Yet another rebate program designed to get British Columbians to go electric has run out of cash, amid surging demand from the public.
This time it’s a provincial fund aimed at helping homeowners install electric vehicle chargers at their private residences.
That’s bad news for homeowners like Josh Good, who hasn’t even got his EV yet but was hoping to get the equipment to charge it in place first.
“Now we are thinking to delay, because we don’t know if there will be rebates in the future or not,” he told Global News.
“Having that additional money coming in and having that incentive adds a sense of urgency for homeowners to say, ‘Lets take advantage of this.'”
B.C.’s EV charger rebate program, launched in 2019, offered a 50 per cent rebate, up to $350, to help offset the cost of a Level 2 charging station for detached homes, duplexes or townhouses.
The province has doled out about $26 million so far, accounting for an estimated 10,000 home chargers, but stopped accepting applications on June 15 due to funds being exhausted.
“Now that there’s no funding, it sends a message that this isn’t a priority for the government anymore, and should it be a priority for citizens to be spending their money?” Good said.
Energy and Mines Minister Josie Osborne acknowledged demand has outstripped funding as British Columbians flock to electric vehicles.
She said nearly one in five new car purchases in the province last year (18 per cent) was an electric vehicle.
“This is good news, this is good to have this issue at hand,” she said.
“Clearly we’re going to have to look at our programs and see how we can best support British Columbians.”
Osborne, however, would not commit to a program top up, saying only that it would be discussed as a part of planning for next year’s provincial budget.
“I hope we will be able to continue to support people, but we’re just going to have to wait a little while,” she said.
The program is not the first to run out of juice. Earlier this month, a rebate program for electric bicycles blew through its entire $6 million allocation on the day applications opened.
People looking to buy an electric vehicle can still take advantage of up to $4,000 (depending on their income) in provincial rebates on EV’s priced under $55,000.
The BC United opposition says the province has clearly misread the province’s interest in going electric.
“We have the premier and the NDP really flat footed here on programs that are really important to British Columbians,” environment critic Renee Merrifield told Global News.
Provincial funding in a second program to subsidize electric vehicle charging stations in stratas and multi-family buildings has also run dry, however Osborne said federal cash remains available through B.C.’s Go Electric program, allowing rebates of up to $5,000.
Interest in the program, however, is clearly high raising questions about how prepared the province is for a mass shift to electrification.
By law, all new vehicles sold in the province will need to be zero-emission vehicles by 2030.
“We don’t have a lot of pressure yet, but I think over the next three to five years we will start to see a real wave,” Tony Gioventu, executive director of the Condominium Homeowners Association said of the move to install charging stations.
In the meantime, Good is hoping the province acts quickly to charge up funding for the home charger program.
“It just helps people to get that little extra help that says, yes, I’m gonna go forward with electric vehicles,” he said.
“It’s essential for us to do this.”
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