Everything a Metro Vancouver homeowner or business needs to know about the money on the table in 2026 — what’s real, what changed, and how to capture it. Written plainly, sourced from official pages, and kept current.
The BC Hydro $10,000 residential solar + battery rebate
BC Hydro’s residential Solar and Battery program pays two stacked rebates:
Solar rebate — $1,000 per kW installed
Up to a $5,000 maximum, capped at 50% of eligible product cost.
Battery rebate — $500 per kWh installed
Up to $5,000 when you enrol in BC Hydro’s Peak Saver program — otherwise capped at $1,500. Also 50% of cost. The battery must be paired with solar.
Stacked, that’s a residential maximum of up to $10,000 — but only if the battery half is enrolled in Peak Saver. Without Peak Saver, the realistic combined maximum is closer to $6,500.
- Pre‑approval is mandatory — apply and get approved before purchasing or installing, or you can forfeit the rebate.
- HPCN installer required (since June 1, 2026) — the install must be done by a Home Performance Contractor Network member.
- Owner‑occupied home, on a BC Hydro residential account; the battery must be paired with solar (battery‑only qualifies only via Peak Saver).
- Peak Saver enrollment within 14 days of your system going in‑service, to unlock the higher battery rebate.
- Note: Tesla battery models are currently excluded from the rebate — equipment choice matters.
We manage all of this — pre‑approval, Peak Saver, equipment eligibility — as part of every project. BC Hydro residential program page →
Commercial: up to $20,000 (and why MURBs are different)
For business accounts, BC Hydro’s rebates roughly double: $1,000/kW solar up to $10,000, plus $500/kWh battery up to $10,000 — a $20,000 combined maximum, each capped at 50% of cost, with the same HPCN‑installer requirement. BC Hydro business program →
0% PST on qualifying solar equipment (Bulletin PST 203)
British Columbia exempts solar photovoltaic equipment from the 7% Provincial Sales Tax under PST Bulletin 203. The exemption covers solar PV panels, and the wiring, controllers, and inverters obtained as part of the same system. Installation labour on exempt equipment is also not PST‑taxable.
Federal incentives — and what’s no longer available
Businesses only can claim the federal Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit — up to 30% of eligible clean‑energy equipment (available for property in service through Dec 31, 2033, then 15% in 2034). Eligible businesses can also use immediate expensing (100% first‑year write‑off) on Class 43.1/43.2 equipment acquired from 2025 and available for use before 2030 (phasing out 2030–2033). These are for taxable Canadian corporations — not individual homeowners.
Rate Schedule 2289 — and why we design battery‑first
On July 1, 2026, BC Hydro closed legacy net metering (Rate Schedule 1289) to new customers and introduced Rate Schedule 2289, a self‑generation rate. Under RS 2289, the power you export to the grid is purchased at about 10¢/kWh, credited each billing cycle — replacing the old annual kWh “bank.”
Because you buy electricity back at a higher residential rate than the ~10¢ you’re paid to export, the smart design is self‑consumption: size the array to your usage and add a battery so you use your own solar instead of selling it cheaply. That’s why our proposals are battery‑first — it protects your return and gives you outage backup.
We go deeper on the rate change in four companion guides: the full Rate Schedule 2289 breakdown, a side‑by‑side of RS 1289 vs RS 2289, a plain answer to whether net metering is gone in BC, and — if you were already generating before the change — what grandfathering means for your account.
The order that maximizes your money
1 · Design for self‑consumption
Size solar + battery to your real usage (not to export), so more of every kWh is used at home.
2 · Pre‑approve before you buy
Secure BC Hydro rebate pre‑approval and confirm equipment eligibility (avoiding excluded models).
3 · Install with an HPCN electrician
TSBC permit, install, and BC Hydro interconnection by a certified Red Seal electrician.
4 · Enrol & claim
Enrol the battery in Peak Saver within 14 days, then submit for the full stacked rebate.
Want this applied to your actual roof?
We’ll turn these rules into real numbers for your property — free 3D design, rebate pre‑approval handled.