Small Commercial New Construction Program

Varies

Customer
- Electricity customer
- Gas customer
Business type
- Commercial
Project type
- New construction

Please note: the Small Commercial New Construction Program is no longer available. If you're applying for 2023 rebates, please refer to the rebate details and deadlines below.

You must have preregistered your project on or before December 31, 2023, to be eligible for rebates.

Program details

Note: rebates are only available for participants who submitted a pre-registration application before December 31, 2023.

BC Energy Step Code performance target rebates

Step code rebates are based on the square footage of the completed building. Optional rebates for an energy model and airtightness testing are also available. Pre-approval is not required to be eligible for these rebates.

Item	Amount
Step 2	$1.00 per square foot x indoor floor area, up to a maximum rebate of $50,000
Step 3	$1.60 per square foot x indoor floor area, up to a maximum rebate of $80,000
Step 4 and higher	$2.20 per square foot x indoor floor area, up to a maximum rebate of $110,000

Energy model rebate

The energy model rebate can help you with the cost of a detailed engineering analysis of your facility.

Item	Amount
Energy model rebate	50 per cent of program participation fees, up to $5,000

Airtightness rebate

The airtightness rebate encourages you to include airtightness testing during and after construction and feed the results back into the energy model.

Item	Amount	Details
Mid-construction airtightness test	75 per cent of test cost, up to $2,500	maximum of two tests
Post-construction airtightness test	75 per cent of test cost, up to $2,500	maximum of two tests

Eligibility

You must have been accepted into the 2023 Small Commercial New Construction Program before December 31, 2023.

Airtightness rebate-specific eligibility

Airtightness tests must be performed according to (BCBC Part 10.2.3.5.): ASTM E 779, “Standard test method for determining air leakage rate by Fan Pressurization,” or USACE Version 3, “Air leakage test protocol for building envelopes.”
The mid-construction test should be performed after the air barrier component of the building envelope is installed to help identify any problem areas while they're still accessible.
The final test is performed after construction is fully completed and the energy model updated to provide a more accurate understanding of how the building performs.
Tests must use an induced air pressure of not less than 75 Pa.
Results of airtightness tests must be reported to FortisBC, not just whether it passed or failed requirements.
Post-construction airtightness test results must also be entered into the final energy model using the procedure outlined in the City of Vancouver Energy Modelling Guidelines version 2.

How to apply

Please note the Small Commercial New Construction Program is no longer available. If you applied for rebates in 2023, please refer to the rebate details and deadlines below.

For current rebates visit the Commercial New Construction Performance Program page. If you have any questions, please contact your FortisBC key account manager.

The pre-registration email confirmation you received when you pre-registered your project with FortisBC (before December 31, 2023), in addition to your Small Commercial New Construction Program application

Review the Small Commercial New Construction Program participant guide and terms and conditions.
Work with an energy advisor or energy modeller to develop a model and assist with airtightness testing.
Once construction has been completed and within six months of building occupancy, email your completed and signed application along with the following supporting documents:
- a copy of the BC Energy Step Code Part 3 Energy Design Report or Part 9 Energy Compliance Report and EnerGuide^® N Report and Label for service organization energy advisors or Energy Model Report
- as-built drawings of the building
- energy model invoice or progress draw (optional)
- air tightness testing results and invoice or progress draw (optional)
- if applicable, completed professional engineer of record declaration for MURBs (Appendix A on application form)