The BC Hydro heat pump bonus pays up to $1,000 on top of the regular rebate, but only if your heat pump is installed, invoiced and paid for between August 1 and October 31, 2026, and your complete rebate application is in by November 30, 2026. Funding is first come, first served, so it can end before October 31. As of October 8 that leaves about three weeks, and October 31 falls on a Saturday.
Who qualifies for the BC Hydro heat pump bonus in Victoria?
The bonus rides on BC Hydro's regular heat pump rebate, so the same rules apply. In Greater Victoria you qualify if all of these are true:
- You are a BC Hydro customer.
- Your home is heated mainly by electricity now (electric baseboards or an electric forced-air furnace). BC Hydro says the heat pump "must replace a primary all-electric heating system".
- The new system is an eligible air source heat pump with a variable-speed compressor, on the rebate-eligible product list.
- It is installed by a member of the Home Performance Contractor Network (HPCN).
- It is a new heat pump, not a replacement. BC Hydro states that replacing an existing heat pump or adding a head to an existing heat pump is not eligible.
If your home is heated with oil, natural gas or propane, the standard rebate and this bonus do not apply in Victoria. Those homes in the South get nothing from the standard program; their route is the income-qualified CleanBC Energy Savings Program, which pays far more for fuel switches.
How much is the bonus, and how does it stack with the $4,000 rebate?
Here is the part most rebate pages get wrong: the "CleanBC Better Homes" heat pump rebate and the "BC Hydro" heat pump rebate are the same money. The program is a partnership between the Province, BC Hydro and FortisBC, and BC Hydro pays it in its service area. You cannot claim $4,000 from each. The bonus is the only extra on top.
| Your project (electrically heated home) | Standard rebate | Bonus if installed, invoiced and paid by Oct 31, 2026 | Possible total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole home: heat pump meets 100% of heating needs at -5 C | Up to $4,000 | Up to $1,000 | Up to $5,000 |
| Partial home: meets at least 50% of heating needs | $1,500 | Up to $1,000 | Up to $2,500 |
| Oil, gas or propane heated home in Victoria | $0 (standard program is northern BC only) | Not eligible | See the income-qualified program |
BC Hydro says "up to $1,000" and does not publish a separate bonus amount for whole versus partial systems. The Better Homes program also has a $300 Two Upgrade Bonus for two bonus-eligible upgrades within 18 months, which is separate from this BC Hydro bonus.
Two sizing rules decide which row you land in. A whole-home system must cover 100% of the heat at -5 C without electric resistance heat, and homes over 1,200 sq ft need a multi-split or central system to count as whole home. A partial system must cover at least half the home's heating load and serve an open, finished living area such as the living room or kitchen. Our guide to what size heat pump a Victoria home needs explains how that load is worked out.
What should you do this week to make the October 31 deadline?
Three weeks is enough for a straightforward ductless install, but only if nothing slips. Work backwards from Friday, October 30, since the 31st is a Saturday and you want the payment cleared on a business day.
- Today: confirm you qualify. Check your heating is mainly electric and that the account is with BC Hydro. If you heat with oil or gas, stop here and read the income-qualified program instead.
- This week: get a quote and an install date. Ask each contractor three things in writing: are they an HPCN member, is the model on BC Hydro's rebate-eligible list, and is the system sized as whole home or partial home. Ask for an install date no later than about October 23 so a missing part or a rainy day does not sink the bonus.
- Before install: sort the electrical. A heat pump needs an electrical permit and a licensed electrical contractor (Technical Safety BC). If your panel is full, a panel or service upgrade can take longer than three weeks, so ask about it at the quote, not on install day.
- Install day: finish the job, not half of it. All three steps have to happen by October 31: complete the installation, receive the final invoice, and pay it. A deposit is not payment in full.
- Same day you pay: save the paperwork. Keep the dated final invoice, proof of payment, the model and AHRI numbers, and the contractor's details. You need them for the application.
- By November 30: apply. Submit a complete heat pump rebate application through BC Hydro. An application missing documents is not "complete", so do it early in November, not on the 30th.
What if you miss the October 31 bonus deadline?
You lose the bonus, not the rebate. The standard rebate of up to $4,000 (whole home) or $1,500 (partial home) continues for electrically heated homes, and you have six months from the invoice date to apply. So a heat pump installed in November or December is still worth doing; it simply earns the regular amount. BC Hydro has not announced a replacement bonus.
The other reason to still go ahead is the bill. Electric baseboards turn one unit of electricity into one unit of heat, while a heat pump moves several units of heat per unit of electricity in Victoria's mild winters. Our heat pump cost guide for Victoria covers what the install itself costs, and the savings and payback calculator runs the numbers on current BC Hydro rates.
Can income-qualified homes get the bonus too?
BC Hydro describes the bonus as applying to its regular heat pump rebate for electrically heated homes. If you qualify for the Energy Savings Program (Level 1 pays up to $5,000 for an electrically heated home), the rules are different: you must pre-register before the install, and the registered contractor applies for you. BC Hydro's page does not say whether the bonus can be added to an Energy Savings Program rebate, so ask BC Hydro before you count on it. For every program and how they fit together, see our guide to paying for a heat pump in BC and the original CleanBC rebate overview.
Is the BC Hydro bonus worth chasing for a baseboard home?
For an electrically heated Victoria home that was already planning a heat pump, yes: up to $1,000 is real money for a job you were going to do anyway, and it costs nothing extra to claim if the paperwork is done right. The most common fit is a baseboard to ductless heat pump conversion, which is quick to install. If you want a quote that states whole home or partial home, the rebate-eligible model and an install date before the deadline, ask us for a written estimate or see the rebate summary on our home page.