Peak Rewards
Earn $50+ in rewards for enrolling your smart devices
Get more from your home's smart devices. When you participate in our Peak Rewards program, you allow us to remotely adjust your eligible devices during periods of high electricity demand. This helps us manage the demand on our system to ensure safe, reliable electricity across the province.
How it works
Throughout the year, we'll hold 'peak time events'. During these events, we'll remotely adjust your enrolled smart home device(s). This may include delaying the start of charging your electric vehicle (EV) or lowering the temperature on your smart thermostat by a couple of degrees.
Each event will last no more than four hours. After an event ends, your device will return to its normal operation.
You can opt out of the event at any time, and you'll always maintain full override control of your enrolled devices. If you opt out of more that 50% of the events throughout the season, you may be removed from the program*.
You'll receive a $50 reward for each device type that you enroll in the program, per season. There are six eligible device types.
*Google Nest is exempt from opt out.
Eligible smart home devices:
*New customers are eligible for an enrollment bonus during the summer season. This offer is limited to customers in specific geographic areas.
- SolarEdge home batteries*
*Enhanced reward of $250 applies to this device type
- Existing Optiwatt app users (Tesla EVs)
Eligibility
To be eligible for the Peak Rewards program, you must be the BC Hydro account holder and the owner of your residence or a tenant with consent from the owner. See additional eligibility criteria below for specific device types.
If you're enrolling an EV charger, you must:
- Own a plug-in electric vehicle.
- Have an eligible EV charger that's always connected to the internet.
If you're enrolling a smart thermostat or a load controller, you must:
- Have an eligible thermostat or load controller that's always connected to the internet.
Ineligible customers
- You can't participate in this program if your BC Hydro account is on the E-Plus rate.
How to sign up
Enrollment in the program is done via the manufacturer of each eligible smart home device. Here's how to enroll based on the device(s) you own:
DEVICE |
INSTRUCTIONS |
|---|---|
| JuiceBox (Enel X Way) | Submit the enrollment form on the JuiceBox website. |
| ChargePoint | Enroll through the ChargePoint app in the Account / Connections section using the code "PEAKREWARDS" |
| Ecobee | You'll receive an in-app notification inviting you to upgrade to eco+ and to join Peak Rewards. |
| Enroll your device through Google's registration page. | |
| Sinopé | Activate the "Eco Sinopé" feature in the NeviWeb app. |
| Mysa | Enroll your device through Mysa's registration page. |
| SolarEdge | Select SolarEdge device owners will be invited to enroll on a trial basis. |
| Optiwatt | Select app users will be invited to enroll on a trial basis. |
Once your enrollment is completed, we'll review your information and send you an email with next steps within 10 business days.
See the program terms and conditions [PDF, 135 KB] for full program details.
Help with installation
If you need to hire someone to install your smart home devices, you can connect with one of our Local Pro partners who provide customers with the home services they need.
To install an EV charger, you can get in touch with a qualified electrician through our Alliance of Energy Professionals.
Have questions?
Review our frequently asked questions below. If you still need help, please email us.
Contact your device manufacturer directly.
MANUFACTURER |
CONTACT INFORMATION |
|---|---|
| ChargePoint Technologies | 1 888 758 4389
|
| JuiceBox / EnelX Way | 1 844 584 2329 |
| Ecobee |
1 877 932 6233 |
| Google website | |
| Sinopé Technologies | 1 855 741 7700 |
| Mysa | Mysa's website |
Peak time events can happen any time of the day, but most commonly take place between 6 a.m. to 11 a.m., and 4 p.m. and 10 p.m.
You don't need to take any action during an event. Your registered device(s) will respond to the signal we send them to automatically adjust their operation.
- EV chargers will stop charging or charge at a lower rate.
- Load controllers will safely shut off the water heater for the duration of the event.
- In heating season, Mysa thermostats will set back the temperature by up to three degrees. Eco Sinopé users can set their own temperature set-back preferences.
- In cooling season, with Ecobee thermostats, you can enable pre-cooling prior to events if you'd like, then during an event, the thermostat will allow your temperature to increase by 0.5 to 2º C above your pre-set comfort temperature.
- SolarEdge batteries will discharge to power your home circuits. Your batteries will never discharge below 20% to ensure there is some energy left.
- For direct-to-EV charging control, your EV will stop charging, or charge at a lower rate, based on your own charging settings.
After the event, your devices will return to their normal operation and settings to recharge if required.
Most devices will have a "demand response" or "DR" indicator on their screen or in their app. You may receive a notification from your EV charger indicating that charging has been paused.
Most devices allow you to use the device's app to opt out of the event. For thermostats, you can simply adjust the temperature up or down manually. For EV chargers, you can restart charging by unplugging your car and plugging it in again.
If you opt out of more that 50% of the events throughout the season, you may be removed from the program*.
*Google Nest is exempt from opt out.
If you're eligible for a reward, it will be applied to your BC Hydro bill at the end of the season.
Reward payouts take place during the following periods:
- Summer season payments: October to December
- Winter season payments: April to June
We're continuing to explore opportunities to add more eligible devices. For devices to work with our program, they must control electric-powered devices (i.e. no gas furnaces or appliances), and must be able to receive a signal via the internet so they can be controlled remotely.
We offer Peak Rewards enrollment during two seasons: winter and summer.
- Winter season: November through March.
- Summer season: June through September.
Summer participation is limited to select areas
We're currently testing a Peak Rewards summer season in select, high-growth areas where there's an increasing demand for electricity.
By working to reduce the peak demand in these areas, it helps us maintain a safe, reliable electricity system. In the future, we plan to open the summer Peak Rewards season to all program participants.