Energy in Action

Powersmart

BC Hydro offers a variety of incentives to adopt energy saving technologies. Incentives such as rebates on efficient lighting or windows encourages British Columbians to improve the energy efficiency of their homes and businesses.

Provincial Sales Tax Exemptions

Tax breaks are offered for a wide variety of energy efficient items, making it easier to conserve energy. Tax concessions are in place for alternative fuel and hybrid vehicles as well as some alternative fuels. Bicycles and some bicycle parts are exempt from provincial sales tax, as are a variety of materials, such as Energy Star® qualified windows, that can make homes more energy efficient.

Net Metering

The Net Metering program offered by BC Hydro for customers with small generating facilities, allows customers to lower their environmental impact and take responsibility for their own power production. The customer is only billed for their "net consumption"; the total amount of electricity used minus the total produced. Net Metering helps to move the province towards electricity self sufficiency and expands clean electricity generation.

Powering the Economy

The Oil and Gas sector invested $4.6 billion in B.C. in 2005 and contributed more to the provincial treasury than any other resource in 2005/06. In 2006 1,416 oil and gas wells were drilled in the province and between 2002 and 2005, summer drilling increased 242 per cent.

Fridge Buy-Back Program

This program offers customers $30 in cash and no-cost pickup and disposal of an old, inefficient second fridge. If all second operating fridges in B.C. were recycled, we would save enough energy to power all the homes in the city of Chilliwack for an entire year.

Lighting Rebates

This program offers instant rebate coupons for the retail purchase of Energy Star® light fixtures and Energy Star® CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lights).

Windows Rebate

The Windows Rebate Program offers rebates for the installation of Energy Star® windows in new, renovated or upgraded single-family homes, duplexes, townhouses or apartments.

Product Incentive Program

The Product Incentive Program provides financial incentives to organizations which replace inefficient products with energy efficient technologies or add on products to existing systems to make them more efficient.

High-Performance Building Program
For Large Commercial Buildings

Financial incentives, resources, and technical assistance are available to help qualified projects identify energy saving strategies early in the design process; evaluate alternative design options and make a business case for the high-performance design; and, offset the incremental costs, if any, of the energy-efficient measures in the high-performance design.

High-Performance Building Program
For Small to Medium Commercial Buildings

Incentives and tools are offered to help owners and their design teams create and install more effective and energy-efficient lighting in new commercial development projects.

New Home Program

Builders and developers are encouraged to build energy efficient homes by offering financial incentives and Power Smart branding for homes that achieve energy efficient ratings.

Analyze My Home

BC Hydro offers an online tool that provides a free, personalized breakdown of a customer's home energy use and recommendations on where improvements can be made to lower consumption.

Conservation Research Initiative

A 12-month study in six communities that examines how adjusting the price of electricity at different times of day influences energy use by residential customers, and how individual British Columbians can make a difference in conserving power in their homes and help meet the growing demand for electricity in B.C.

The Green Buildings Program

Provides tools and resources to support school districts, universities, colleges, and health authorities to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings across the province.

Attracting Workers

The Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources hosts job fairs across B.C. to attract workers to the highly lucrative oil and gas sector. Job fairs were held in 14 communities in 2005 and 16 communities in 2006 attracting thousands of people and resulting in hundreds of job offers.

Centre of Excellence

Government is partnering with industry and the Northern Lights College in Fort St. John to build a centre for oil and gas excellence, more than doubling the number of students training for jobs in the oil and gas industry.

100,000 Solar Roofs for B.C.

The Ministers of Environment, and Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources are sponsoring the development of a plan that will see the aggressive adoption of solar technology in B.C. The goal of the project is to see the installation of solar roofs and walls for hot water heating and photovoltaic electricity generation on 100,000 buildings around B.C.

Partnering for Success

Since 2003, the Province of B.C. has partnered in the construction of $158 million in new oil and gas road and pipeline infrastructure. The Sierra Yoyo Desan Road public private partnership improved the road allowing year round drilling activity in the Greater Sierra natural gas play. The project was recognized with the Gold Award for Innovation and Excellence from the Canadian Council for Public Private Partnerships in 2004.

Energy Efficient Buildings: A Plan for BC

This strategy will lower energy costs for new and existing buildings by $127 million in 2010 and $474 million in 2020, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2.3 million tonnes in 2020. The Province is implementing ten policy and market measures in partnership with the building industry, energy consumer groups, utilities, non-governmental organizations, and the federal government.