A job loss, a sudden medical bill or a death in the family can put you behind on your hydro bill fast, and BC Hydro can disconnect your service over unpaid arrears. If that sounds like your situation, the Customer Crisis Fund may be able to help. It is a government benefit style grant of up to $800 that BC Hydro applies directly to your overdue balance so your power stays on. It is not a loan, there is nothing to repay, and there is no income test to pass.
Key Points
1. The Customer Crisis Fund is a grant, not a loan. It is applied straight to your BC Hydro account and you do not pay it back.
2. The maximum is $800 if you heat your home with electricity and $700 if you heat with something else, such as natural gas.
3. To qualify you need a balance of $1,000 or less, payments overdue by at least 21 days or a disconnection notice, and a qualifying life event in the last 12 months.
4. There is no income test, and BC Hydro will not disconnect your service while your application is being reviewed.
5. You can receive one grant per year, and applications are typically processed within 21 days.
What Is The BC Hydro Customer Crisis Fund?
The Customer Crisis Fund (CCF) is a grant program run by BC Hydro for residential customers who have fallen behind on their bill because of a short-term financial emergency and are now facing disconnection¹.
The money does not come to you as a cheque or a deposit. BC Hydro applies the grant directly to your account against your arrears, which reduces or clears what you owe. You are not required to repay it.
The program is aimed at a specific problem: a customer who normally pays their bill hits an unexpected crisis, falls behind, and risks losing their power over a relatively small balance. It is not designed as ongoing support for a household with a permanently low income. BC Hydro has separate programs for that, and those are covered further down this page.
How Much Can You Get From The Customer Crisis Fund?
The maximum grant depends on how you heat your home¹.
| Your Situation | Maximum Grant |
|---|---|
| Home heated with electricity | $800 |
| Home heated with another fuel (natural gas, oil, propane, wood) | $700 |
One important detail: the grant equals your overdue balance, up to the maximum. You do not automatically receive $800 just because you qualify. If you owe $540 on an electrically heated home, the grant covers that $540 and nothing more. If you owe $950 on a gas-heated home, the grant covers $700 and you are responsible for the remaining $250.
Who Is Eligible For The BC Hydro Customer Crisis Fund?
You need to meet every one of the following conditions¹:
- You are a residential BC Hydro account holder.
- The account is for your primary residence.
- Your payments are overdue by at least 21 days, or you are facing disconnection.
- You experienced a qualifying life event in the last 12 months that caused a temporary financial crisis.
- Your outstanding balance is $1,000 or less.
- You have made some attempt to pay down the bill.
That last point catches a lot of applicants off guard. BC Hydro wants to see that you have tried to pay something, so an account that has been ignored entirely is a weak application.
On the disconnection side, BC Hydro only disconnects accounts where the outstanding balance is $70 or more, and you will receive written or telephone contact followed by a final notice of disconnection before service is cut⁶. That final notice is your signal to apply immediately.
Note: There Is No Income Test
The Customer Crisis Fund is open to any residential customer in a temporary financial emergency, no matter what your household income is and whether or not you already receive other forms of assistance.
This makes it different from most utility bill programs. The ontario electricity support program, for example, is income-tested and delivers an ongoing monthly credit. The Customer Crisis Fund is the opposite: it ignores your income entirely, but it only fires once, and only when a specific life event has pushed you into arrears.
What Counts As A Qualifying Life Event?
BC Hydro describes a temporary financial crisis as one caused by an event “such as a loss of employment or benefit income, unanticipated medical expenses, or a death in the family”¹. The wording matters. That is a list of examples, not a closed list of the only four things that count.
- Loss of employment
- Loss of benefit income, for example EI or income assistance coming to an end
- Unanticipated medical expenses
- A death in the family
- A significant, unexpected household expense, for example replacing a hot water tank or a roof⁷
The real test is not whether your situation appears on that list. It is whether a one-time event in the last 12 months caused temporary financial hardship that stopped you paying the bill⁷. Applied that way, other one-off emergencies fit the same pattern, including a major car repair you needed to keep working, an emergency veterinary bill, or an urgent home repair. If your expense was sudden, large and not something you could have planned for, it is worth applying and describing it plainly on the form.
