Updated January 1, 2024

Our employees have worked their fair share of home shows and community events and they often get asked about our rebate programs.

When we say that FortisBC offers rebates on home improvements that actually reduce gas use, many people reply, “But you’re the energy company. Don’t you want us to use more gas?” Our response is, “No, we only want you to use the energy you need. So we’re here to help with our conservation and energy efficiency programs.”

Why we offer rebates

Responding to climate change is a priority for us and many British Columbians, which is why we’re working with local organizations, municipalities and customers to help them reduce their energy use in a more affordable way. We’re always testing and evaluating new opportunities and technologies so we can help our customers take advantage of the next generation of energy-efficient products. We offer rebates on the products that will help our customers reduce their energy bills as well as their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Changes to our rebate programs

In June 2023, the provincial government made regulatory changes that included removing incentives and rebates for gas equipment that’s less than 100 per cent energy efficient, so we’ve updated our rebate offers accordingly. We’ll continue to offer certain gas rebates while developing the next generation of rebate programs. We understand these changes will affect our customers and we’re here to support them with their energy efficiency upgrades. We’ll also continue to offer rebates to homeowners on insulation, windows and doors, as well as rebates on heating optimization measures, controls and gas heat pumps for commercial customers.

We’re excited about current and upcoming innovations—we’re testing dual-fuel heating systems and residential gas heat pumps to better understand how they work in B.C. homes, to see if we can offer future rebates on this technology. Last year, we began offering a rebate to commercial customers for gas absorption heat pumps.

The energy savings and GHG emissions reduced from our rebate programs in 2022

We’ve offered rebates to our customers for more than 20 years, and we'll continue to do everything we can to make energy efficiency more affordable for British Columbians. From 2019 to 2022 we invested more than $398 million in these programs.

This significant investment supported British Columbians in reducing their household emissions while also lowering their monthly energy bills. It’s all part of our plan to achieve provincial climate action goals by 2030 and our long-term vision to 2050. Our progress supports our Clean growth pathway to 2050, CleanBC Roadmap to 2030, the Paris Climate Agreement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. By working together with our customers, community groups, Indigenous communities, government and industry we continue to make strong progress year over year to help reduce our customers’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Energy efficiency rebates: a win-win

As customers continue to find ways to lower their energy use, emissions from homes and businesses will decrease accordingly.

One way to improve energy efficiency is to look at how drafty your home or business is because any heat loss means money loss. If you have a high-efficiency furnace but older insulation in the walls, it could mean that cooler air is getting into your home and your furnace has to run more often.

If you have a furnace that’s more than 15 years old, with average insulation in a 2,000 square foot home, it could cost you about $560 a year to operate. But a furnace that’s less than five years old in a well-insulated home could cost less than $330 a year to operate.⁵ To help you get those energy savings and reduce GHG emissions, we offer rebates on home insulation that’ll help keep the heat inside your home and prevent your furnace from working too often.

Another way to manage your heating costs is to install a connected thermostat. You can set it to a lower temperature when you’re away and slightly increase the temperature when you’re at home.

By increasing energy efficiency in your home or business and taking advantage of our rebates, it's a win-win for your wallet and the environment.

B.C.'s favourite energy efficiency rebates

There were countless times at events when customers would ask our employees when our Appliance Maintenance Program would be available. So it’s no surprise that this program is one of our most popular residential rebates to date.

Big investment, big emissions reduction

Between 2019 and 2022, we invested $398 million in energy efficiency and conservation programs for our customers.

Customers who participated in FortisBC’s energy efficiency and conservation programs between 2019-2022 will collectively save an estimated 4.2 million GJ of gas per year over the life of these measures, the equivalent energy use of more than 86,000 passenger vehicles. During the same period, our electricity customers conserved
approximately 118 GWh of electricity, the equivalent annual electricity
use of more than 10,000 homes.⁶

We work closely with municipalities and organizations to help them reduce energy costs and lower emissions in their buildings.

We have a program available to organizations looking to hire a dedicated energy specialist who will help them develop and implement energy-saving upgrades. In 2022, we helped 45 local organizations that took part in this program. We also work with 16 municipalities and four Indigenous communities to help them fund a community energy specialist in their region.

With many of our rebate programs, we partner with BC Hydro and CleanBC to ensure these rebates are available to as many people as possible. We’re all working toward the same goals of reducing emissions and creating a culture of energy conservation, one rebate at a time.

Looking to save money and energy?

If you’re looking to make energy-efficiency upgrades to your home, check out our residential rebate offers. Organizations and municipalities can learn more about the commercial rebates they may be eligible for that can help them meet their energy efficiency goals and help us achieve provincial climate action goals. ⁷

And if you’re not sure where to start, we also have low-cost and no-cost ways to improve energy efficiency in your home or business that may work for you.