EV charging rebates for apartment and condo buildings

An EV Ready plan is a professional document prepared by a licensed electrical contractor and/or electrical engineer that includes details about how your building will provide each residential unit with at least one EV ready parking space. 

If the program reopens, stratas or building owners that hire a licensed electrical contractor or electrical engineer to create their EV Ready plan can receive a rebate of up to 75% of the costs of creating the plan, to a maximum of $3,000. 

An EV Ready plan is required in order to be eligible for an EV Ready infrastructure rebate.

Make sure your EV Ready plan meets the requirements

EV Ready infrastructure refers to the electrical infrastructure that needs to be installed in your building in order to implement your EV Ready plan. 

If the program reopens, stratas or building owners that install their EV Ready infrastructure can receive a rebate up to 50% of the infrastructure and installation costs, to a maximum of $600 per parking stall, and a project maximum of $80,000. 

You cannot apply for the EV Ready infrastructure rebate unless you’ve previously applied for an EV Ready plan rebate, or are applying for it at the same time.

If the program reopens, rebates would be available for the cost of purchasing and installing EV chargers at your building. 

If your building has participated in the EV Ready plan and infrastructure rebates: 

Stratas, building owners or individual residents that purchase and install eligible EV chargers to implement their EV Ready plan could receive a rebate up to 50% of those costs, to a maximum of $1,400 to $3,400 per charger (exact rebate amount subject to funding approval), and $14,000 per apartment/condo complex. Dual-port stations count as two chargers.

If your building has not participated in the EV Ready plan and infrastructure rebates: 

Stratas, building owners or individual residents that purchase and install eligible EV chargers could receive a rebate up to 50% of those costs, to a maximum of $2,000 to $4,000 per charger (exact rebate amount subject to funding approval), and $14,000 per building. Dual-port stations count as two chargers. A strata or building owner can apply for a maximum of four of their buildings, resulting in a maximum project rebate of $56,000.  

The amounts listed above are applicable to buildings that were constructed prior to municipal bylaws requiring EV Ready parking stalls. If your building was constructed after those bylaws came into effect, the maximum rebate per charger is $350, and $5,000 per building.

For the EV Ready plan rebate:

• Cost of developing the plan

For the EV Ready infrastructure rebate:

• Engineering design services
• Electrical and communication infrastructure installation
• Associated construction costs
• Permit costs
• Utility extension fees
• EV parking signage

For the EV charger rebate:

• Purchasing the charging station
• Labour and construction costs for installation of the charging station and associated conduit
• Site assessments including analysis of electrical capacity, review of panel capacity and infrastructure, and identification of design options
• Electrical and related permits
• Parking and electrical design required by the charging stations and conduit
• EV parking signage
• Network connection fees (stations must be connected for a minimum of two years)

Apartment/condo buildings must have been constructed no later than August 31, 2020. This rebate is for retrofit solutions only, new builds are ineligible. If the building was constructed after municipal bylaws requiring EV Ready parking stalls came into effect, it’s not eligible for the EV Ready plan or infrastructure rebates.

The installation of chargers and/or infrastructure must be done by a certified electrician. Electrical permits are required. Consider working with an electrician who has completed the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training program.

For the EV charger rebate only:  To provide for future EV growth within the building, you must also ensure that your electrician installs oversized conduit according to the following requirements: 

• Must install oversized conduit that is at least 2” to allow wiring for a minimum of six Level 2 charging stations at 40A each, or the total number of parking stalls, whichever is less
• Must run conduit (pre-wiring not required) to provide future service to all parking stalls, or 30 metres into the parking area, whichever is shorter 
• Must install junction boxes at intervals for future runoffs
• Must include a label stating “FOR USE WITH ELECTRIC VEHICLES ONLY” in conspicuous places at the service panel/sub-panel and along the conduit raceway

Charging stations that are eligible for the rebate must be:

• Ordered, purchased and installed after receiving pre-approval from BC Hydro and after the program reopens
• Purchased and not leased
• Approved for sale and use in Canada and have cUL, ULC, cETL, CSA, or cQPS certification
• A Level 2 charger, 208 volt or 240 volt, and feature a SAE J1772 standard plug head
• New, not used or refurbished
• A hardwired charging station or plug-in charger model 
• A networked charging station that is connected to a central system via internet communication such as open protocol (e.g. OCPP, OpenADR or other) or a proprietary system (must be connected to a network for minimum of two years)

The Tesla Wall Connector is not eligible for rebates at apartment or condo buildings.

Find EV chargers eligible for rebates

If these rebates are combined with any other incentive, they'll be capped so that the total incentives don't exceed the total cost of the equipment and installation.

• EV Ready plan – A copy of the EV Ready plan that was created for you/your property. Make sure it meets the requirements.
• EV Ready plan invoice – A copy of the paid invoice from the electrical contractor and/or professional engineer for the costs (broken down by activities performed) to create the EV Ready plan. If these costs aren’t due until the EV Ready infrastructure is installed, upload the quote for the plan instead. 

• Infrastructure installation quote – A copy of the quote from the electrical contractor for the costs (broken down by activities performed) to install the electrical infrastructure required to implement your EV Ready plan.

If you’re applying for this rebate on its own, you’ll also need to provide a copy of your previously approved EV Ready plan. 

If you’re applying for the charger rebate only, and your building hasn’t received an EV Ready plan and infrastructure rebate in the past: 

• Quote of work – A copy of the quote for the costs (broken down by activities performed) of charger installation and electrical service upgrades (if applicable) from a licensed electrical contractor.
• Proof of approval – A copy of the completed and signed charger installation approval form from the authority having jurisdiction over the residential property
• Contractor consultation form – A copy of the EV charger consultation form which has been completed and signed by the electrical contractor

If you’re applying for this rebate in combination with an EV Ready infrastructure rebate, you’ll also need to provide a copy of your EV Ready plan, and your charger and infrastructure quotes may be combined.