What Does Not Count As A Life Event
The flip side is the more important half, because this is the main reason applications get rejected⁷. An ongoing affordability problem is not a life event, even though it is a completely genuine reason to be short of money. That includes:
- A rent increase
- A permanent drop in your income
- Having a child
- A balance that has been slowly growing for years without any single triggering event
The distinction BC Hydro is drawing is between a household that normally manages and got knocked sideways once, and a household whose income does not cover its costs month to month. The second situation is real, but the Customer Crisis Fund is not the tool for it. Income assistance, the crisis supplement and ECAP are, and all three are covered further down this page.
Who Does Not Qualify?
It is worth knowing where the hard lines are before you spend time on an application. You will not be approved if¹:
- The account is commercial or otherwise non-residential.
- The account is for a secondary property, a vacation home, or a rental unit you do not live in.
- Your balance is over $1,000.
- You have not made any attempt to pay the bill.
- You already received a Customer Crisis Fund grant in the past 12 months.
- Your arrears are not connected to a life event in the last 12 months.
- Your shortfall is an ongoing affordability problem rather than a one-time event⁷.
If you are reading that list and realising you fall outside it, skip ahead to the section on other BC Hydro bill help. There are options that do not have a $1,000 ceiling.
Energy Bill Stress In Canada
1 in 10
Canadian households were late paying an energy bill, or unable to pay it at all, in the past 12 months.
3%
received a disconnection, shut-off or non-delivery notice.
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Social Survey, 2023
How To Apply For The BC Hydro Customer Crisis Fund
There are two ways to apply, and the online route is significantly faster¹.
Apply online. BC Hydro runs a dedicated Customer Crisis Fund application through its website. Before you start, have your BC Hydro account number ready, along with the date and nature of your life event and a sense of what you have paid on the account recently.
Apply on paper. Paper forms are available at Service BC locations. Once the form is filled out, you can submit it by:
- Dropping it off at a Service BC office, which is the practical option if you are outside the Lower Mainland
- Mailing it to PO Box 8910, Vancouver, B.C., V6B 4X3
- Faxing it to 604-909-4861
If you are not sure which route applies to you, or you want to confirm your balance and account status first, you can call BC Hydro at 1-800-BCHYDRO.
What Happens After You Apply
BC Hydro typically processes a Customer Crisis Fund application within 21 days¹. While your application is under review, your service will not be disconnected, which is the single most useful feature of the program if you are holding a disconnection notice right now.
If you are approved, the grant is applied straight to your account against the arrears. You will see it as a credit on your bill rather than money in your bank account.
BC Hydro may also audit applications and ask you to provide documents supporting the life event and the financial hardship you described. If you refuse to provide that documentation, the grant can become repayable, so keep any relevant paperwork such as a record of employment, a benefit termination letter or medical receipts.
3 things that strengthen a Customer Crisis Fund application
Make a payment before you apply
A demonstrated attempt to pay is a hard requirement. Even a small partial payment is better than none.
Apply as soon as you get the notice
Review takes up to 21 days. Applying early means the review window covers you rather than running out.
Reapply if your situation changes
If you were denied and your circumstances have since changed, you can submit a new application in the same year.
How Often Can You Get A Customer Crisis Fund Grant?
You can receive one grant per account holder per year¹.
There is one useful exception. If your application was denied and your circumstances have since changed, you can reapply within the same year. That does not apply if you were approved. Once a grant has been paid out on your account, you have to wait a full year before you are eligible again.
Because of that once-a-year limit, it is worth thinking about timing. If your arrears are small and manageable, using a payment arrangement instead may leave the grant available to you later in the year if something worse happens.
