The Province has launched a new program to support whole-building retrofits for apartments, condominums and co-ops, helping make homes more comfortable and reducing energy bills.

“From record wildfires to historic droughts, British Columbians are seeing the impacts of climate change on their communities and they’re ready to switch from fossil fuels to clean energy, while making their homes more efficient and saving on energy bills,” said Josie Osborne, Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation. “That’s why we are working with BC Hydro to support apartments, condos and co-ops with the upfront costs of completing whole-building retrofits, from highly efficient heat pumps to better windows and ventilation that will make homes more comfortable.”

Starting Sept. 17, 2024, the CleanBC Multi-Unit Residential Building Retrofit Program, a joint initiative with BC Hydro, will provide rebates and energy coaching to building owners, strata councils and equity co-op boards to make the switch to more energy-efficient and cleaner technologies in their buildings, such as heat pumps and LED lighting, as well as improved windows and ventilation. The new program will also provide funding for the cost of electrical upgrades required for buildings to switch from fossil fuels to clean electricity.

Through the program, whole-building retrofits can lead to significant energy savings:

• a typical 65-unit rental building could switch from central gas heating to in-suite heat pumps, saving as much as $16,250 per year for the whole building or $250 per year per suite; and
• an average-size 130-suite condo building could replace electric baseboards with heat pumps, saving $18,000 on an average per year for the whole building or $140 per year per suite.With $61 million over three years, the CleanBC Multi-Unit Residential Building Retrofit Program is the result of a $26-million investment by the Province, and $35 million from BC Hydro as part of its Energy Efficiency Plan. This partnership means the program will cover energy-efficiency measures in gas-heated and electrically heated apartments and condos.

In addition to the new program, this funding also supports the existing CleanBC Social Housing Incentive Program, which provides energy-study funding, project implementation support and rebates for social-housing buildings, such as those owned by not-for-profit organizations. The program is being enhanced with new rebates levels that are more than three-and-a-half times higher than before and cover a maximum of 90% of costs, an increase from 75%.

Energy efficiency is often the best, most cost-effective way for B.C. to meet future energy demand, while also lowering energy bills for people. BC Hydro’s updated Energy-Efficiency Plan includes more than $700 million over the next three years – a 60% increase from previous BC Hydro energy-efficiency budgets – to help people and businesses to waste less energy and save approximately $80 million every year, starting in 2026.

“Making smart choices about how we use clean electricity has been core to our business for over 35 years,” said Chris O’Riley, president and CEO, BC Hydro. “Energy-efficiency programs defer the need for additional capital infrastructure, helping to keep rates affordable and offer additional flexibility to our electricity system. But equally important, programs like this one and the many others we offer provide our customers with the opportunity to save energy and money.”

The new CleanBC Multi-Unit Residential Building Retrofit Program complements the Clean BC Better Homes Energy Savings Program, which was launched in June 2024, and provides income-tested rebates for individual homes undertaking energy-efficiency and fuel-switching upgrades. The program has received more than 5,200 applications with growing participation throughout the province, and the majority of funding going toward heat pumps and households with lower incomes.

In 2025, the Province intends to expand the CleanBC Multi-Unit Residential Building Retrofit Program to include owners and renters of individual units to support them in completing upgrades that will save energy, lower their energy bills and reduce pollution.

Quotes:

David Hutniak, CEO, Landlord BC –

“As the leading voice for the rental housing industry in B.C., LandlordBC is pleased that together with BC Hydro, the Province is launching a new program to provide incentives for retrofits to integrate energy-efficient solutions into our aging stock of existing purpose-built rental housing. This new program will enable Landlord BC to leverage its existing programming, most notably the Rental Apartment Retrofit Accelerator, to help our sector reduce building greenhouse gas emissions, while prioritizing retrofits that have co-benefits for tenants.”

Malcolm Shield, vice-president of sustainability, Wesgroup –

“At Wesgroup, we are committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across our portfolio, including our purpose-built rental buildings. Decarbonizing these buildings presents unique challenges, and initiatives like these are crucial in helping us meet our sustainability goals. We’re excited to be part of this initiative and to apply the lessons learned through the Rental Apartment Retrofit Accelerator program more widely as we continue to refine and accelerate our work toward reducing emissions, enhancing the comfort of our residents by providing much-needed cooling and advancing our net-zero transition strategy.”

Ken Sim, mayor of Vancouver –

“This new CleanBC retrofit program is exactly what Vancouver needs to keep building a more sustainable future. By integrating it with our Rental Apartment Retrofit Accelerator pilot, we’re not only improving comfort and safety for residents, but also making strides in reducing our carbon footprint. We’re grateful for this support and are looking forward to introducing a new top-up incentive program in 2025 to further support these important upgrades.”