Getting consent from your landlord

If you rent your home, have your landlord complete a Landlord Consent Form and submit the form along with the rest of your application.

Terms and Conditions – Portable AC Offer

The following terms and conditions (the “Terms and Conditions”) govern applicants’ participation in the Portable AC Offer stream of the Energy Conservation Assistance Program (the “Program”), under which eligible applicants may receive a portable air conditioner unit (an “AC Unit”).

1. Portable AC Unit Offer
   Partners: The Program is administered, sponsored or funded, in whole or in part, by British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (“BC Hydro”), and FortisBC Energy Inc. FortisBC Inc. (collectively “FortisBC”), and together with BC Hydro the “Utility Partners”).
   1. Eligible Residences: Eligible residences for the Portable AC Unit Offer include single family detached homes, townhomes, rowhomes, duplexes, manufactured/mobile homes and apartment and condominium units.
   2. Eligibility Requirements: The applicant must:
      • be at least 19 years old;
      • be a tenant or the owner of the eligible residence and occupy the eligible residence as their primary residence;
      • if a tenant, obtain consent from the owner of the residence in the form found at www.bchydro.com/freeAC (the “Landlord Consent”) and submit the completed and signed Landlord Consent; and
      • submit a recommendation letter from an eligible regional health authority program.
      Note: Applicants are not required to be the BC Hydro residential account holder for the eligible residence.
   3. AC Units, home evaluation and installation
      • Eligible applicants may, at the complete discretion of the Utility Partners, receive an AC Unit.
      • Applicants with existing, functioning air conditioner units are not eligible to receive an AC Unit.
      • The applicant, if the applicant’s application is approved, permits the Utility Partners’ approved contractors (the “Contractors”) to conduct, at no cost to the applicant, an evaluation of the eligible residence prior to installation to determine whether the AC Unit can safely be installed at the residence, including an assessment of electrical requirements or any pre-existing health or safety issues. If it is determined, at the sole discretion of the Contractors or the Utility Partners, that the residence does not meet these requirements or that the AC Unit would not materially improve the heat safety of the applicant, the applicant will not receive an AC Unit.
      • Once installed, AC Units become the property of the applicant (whether a tenant or the owner) and as such they accept all responsibilities and liabilities related to the AC Unit, including those related to the repair, maintenance, replacement, and removal of the AC Unit.
      • The applicant will, if the applicant’s application is approved, grant, or ensure Utility Partners or their Contractors are granted, access to the residence and the AC Unit upon request to conduct site visits to verify compliance, eligibility and installation/operation.
2. General Terms and Conditions: The following terms and conditions apply to all applicants:
   1. Representations and Warranties. The applicant represents and warrants that they satisfy the applicable eligibility requirements referred to in these Terms and Conditions.
   2. Program changes. The Utility Partners may modify these Terms and Conditions or terminate the program or offer referred to in these Terms and Conditions (collectively, the “Program”) at any time and for any reason, without penalty or obligation. Dates are subject to change.
   3. Availability of funding. Funding is limited. Utility Partners, at their sole discretion, may prioritize applications and determine level of funding or the provision of any products, if any, an applicant may receive.
   4. Acceptance/rejection of applications. Utility Partners reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to accept or reject applications for any reason, whether or not eligibility criteria are met.
   5. Winter installations. Utility Partners may, at their sole discretion, pause, limit or change the scope of AC installation during winter months. Application received over the winter months may receive home evaluation and installation the following spring.
   6. Binding decisions. Decisions of Utility Partners are final and binding and not subject to appeal. Utility Partners may provide reasons for their decisions but are under no obligation to do so.
   7. No liability; Indemnity. Utility Partners, not being the designer, manufacturer, provider or installer of the products and/or improvements, make no representations or warranties whatsoever of any kind, including as to the fitness of, the necessity for, the quality of, or the energy efficiency/savings of, any product, improvement or service, or skill of any contractor (including the Contractors). The applicant does hereby indemnify and save harmless the Ministry, the Utility Partners and their affiliates, and their respective directors, officers, agents, contractors (including the Contractors) and employees, from all liability, damages, claims, demands, expenses and costs for claims, costs for injury or death of any person (including from any infectious disease outbreaks), damage to or destruction of property, and all economic loss suffered by any person (collectively, “Losses”) arising from or occurring by reason of the applicant’s participation in the Program and/or the implementation of any Program recommendations, including the installation and/or use of the AC Unit, and any breaches of any tenancy or other similar agreement involving the applicant or any strata or other bylaws or rules applicable to the residence. The applicant irrevocably waives any and all claims against, and irrevocably releases and agrees not to sue the Ministry, the Utility Partners or their affiliates and/or any of their respective officers, directors, employees, agents, contractors or representatives for and against all Losses arising from the applicant’s participation in the Program and/or the implementation of any Program recommendations, including the installation and/or use of the AC Unit, and any breaches of any tenancy or other similar agreement involving the applicant or any strata or other bylaws or rules applicable to the residence.
   8. Collection, Indirect Collection, Use and disclosure of information.
      1. The applicant, where the Utility Partners are not authorized by law, consents and agrees the Utility Partners and their Contractors and authorized agents may:
         1. contact the applicant by phone, mail, email or other method to administer, implement, evaluate and research all elements of the Program, verify information, and to conduct surveys;
         2. collect and use information (including personal information) contained in the application (including any supporting documentation) or acquired during participation in the Program (including in home assessments and during site visits) and may disclose the information to their affiliates and contractors, the other Utility Partners, and other Program partners, and the landlord, strata corporation, and/or property manager (if applicable), to administer, implement and evaluate the Program, to conduct research, to confirm eligibility, to verify compliance, for quality assurance, and to develop other energy conservation programs.
         3. retrieve account information and bill data for a period of 3 years prior to, and 3 years after, Program participation to evaluate consumption behavior and energy savings attributable to the Program, and to collect, use and disclose such information and data pursuant to (b)above.
            • FortisBC - Personal Information Protection Act and FortisBC’s Privacy Policy (available at fortisbc.com/privacy).
            • BC Hydro - BC Hydro’s collection of personal information is authorized by section 26(c) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy for the purposes outlined above. Contact BC Hydro’s Customer Service at 604 224 9376 or 1 800 224 9376 outside of the Lower Mainland if you have questions.
      2. To facilitate the delivery and installation of services, we may need to collect personal contact information of individuals other than you, the applicant. By providing the personal contact information of a third party, the applicant confirms that they have obtained authorization from the third party for BC Hydro to collect their personal information indirectly for the specified purposes. The applicant agrees to obtain their authorization and to inform the third party of the following:
         1. Purpose of Collection: The personal information is being collected to facilitate the delivery and installation of services.
         2. Legal Authority: The collection of personal information by BC Hydro in this application is authorized under Section 26(c) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA).
         3. Contact Information: For any questions regarding the collection of personal information, the third party can contact ecap_esk@bchydro.com.
         By providing the third party's personal contact information, the applicant ensures that the third party has authorized BC Hydro to collect their personal information indirectly from someone other than themselves for the purposes outlined above.