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Opportunity assessments

Contractors reviewing construction blueprints on a table a construction site.

Opportunity assessment funding is available for social housing organizations

Funding is available to get a professional opportunity assessment of your building as part of the Social Housing Energy Savings Program.

An opportunity assessment will provide you with a high-level assessment of your building to identify short-and long-term projects that would improve electrical energy efficiency, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and more.

These assessments are completed by an energy consultant or staff with appropriate designation at BC Non-Profit Housing Association (BCNPHA) or BC Housing.

The offer

Get funding to cover up to 100% of the assessment cost, to a maximum of $6,000 for consultants and $4,500 for BCNPHA/BC Housing staff. Funding doesn't cover tax.

Opportunities may include:

  • Transitioning to high-efficiency heating and cooling systems.
  • Upgrading the building envelope.
  • Upgrading to energy-efficient LED lighting and more.

For a full outline of the requirements, download the Opportunity Assessment Guideline [PDF, 358 KB].

How it works

  1. Talk to your Key Account Manager. They’ll be your main point of contact and will help you complete your application.
  2. Hire a consultant or approach an energy manager at BCNPHA. If you hire a consultant to perform the assessment, they’ll need to be a member of the Alliance of Energy Professionals. 
  3. Site visit. If you hired a consultant, they’ll visit your site(s), identify the assessment scope, and provide you with a quote. 
  4. Online application. Apply online. We'll review your application. Once it's approved, the consultant can proceed with the assessment. 
  5. Retrofit information. Your consultant will provide a retrofit opportunity register, outlining the opportunities at your building.
  6. Submit your documentation. You'll return to your online application and submit the required documentation. This must be done within 90 days of application approval.
  7. Payment. When approved, we’ll process the payment and if required we'll pay the consultant/BC NPHA or BC Housing directly. 

Eligibility

  • Must be a non-profit, non-profit co-operative, local government/provincial housing authority or Indigenous housing provider operating a multi-unit residential building.
  • Building or facilities must be in BC Hydro’s service area [PDF, 177 KB] or City of Westminster.
  • Spaces being retrofitted must be common areas or in-suite, as defined by the conservation measures. Recreational spaces can qualify.
  • All proposed equipment must be new. Proposed retrofits must seek to reduce electrical energy consumption for space heating, ventilation, common area water heating, kitchen equipment, lighting, refrigeration and/or pool heating in the premises.

How to apply

To start an application, you'll need to log in to the Conservation and Energy Management (CEM) Hub first.

Don't have a CEM Hub profile yet? Register now. 

Already approved? Submit your final documents

Once your assessment is complete, open your existing application to declare that it's complete and provide your final documents. You'll be asked to log in to the CEM Hub first. 

You'll need to have the following documents ready to upload.

  • Opportunity assessment report (required) – The final report of your opportunity assessment, prepared by your consultant.
  • Opportunity assessment workbook (required) – Completed by your consultant, it includes the results of your assessment, including a retrofit opportunity register and building data. Download the Opportunity Assessment Workbook template [XLSX, 308 KB]
  • Invoices (required) – Copies of the itemized invoice(s) for your assessment.

Resources

Explore tools and resources designed to guide you through the program.