 99 cities we cover, 0–100, on how much home energy rebate money is actually available. Here's exactly how it works — no black box.

By Sam Menard · August 2026 · 5 min read

Why we built this

Every city page on this site lists what's available — heat pump rebates, solar incentives, insulation top-ups. But "what's available" doesn't tell you how your city actually compares to the next one over, or to a city in a different province or state entirely.

So we built PowerScore: a single 0–100 number for every city, calculated the same way everywhere, so you can see at a glance whether your city is punching above its weight on rebates — or leaving money on the table compared to its neighbors.

Want to skip straight to your number? Look up your city's PowerScore →

The formula

Every city gets a score in each of our 8 rebate categories — heat pump, insulation, solar, battery storage, water heater, smart thermostat, EV charger, and windows/doors — built from three weighted factors. The overall PowerScore is just the average of those 8 category scores.

60%
Dollar Value

The real rebate amount published for that category, compared against the strongest program in that city's own region — a BC city is measured against BC's best, not against Massachusetts. Program structures are too different to compare fairly across borders.

25%
Program Status

Is the program actually open right now? A closed or fully-subscribed program (like Edmonton's former solar rebate) scores zero here, even if the dollar amount on paper looks good. A program with unclear status gets partial credit rather than a guess in either direction.

15%
Stackability

How many separate programs can you combine on one upgrade? A city where you can stack a federal credit, a provincial grant, and a utility rebate on the same heat pump scores higher than a city with just one program, even if that one program's headline number is similar.

We calculate every score straight from the same rebate data already published on our city and category pages — nothing is estimated or guessed. If a number on a city page changes, that city's PowerScore updates too.

Top city, region by region

Because most provincial and state programs apply evenly across their own cities, PowerScore tends to cluster cities within the same region close together, with the real spread showing up between regions. Here's the current leader in each:

Region Top City PowerScore
British ColumbiaVancouver89.7
OntarioBarrie (tied with 17 other ON cities)81.0
CaliforniaFolsom75.8
New YorkBrookhaven74.4
MassachusettsBoston (tied sitewide, statewide programs)66.6
AlbertaRed Deer44.4
Nova ScotiaHalifax31.1

Ontario's Greener Homes and Enbridge programs apply province-wide, so most Ontario cities land on the exact same score — that's not a bug, it's an honest reflection of how those programs actually work. Where a city breaks from its region's pack, it's almost always because of a genuine local top-up we found and verified, like Toronto's BetterHomesTO financing or Lethbridge's city-run CEIP rate.

What a low score actually means

A low PowerScore isn't a judgment on your city — it usually just means fewer or smaller programs are currently published for that area, or that a program that used to exist has closed. We update every city's page (and its PowerScore) as programs open, close, or change, and we mark program status honestly rather than leaving stale numbers up.

If your city scores low, it's still worth checking your category breakdown — a city can score low overall but still have one strong category worth claiming (for example, a city with no local heat pump program might still have a solid EV charger rebate).

Try it yourself

Head to the full PowerScore leaderboard, pick your city from the dropdown, and see your overall score, your rank within your region, and how you compare nationally. You can also download a shareable card with your city's score to send to a neighbor who's on the fence about upgrading.

Related guides

The Full PowerScore Leaderboard

See every city's score, ranked overall and by category.

Toronto Rebate Guide

PowerScore 81/100 — see what's driving Ontario's top score.

Vancouver Rebate Guide

Our #1 nationally-ranked city — see the full program stack.

Browse Installers

Once you know your rebates, find a vetted installer near you.

See your city's PowerScore

Look up your city, see your rank, and find out where you can claim more.

Check your PowerScore →