Grant
Private
Active
BC Hydro Business Energy-Saving Incentives (BESI) Program
BC Hydro
Maximum Funding
Average 40% of upfront equipment costs (past-participant...
Ongoing
Difficulty
Easy
Payment
Reimbursement
Trend
Stable
First-Timers
Friendly ✓
Co-Funding
40%
BC Hydro Business Energy-Saving Incentives (BESI) Program provides up to Average 40% of upfront equipment costs (past-participant average; no published maximum). A 30% bonus applies to projects submitted by February 11, 2027. Provides BC Hydro commercial and small industrial customers with cash incentives averaging 40% of upfront costs for installing energy-efficient equipment including lighting, HVAC, refrigeration, and motors. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.
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Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
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Program Description
Provides BC Hydro commercial and small industrial customers with cash incentives averaging 40% of upfront costs for installing energy-efficient equipment including lighting, HVAC, refrigeration, and motors. Applications can be submitted any time; incentives are calculated based on annual electricity savings from eligible upgrades.
Eligibility Requirements
- Must be a BC Hydro commercial or small industrial customer (any business with a BC Hydro account in British Columbia)
- Primarily for commercial and small industrial sites using less than 500,000 kWh per year (the prescriptive BESI tier); larger sites are generally directed to the Custom Program or Self-Serve Incentive Program
- Applies to both retrofit of existing equipment and installation of new energy-efficient systems
- Equipment must be permanently installed at a BC Hydro-served location in British Columbia
- If a third-party contractor does the work, they must be a registered member of BC Hydro's Alliance of Energy Professionals — confirm their Alliance ID before accepting a quote. For any project involving lighting, the lighting products must be purchased from an approved Alliance distributor (a Distributor ID is mandatory)
Provinces
Industries
Business Stage
Quick Assessment
Difficulty
Easy
Competition
Low
First-Timer
Friendly
Funding Details
- Amount
- Average 40% of upfront equipment costs (past-participant average; no published maximum). A 30% bonus applies to projects submitted by February 11, 2027.
- Type
- Grant
- Level
- Private
- Co-Funding
- Up to 40% of eligible costs
- Deadline
- Ongoing
Program Scorecard
Competition, effort, and approval at a glance
Competition
Low
Deadline
Ongoing
Approval
Entitlement
Accessibility
--/5
Competition
--/5
Approval Rate
--%
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How to Win
Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like
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Insider TipApply and WAIT FOR BC HYDRO'S APPROVAL EMAIL before you buy anything — submitting an application is not enough; your project status must reach 'Application Accepted' before you purchase or install.
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Rejection Pitfalls 5
- Facility is served by a different utility (FortisBC, municipal utility) rather than BC Hydro
+4 more pitfalls
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Success Profile
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Evaluation Criteria
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All 5 pitfalls, the checklist and the reviewer notes are in the Playbook below. See what it includes ↓
What's in this Playbook
Everything you need to win BESI
Not a marketing summary. The actual checklist, intel, and stack strategy reviewers look for.
- 5 rejection pitfalls reviewers flag — so you catch them first
- 5-document checklist with what each reviewer is actually checking
- Your Application Game Plan — the print-ready PDF the preview below describes
- 8-step application timeline with prep hours per step
- Insider tip from program officers on what separates winners
- 3-program stacking strategy to combine with compatible funding
- Success profile + evaluation criteria — exactly what reviewers score on
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Application Playbook
Step-by-step process, required documents, and expenses
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8 steps
5 docs
Application Steps
1
Contact an Alliance of Energy Professionals member contractor Find a registered Alliance contractor to do the work — a non-member contractor cannot be used.
Required Documents 5
✓ BC Hydro account number (CAN) for each site
✓ CEM Hub registration
Eligible Expenses 7
Ineligible Expenses 5
Intake Periods
Deadline Notes
Ineligible Organizations
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Funding Stack Strategy
Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential
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3 partners
Compatible Programs
CleanBC Better Buildings — Commercial Retrofit
Canada Greener Buildings Grant (federal)
FortisBC Energy Efficiency Programs
Combined Funding Potential
See your total funding potential
Clawback Risk
None Risk
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How BESI Compares
Side-by-side with similar programs
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| Program | Amount | Difficulty | Payment | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BC Hydro Business Energy-Saving Incen... | Average 40% of upfront equipment costs | Easy | Reimbursement | Ongoing |
| Strategic Response Fund (formerly Str... | Minimum $10 million contribution | Hard | Mixed (Advance + Reimb.) | Ongoing — continuous... |
| CanExport SMEs | Up to $50,000 | Moderate | Mixed (Advance + Reimb.) | Between intakes — the... |
| Ocean Supercluster | Up to $5 million | Hard | Reimbursement | Continuous intake (Core... |
| Ontario Innovation Tax Credit | Up to 8% tax credit | Moderate | Tax Credit Offset | Ongoing |
Related Programs
Other programs you might be eligible for
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Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions founders most often ask about BESI
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Who is eligible for BC Hydro's Business Energy-Saving Incentives?
Any business with a BC Hydro commercial or small industrial account in British Columbia. Facilities under 500,000 kWh/year use the prescriptive BESI tier.
How much can a business get from the BESI program?
BESI incentives have averaged 40% of upfront equipment costs for past participants, with no published maximum. A 30% bonus applies to projects submitted by February 11, 2027. (The $50,000+ figure sometimes quoted belongs to BC Hydro's separate Custom Program, not BESI.)
What equipment qualifies for BESI incentives?
Energy-efficient lighting, HVAC, refrigeration, and motors. Both prescriptive fixed-rebate and custom engineered-savings project paths are available.
When can I apply to the BESI program?
Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis with no fixed deadline. Apply before purchasing equipment to confirm incentive eligibility.
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Full Playbook: BESI
8 steps · 5 docs · reviewer insights