Other BC Hydro Bill Help If You Do Not Qualify
The $1,000 balance cap and the 12-month life event requirement rule out a lot of customers. If either one applies to you, BC Hydro has several other options².
Payment Arrangements And Catch-Up Plans
If you cannot pay the full amount owing, BC Hydro can set you up with a catch-up payment plan or a flexible payment arrangement that spreads the overdue amount over time. There is no $1,000 ceiling here, so this is the main route if your arrears are larger than the CCF covers. You can set one up through MyHydro or by calling 1-800-BCHYDRO.
Payment Deferral
Residential customers can ask to defer a payment to a later date. This buys time rather than reducing what you owe, and late payment charges can still apply while the balance sits there.
Equal Payment Plan
An Equal Payment Plan spreads your estimated annual cost evenly across 12 months so that winter bills do not spike. This is a preventive tool rather than an emergency one, but if high winter bills are what pushes you into arrears every year, it addresses the root cause.
Energy Conservation Assistance Program (ECAP)
ECAP delivers no-cost home energy retrofits to income-qualified households, including electric heat pumps, dual fuel systems, insulation and other weatherization work. The point is to permanently lower your bill rather than to cover one month of it.
The program is expanding. BC Hydro is receiving $68.8 million from the federal government and $8 million from the Province, and contributing $100.5 million of its own, for a total of $177.3 million, and a family of four earning up to $57,200 a year can now qualify⁴. BC Hydro is also rolling out free smart thermostats valued at $350 for homes with electric baseboard heating starting in fall 2026, with income-qualified households able to earn as much as $325 annually through expanded programs⁴.
If your goal is a structurally cheaper bill rather than emergency relief, ECAP sits alongside the canada greener homes grant and other energy retrofit programs as a longer-term fix.
Note: Your Balance Grows While You Wait
BC Hydro charges a late payment fee of 1.5% per month on overdue balances above $30. On a $600 balance that is roughly $9 a month, which is small on its own but adds up while you decide what to do.
It also matters for the Customer Crisis Fund specifically. Since the grant is capped at a $1,000 balance, letting arrears drift upward can push you past the eligibility line entirely. Acting before you hit that ceiling keeps the option open.
The BC Crisis Supplement Is A Different Program
This is the single most common mix-up, so it is worth separating clearly. The Customer Crisis Fund is run by BC Hydro. The crisis supplement is run by the provincial Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, and it is only available if you already receive income assistance in British Columbia, disability assistance or hardship assistance⁵.
The crisis supplement can cover essential utilities, including hydro, and it can be issued before a disconnection notice is even sent when your provider is an essential utility such as BC Hydro or FortisBC. You will need documentation confirming your arrears⁵.
| Customer Crisis Fund | BC Crisis Supplement | |
|---|---|---|
| Run by | BC Hydro | Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction |
| Who can apply | Any residential customer | Income assistance, disability assistance or hardship assistance recipients only |
| Income test | None | Yes, you must already be on assistance |
| Covers | BC Hydro arrears only | Utilities, food, clothing, shelter and other urgent needs |
| Balance limit | $1,000 or less | No fixed hydro cap, assessed case by case |
| Needs a disconnection notice | Overdue 21+ days or facing disconnection | No, can be issued before a notice is sent |
The two programs are not mutually exclusive in principle, but they solve different problems. If you are on assistance, the crisis supplement is usually the faster route because your worker can assess it as an expedited request.
How To Apply For The Crisis Supplement In British Columbia
You do not fill out a standalone form for this one. You request it from the ministry through any of three channels⁵:
- Online through My Self Serve (MySS), the portal you already use to manage your assistance file
- By phone at 1-866-866-0800
- In person at your local ministry office
Your Employment and Assistance Worker then assesses the request against three tests: the expense has to be unexpected, you have to have no cash resources available to cover it, and failing to cover it has to put someone in your family unit in imminent danger to their physical or mental health⁵. Bring or upload your BC Hydro bill showing the arrears, since confirmation of the amount owing is required.
