Yes. If you were on Rate Schedule 1289 before 1 July 2026 you stay on it for ten years from your own service start date — not from any shared cliff date. Four things can end that early, and one of them is irreversible.
Almost everything written about the BC Hydro net metering rate change was written for people shopping for a system, not for people who already own one. Every claim below is sourced to the tariff or the Commission’s order, and where a source is silent this page says so.
Verified 28 July 2026 against BCUC Order G-64-26, the RS 1289 tariff sheet and BC Hydro’s rate-update page.
Are you grandfathered? The eligibility test
There are only two questions, and the second one catches more people than the first.
- Were you taking net metering service under RS 1289 before 1 July 2026? Not “had you signed a contract with an installer”, and not “had you submitted an application” — were you receiving service. If yes, you are on the closed schedule and it still governs you.
- Have you accepted a BC Hydro solar rebate? Then you have already agreed to move: the rebate terms and conditions state that “By accepting a solar Rebate, the Eligible Customer acknowledges and agrees that BC Hydro customers will receive service under Rate Schedule 2289”. This is the exception that catches people who read a rebate as a discount rather than as a rate decision.
Two situations sit outside that test and neither has a published answer: an application accepted before 1 July 2026 whose interconnection came after it, and a bill you cannot read the schedule off. Ask BC Hydro in writing and keep the answer. We will not invent a rule here to look complete.
How long it lasts, and how the clock is measured
Ten years, and the clock is yours alone: a customer “will remain on this rate until 10 years have passed from the initial net metering service start date”.
| Net metering service start | Grandfathered until | What happens then |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2029 | Automatic transfer to RS 2289. Nothing to apply for. |
| 2022 | 2032 | Automatic transfer to RS 2289. Nothing to apply for. |
| 2025 | 2035 | Automatic transfer to RS 2289. Nothing to apply for. |
Illustrative years only. Your date is the one on your own interconnection paperwork, not the year your panels were installed and not 1 July 2026.
At the end the change happens by itself: “Once those 10 years have passed, they will automatically be transferred to the self-generation service rate (Rate Schedule 2289).” No extension has been published. What you transfer to is set out on our page on Rate Schedule 2289, and the two are compared line by line in our RS 1289 vs RS 2289 comparison.
What ends it early — and what does not
Four mechanisms can move you off RS 1289 early; three are inside your control. The list of things that do not is longer.
| What you might do | Effect on RS 1289 | What the source says |
|---|---|---|
| Accept a BC Hydro solar rebate | Yes — and permanently. | “If you received a solar rebate, you will be moved to the new self-generation rate (Rate Schedule 2289) when it begins.” |
| Accept a BC Hydro battery rebate only | No. | “If you only accepted the battery rebate, this change will not impact which service rate you are on.” |
| Sell the house | Not for you — but the buyer does not inherit it. | “The Panel finds it is appropriate that customers who move into premises with an existing generating facility are not eligible for the transition period.” |
| Add panels without Interconnection Approval | Puts the rate at risk. | Special Condition 6 forbids adding to or modifying the facility without approval; Special Condition 7 lets BC Hydro suspend or terminate service for failing to comply. |
| Leave regular monthly or bi-monthly billing | Ends it automatically. | Special Condition 8 makes net metering service conditional on the regular billing plan, and deems it terminated concurrently with any change. |
| Add a battery to an existing array | Not on the published record. | The tariff sheet is silent on storage. Interconnection Approval is still required first. |
| Lease your system, or have a third party operate it | No. | Special Condition 5 keeps the customer responsible for every obligation as though they owned it — a responsibility rule, not a disqualification. |
That trade is arithmetic, not principle. A single-family solar rebate is $1,000 per kW to a maximum of $5,000. What you give up is the gap between banking a kilowatt-hour and selling it: on the tiered residential rate Tier 1 costs 11.87¢ per kWh and Tier 2 14.08¢, against 10¢ for an RS 2289 export — 1.87¢ and 4.08¢ per exported kilowatt-hour. Multiply by your annual export, then by the years you have left; we will run the comparison with you for free. The rest of the programme, including the 14-day Peak Saver window, is in our BC solar rebates guide.
What happens if you add a battery
The tariff does not mention batteries at all — not in the RS 1289 sheet and not in its definition of a Generating Facility. That silence is neither permission nor prohibition. BC Hydro’s conduct points the same way: its Simple Net Metering application form asks about storage at interconnection.
The question arrives now rather than in 2019 because the economics inverted. Under RS 1289 surplus was banked and netted annually, so a battery bought outage comfort and little else. Under RS 2289 the netting interval is instantaneous: a kilowatt-hour is either used the moment it is made or sold at 10¢. Model storage before your ten years end, not after. Our home battery backup guide covers sizing and outage behaviour.
What happens if you sell the house
BC Hydro’s pages and tariff sheet are silent; the answer is in the order. A new occupant does not inherit the transition period. Its purpose is “to mitigate the negative impact from changes from RS 1289 to RS 2289 on customers who made the investment in the energy system” — it protects the person who spent the money, not the address.
That has a practical consequence when selling: a grandfathered net metering rate is not a feature you can advertise as transferring with the property. The array transfers; the rate does not.
What to do now
- Find your service start date. It is on your interconnection approval, and it is the only date that sets your ten years.
- Do not accept a solar rebate without doing the arithmetic first. It is a permanent, one-way move to RS 2289.
- Get Interconnection Approval before adding anything — panels or storage.
- Stay on regular billing. Leaving it terminates net metering service by its own terms.
Sources: the RS 1289 tariff sheet (Revision 2), BCUC Order G-64-26, and BC Hydro’s customer generation rate-update and rebate pages, all read 28 July 2026. Figures stated before GST and rider adjustments. Rate schedules change; confirm anything you intend to act on with BC Hydro directly. General information, not financial advice.