Highway 16 to Vanderhoof, then Highway 27 north to the lake. We install solar, battery storage and back-up power in Fort St. James and the communities around Stuart Lake — as a licensed electrical contractor, not a sales office that subcontracts the wiring.
A long line into town means weather takes the power out sooner and brings it back later. Solar paired with a battery keeps the essentials running without anyone hauling fuel in the dark.
Plenty of places out along Stuart Lake were never going to be cheap to connect. Building your own supply is often less than what it would cost to run a line.
Band offices, health centres and community halls qualify for far larger rebates than a house does — and we handle that paperwork as part of the work.
Fort St. James sits among more First Nations communities than anywhere else we work.
For eligible on-reserve community buildings, BC Hydro has funded solar and battery storage at up to half the installed cost including labour. Note that BC Hydro paused intake of new applications to that programme in December 2024, so the first thing we do on a community project is confirm what is actually open rather than what was open last year — and where that rebate is closed, there are provincial and federal routes that are not.
We do the electrical and solar side, and we hire locally on every project. If something needs a feasibility study or grant support before anyone commits capital, that is a conversation worth having early rather than late.
BC Hydro closed net metering to new customers on 1 July 2026. Under the Self-Generation rate that replaced it, the power you export is bought at 10 cents per kWh and credited on every bill rather than settled once a year.
Rebates are still on the table — up to $5,000 on solar and up to $5,000 on an eligible battery. But since 1 June 2026 BC Hydro only pays them when the work is done by a Home Performance Contractor Network member. We are one. If your installer is not, the rebate simply does not get paid.
About 160 km from our shop, up Highway 27 from Vanderhoof. It is a drive we make regularly, and it is priced into the job rather than added on top.
Tell us what the property is and what you need it to do. We will tell you plainly whether solar is the right answer for it.
Nechako Solar is a licensed BC electrical contractor, licence LEL0204111, and a member of BC Hydro’s Home Performance Contractor Network. Rebate amounts and rate details are current as of August 2026 and are set by BC Hydro, not by us.