One recent change to be aware of: as of April 1, 2026, crisis supplements for shelter are limited to one per family unit per year on a rolling 12-month basis, with documented exceptions⁵. That cap is specific to shelter, but it is a sign the ministry is tightening how often these are issued, so do not assume repeat requests will be routine.
Other Financial Help For BC Residents
If a hydro bill is only one of the things you are behind on, the problem is bigger than a utility grant. If a disability is part of why your income dropped, BC disability assistance pays a higher monthly rate than regular income assistance and comes with additional supplements, including health and utility-related supports. BC Housing also runs rental assistance programs for low-income families and seniors, which frees up room in your budget for utilities.
How To Get A Refund From BC Hydro
This comes up often enough alongside the crisis fund that it is worth answering, even though it is a separate issue. A grant is not a refund, and the two are handled completely differently.
If your account is in credit because you overpaid or your Equal Payment Plan estimate was too high, that credit normally sits on the account and reduces your next bill automatically. To get it back as actual money rather than a bill credit, call BC Hydro at 1-800-BCHYDRO and request a refund.
If you are closing your account, the remaining credit is applied to your final bill first and used to reduce anything owing. If a credit is still left over and you do not open a new account, it stays on the closed account in case you come back. If you have another active BC Hydro account, the credit is transferred over to it and your installments are adjusted.
If you paid a security deposit when you opened your account, that is returned to you as a bill credit after two years of on-time payments, and BC Hydro credits interest on it monthly along the way. If you cancel your service before the two years are up, the deposit is applied to your final bill instead⁶.
Final Thoughts
If you are a BC Hydro residential customer, you owe $1,000 or less, and something specific went wrong in the last year, the Customer Crisis Fund is close to free money against your arrears. There is no income test, nothing to repay, and filing the application on its own pauses disconnection for the length of the review.
If you fall outside those limits, do not simply wait. A catch-up payment plan has no balance ceiling and no life event requirement, and setting one up stops the situation from getting worse while late payment charges keep accumulating. Either way, the worst outcome is the one where you do nothing and the balance climbs past the point where the grant could have covered it.
BC Hydro Customer Crisis Fund FAQs
Do you have to pay back the BC Hydro Customer Crisis Fund?
Do emergency vet bills or car repairs count as a qualifying life event?
Can I apply for the BC Hydro Crisis Fund online?
Is the crisis supplement the same as the BC Hydro Customer Crisis Fund?
How do I get a refund from BC Hydro?
How long does a Customer Crisis Fund application take?
Can BC Hydro disconnect you while your application is being reviewed?
Can you apply for the Customer Crisis Fund more than once?
Is there an income limit for the Customer Crisis Fund?
What if you owe more than $1,000 to BC Hydro?
References
- BC Hydro. (n.d.). Customer Crisis Fund. https://app.bchydro.com/accounts-billing/bill-payment/ways-to-pay/customer-crisis-fund.html
- BC Hydro. (n.d.). Trouble paying your bill? https://app.bchydro.com/accounts-billing/bill-payment/ways-to-pay/bill-help.html
- Statistics Canada. (2023). Canadian Social Survey: Energy use. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/231030/dq231030b-eng.htm
- Government of British Columbia. (2026). Energy-efficiency upgrades will help lower costs for households with lower incomes. https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2026ECS0035-000771
- Government of British Columbia. (2026). BC Employment and Assistance policy and procedure manual: Crisis supplement. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/policies-for-government/bcea-policy-and-procedure-manual/general-supplements-and-programs/crisis-supplement
- BC Hydro. (n.d.). What you should know as a BC Hydro customer. https://app.bchydro.com/accounts-billing/bill-payment/customer-service-rules.html
- BC 211. (n.d.). Customer Crisis Fund (CCF). https://bc.211.ca/result/customer-crisis-fund-ccf-55939961/
