Ampra Grid – BC Hydro Energy Storage Incentive Program
Ampra Grid is where you find solar battery data hardware nerds. We are the people who really get into the numbers and make sure that these projects work out according to the program requirements. That's why we have a product to ensure that if you're getting this type of incentive, it all actually works out for the life of the program, which is quite a while.
This is a unique incentive program for commercial energy storage. So what we're talking about is not a home, but a business.
Commercial Market
The C+I ESS market is expanding rapidly. From the utility perspective, yes, they can put large batteries on their own assets, but there are limits to that. So this is a utility pilot program to figure out how BC Hydro in particular can place batteries at the source of commercial loads to offset evening power use.
This program is focuses on the battery. Batteries, unlike generators, are easy to own — generators require a lot more service, fuel, and maintenance. Demand charges are definitely increasing over time, and that's where Ampra Grid comes in.
What Ampra Grid Does
We are the battery controls — that extra layer you need to make sure the project is not only set up correctly on day one, but that as conditions shift over time, controls remain the critical part of maximizing savings from the utility and ensuring adherence to program rules.
What's in the Box?
This is us. We're a box — we call it the Joule — the controller that maximizes your returns. 
We are syncing data with the facility and the utility. That connection is not necessarily there through your inverter. Signals need to be sent from the utility, received at the equipment, and then the equipment needs to act in a certain way. Our box allows for all of that to happen.
We pre-program the controller to make your commissioning process as seamless as possible, saving time in the field. Remote commissioning service is included in the price. 
We also have the ability to do reporting so you can actually see what's happening. We implement role and project based email reports and alerts to make post-installation communication easy across diverse project stakeholders.
We manages both peak shaving and demand response. If you're doing both, it's actually really difficult to get right. It's not just hardware — it's hardware and software, integrated with the proper partners to communicate with your utility.
Ampra Grid wants to make it ridiculously easy for you. There's no cost to the application. We'll fill out the incentive application. We hope that at the end of this you say, "Now would be a good time for me to — for free, at no cost — see if I'm a good applicant." 
If you get accepted, we can easily connect you with a local, pre-approved BC Hydro contractor that is already doing these types of projects. You're going to get local contractors, local equipment. That's our white glove service.
There's built-in cellular communication, so we don't need to show up to your site to manage this. We help with commissioning remotely. And for this type of project, with the ESI program being 10 years, we have a 10-year agreement to service the controls — because we can set it up correctly on day one, but if things change over time — the program structure, your ability to adhere to it, your usage profile — we are there for 10 years to make sure updates happen and everything stays optimized. That's our promise: we'll stick around for 10 years and make sure it's performing as it should.
Peak Shaving and demand response management (DERMS)
Picture what we call the "gray mountain" — that's how your facility uses energy. Starting in the middle of the night there's a baseline usage, people arrive at the shop and usage goes up, maybe there's an operational spike, more spikes throughout the day, and then in the evening a big drop-off. That drop-off is the whole point of the demand response program — pulling from the battery, not the grid.
After the 6:00–9:00 p.m. demand response event, the battery slowly charges through the night, so by morning your batteries are full. Batteries drain during peak use to escape high demand charges. We support midday recharging if usage drops to prepare for afternoon spikes, charge again before the evening DERMS event.
This all needs to be set up correctly. You don't want to peak shaving unsuccessfully and then drain your battery to miss the DERMS event. The math also changes over time, so you'd want a 10-year agreement with someone with an integrated box with cellular communications watching over to make remote changes, making sure you're hitting each economic target correctly.
Return on Investment
You'll recapture most of the project cost within the first year — up to 90% — because:
- 80% of qualifying costs are covered by the BC Hydro incentive program
- Federal tax credit on top of that
- Depreciation benefit
What we're showing is that you can be cash flow positive from year one. You can choose to pay off the loan whenever you want. If you waited until year seven, you'd then accelerate straight into greater savings. In the simple, no-financing scenario, it's a four-year payback with most of that in year one.
You'll have:
- 10-year equipment warranty
- 10-year controls agreement
As a return on investment, this is probably better than almost anything else available.
Installation
The battery can go outside or inside. Most commercial sites should be able to house it.
Project Milestones
That's how you get to the 90% cost recovery. After that, ongoing savings come from annual demand reductions, net of any loan payments — keeping you cash flow positive throughout.
Getting Started
What we're focused on right now is determining whether this is even a good program for you. We don't want to submit an application if it doesn't make sense. A quick meeting with us after this webinar, combined with a review of your interval data from your BC Hydro electric account, will let us know the answer right away.
Optional add-ons made easy with Hybrid Inverters:
- Solar — this can be a great opportunity to add solar panels
- Generator — for critical loads that cannot go down (refrigeration, essential equipment), batteries improve generator efficiency and redundancy
- EV charging — EV chargers add significant load to a site; batteries can help manage that
Why Work with Ampra Grid?
You can go into the incentive application with confidence, knowing you'll get it because you did the right review upfront. When you do get it, you'll be one of the lucky few to receive such a large incentive. I've been involved in many incentive programs over the years — they're only this lucrative for a short period of time. They go away, and when you look back, you'll say, "Yeah, I should have done that."
You get:
- Local battery options
- Local contractor options
- Expert energy controls management
- Right-sized equipment — no overselling, no empty promises
- Remote management — no high costs for on-site visits
Next Step
Email us your interval data. We submit the incentive application for you at no charge. You're not obligated to anything at that point. When you find out you're approved, then you move into financing and contractor selection. If you don't get approved, nothing happens — no charges from us.
This is just a really great opportunity to get a free, expert-prepared application submitted, and then flow through to getting a great project done using as many local resources as possible.
If you have any questions, send them our way.
You are how utilities are solving problems with the grid. It's really important that people stand up, raise their hand, and say, "Yes, I want to be a part of that. I want to help."