Power Hours Rewards Program

Electric vehicle being charged

The Power Hours Rewards Program lets you earn financial rewards by registering for the program and reducing your electricity use during peak-demand periods.

What are power hours?

Power hours is the time of day, generally in the evening after people get home from work, when they're using the most amount of energy at home, like turning up their heat, charging their phones, plugging in their electric vehicles (EVs), turning on their TVs and doing laundry. This means overall electricity demand on the system spikes.

What is the Power Hours Rewards Program?

The Power Hours Rewards Program encourages our residential electricity customers to sign up and participate in power hour events where they can reduce their energy use by having their thermostat turned down or up (depending on the season), and/or by not charging their EV during peak-demand periods.

By signing up and participating in the events, customers may save energy, earn valuable financial rewards and reduce overall demand on the electricity system.

  • will receive notifications via text message or by email before a power hours event happens
  • will automatically have their thermostat adjusted during the event
  • can override the system anytime by manually adjusting their thermostat or via email or text request
  • can participate in power hours events that will be scheduled every day, between 4 and 9 p.m.
  • should schedule their EV charging outside of these hours

How to earn incentives

  1. FortisBC electricity customers who meet the program eligibility requirements can register to get a sign-up incentive of $25.
  2. Additional incentives can also be earned by:
    1. having thermostats automatically adjusted during power hours events
    2. not charging EVs during power hours events
  3. Customers must participate in at least 80 per cent of the thermostat power hours events to receive the seasonal incentive.
  4. Incentives are paid as either a cheque payable to the account holder or as a bill credit.

Review the terms and conditions

Eligibility

To qualify for the Power Hours Rewards Program you must meet the eligibility criteria below.

Eligibility

To participate in the Power Hours Rewards Program, you must:

  1. be a FortisBC residential electricity customer
  2. Note: the Power Hours Rewards Program is currently not available to municipal electricity utility customers of Summerland, Penticton, Grand Forks and Nelson Hydro.
  3. live, year-round, in a principal residence that is:
    1. a detached house (including a house with a secondary suite or mobile home with a permanent foundation)
    2. an attached house (including a semi-detached house, duplex or triplex, townhouse, row house or attached house with a secondary suite)
    3. a laneway home
  4. have an ecobee®, Honeywell Home™ or Sensi™ smart or Wi-Fi connected thermostat, controlling an electric space heating and/or cooling system, such as:
    1. electric forced-air furnace
    2. electric boiler
    3. air source heat pump (both central and mini/multi-split types qualify)
    4. central air conditioner
  5. have a functioning internet connection that can be used to connect your thermostat and/or EV to FortisBC’s partner software and maintain this connection throughout your participation in the program
Device Sign-up incentive Participation incentive Details
Smart thermostat (see eligible devices above) $25 per customer1 $25 per season (winter and/or summer, if you participate in at least 80 per cent of events)1
  • Winter season events (for heating systems) occur between November and March.
  • Summer season events (for cooling systems) occur between May and September.

Eligibility

To participate in the Power Hours Rewards Program, you must:

  1. be a FortisBC residential electricity customer

    Note: the Power Hours Rewards Program is currently not available to municipal utility customers of Summerland, Penticton, Grand Forks and Nelson Hydro.
  2. live, year-round, in a principal residence that is:
    1. a detached house (including a house with a secondary suite or mobile home with a permanent foundation)
    2. an attached house (including semi-detached house, duplex or triplex, townhouse, row house or attached house with secondary suite)
    3. a laneway home
  1. have EV models/years:1
  
  • Acura 2016+
  • Audi 2017+
  • BMW 2014+
  • Buick 2011+
  • Cadillac 2011+
  • Chevrolet 2011+
  • Chrysler 2018+
  • Dodge 2018+
  • Ford 2017+
  • GMC 2011+
  • Jaguar 2016+
  • Jeep 2018+
  • Land Rover 2016+
  • Lexus 2016+
  • Lincoln 2015+
  • MINI 2018+
  • RAM 2018+
  • Toyota 2020+
  • Tesla 2012+
  • Volvo 2012+
  • Other vehicle(s) approved by FortisBC at its sole discretion
  
  1. have a functioning internet connection that can be used to connect your thermostat and/or EV to FortisBC's parter software and maintain this connection throughout your participation in the program
Device Sign-up incentive Participation incentive Details
Electric vehicle (see eligible models/years above) $25 per customer1 $0.50 per event1
  • FortisBC cannot control the connected EV, only monitor its charging when parked at the address specified on the application form.
  • EV charging events are defined as any time a vehicle draws five kWh or more during one continuous charge while parked at the address specified on the application form.
  • Incentives will be paid quarterly.  

How to apply 

  1. Ensure you meet the eligibility requirements, including having an eligible thermostat controlling electric heating/cooling equipment and/or an eligible EV.
  2. Apply through Virtual Peaker with your FortisBC electricity account number.
  3. Note: you'll be required to enrol your eligible device(s) on the manufacture's website or through your device settings.

Apply now


Frequently asked questions

It’s business as usual.

Your thermostat will automatically respond to the power hours event when the signal is sent out.

For participants with EVs, you can partake by scheduling your EV charging outside of power hours, which are between 4 and 9 p.m. every day.

It may vary, depending on the device you are participating with—a thermostat or EV. For thermostats, a power hours event may be up to five hours. Most events will take place either in winter (November-March) or summer (May-September). For EVs, power hours events will occur between 4 and 9 p.m. every day.

Participants with thermostats will be provided with advance notice of an upcoming event by email or text message, as specified in the application form. Power hours for EVs will take place every day, between 4 and 9 p.m.

Participants with a thermostat can opt out of an event by either manually adjusting the thermostat during the event or by responding to our email or text notification. Please note that customers must participate in at least 80 per cent of the events to receive the seasonal incentive.

Participants with EVs opt out if they choose to charge their registered vehicle(s) during power hours. Please note that if you choose to opt out, you don’t collect incentives for that particular event.

FortisBC and the vendor that manages the software platform for the program, Virtual Peaker, will have access to information participants provide upon registration.

Types of data collected for the purpose of running the program may include:

  • customer account information and historic energy consumption data
  • information about equipment and end-uses in the residence, such as the heating/cooling system and/or EV
  • information about usage patterns of connected devices during the program and during peak events

FortisBC collects, uses and discloses personal information in accordance with the Personal Information Protection Act and our Privacy Policy.

We’re here to help

If you have other questions, email [email protected] or call 1-866-436-7847.

1Incentive will be paid at the end of each season.