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Rebate to replace a panel: the real answer
For a single-family house, no current program pays to replace a panel, except RénoRégion for low-income households in the regions. For an apartment building, there is one, and it pays half the bill.
In short
The essentials.
- Single-family house: no current program subsidizes a panel replacement in itself.
- Écorecharge pays $600 toward the price of a home charger, installation not included — the charger, not the panel.
- Apartment building: up to 50% of eligible expenses, up to $120,000 per building, and oversizing the panel is explicitly eligible.
- LogisVert still exists, but covers no panel work. Since October 1, 2026, Rénoclimat offers up to $4,000 on the equipment of a fixed battery and up to $1,000 for the fees of the master electrician who connects a backup source (our Rénoclimat 2026 guide). Rénoclimat doesn’t pay for a panel replacement in itself; its Adaptation component can pay to raise the panel against flooding, in a recognized flood zone, if the mandatory assessment recommends it.
- Chauffez vert has been closed to new applications since March 31, 2026.
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The short answer, by building
It’s one of the questions we’re asked most often, and the answer going around is almost always wrong one way or the other.
The facts below were checked on the programs’ official pages on September 11, 2026, and those for LogisVert’s solar component and Rénoclimat again on October 15, 2026. Programs change: check the update date before committing to any expense on the strength of an amount.
You live in a single-family house. No current program pays to replace an electrical panel: neither LogisVert, nor Écorecharge, nor a federal program pays to increase your service capacity. The only exception is RénoRégion, from the Société d’habitation du Québec: it targets low-income owner-occupants in a municipality of fewer than 15,000 people, and pays to correct major defects, electrical included. The existing programs target equipment (a charger, a heat pump, insulation, solar panels), not the electrical infrastructure that supplies it, except raising the panel against flooding, in Rénoclimat’s Adaptation component. That measure is part of the guided path: the home must be in a flood zone recognized by the MELCCFP, and the climate resilience assessment, done before the work, must recommend that work.
You own an apartment building. The answer is different, and much more interesting: an Écorecharge component pays half of the work to upgrade the electrical infrastructure, and oversizing the panel is specifically eligible. That’s the “Apartment buildings” section below.
Écorecharge: what is really covered
Écorecharge replaced the charger component of Roulez vert. For a homeowner, it pays $600 toward the purchase price of a home charger; installation costs are not eligible.
The amount is a flat amount: it doesn’t go up if your installation costs more, and it doesn’t cover the electrical work upstream of the charger. If your panel has to be upgraded to take the circuit, that expense is yours.
The distinction is easy to remember: the program pays for the device, not for the house that has to adapt to receive it.
Also note: an electric vehicle owner who has an individual charger installed in the parking area of their apartment building can receive up to $5,000. It’s a separate component from the single-family house one.
Apartment buildings: the only program that pays for panel work
It’s Écorecharge’s “electrical infrastructure upgrade” component, in effect since March 17, 2026.
The aid is 50% of eligible expenses, up to a maximum of $120,000 per building, whether the project is done in one or two phases. The calculation is on expenses before taxes — taxes are not eligible.
What is eligible, among other things:
- Oversizing the electrical panel to allow the breakers to be connected
- Conduits and junction boxes installed in anticipation of supplying the parking area
- Routing the cables between the building and the parking spaces
- The breakers needed to supply the chargers and an energy management system
- Professional fees for the infrastructure plans and specifications
The central condition: the work must make at least 50% of the parking spaces reserved for residents ready to receive a charger, at least at the “ready for charging” stage. Visitor spaces don’t count toward that threshold.
A space can receive the aid only once under this component, and the same invoice can’t be submitted to two programs.
In practice: if your building needs its service entrance and panel redone anyway, and you’re planning chargers in the medium term, doing both in the same project can get half of electrical work you would have paid alone covered. It’s the only situation in Québec where a panel replacement is directly subsidized.
The programs you’ll still hear about, and that are closed
A good part of the wrong information comes from pages and advice that haven’t been updated.
| Program | What it covers | The panel? | Status on September 11, 2026 (LogisVert solar and Rénoclimat: October 15, 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Écorecharge — home | Purchase of a charger, installation not included | No | Open — $600 |
| Écorecharge — building infrastructure | Electrical upgrade for chargers | Yes | Open — 50%, max $120,000 |
| LogisVert | Heat pumps, thermal storage, roof insulation, efficient appliances, solar panels (not the battery) | No | Open |
| Rénoclimat | Insulation of the roof, walls and foundations, windows; since October 1, 2026, the fixed battery (equipment) and connecting a backup source (fees); Adaptation component: notably raising the electrical panel in a flood zone | Not replacing it; raising it against flooding, under conditions (Adaptation component, flood zone) | In effect, application portal in development |
| Chauffez vert | Conversion from oil or propane | No | Closed to new applications since March 31, 2026 |
| Greener Homes (federal) | Energy-efficient renovation | No | Closed to new registrations |
| Federal 30% tax credit | Clean technologies | No | Business program, not for individuals |
The 30% credit deserves a clarification, because it keeps coming up. It’s an investment tax credit for businesses. A homeowner filing a personal income tax return isn’t entitled to it, whatever the work.
Unsure about your installation?
We take a look, we price it, and the price is written down before anything begins.
Send my quote requestThe only real lever: making the work coincide
For a single-family house, since no current program pays for the panel replacement, except RénoRégion for low-income households in the regions, the only lever available is how the job is organized.
Group the work. If the service entrance and the panel both need redoing, doing them in the same visit costs considerably less than two separate jobs: one disconnection, one permit, one mobilization. At STM-Électrique, replacing the panel alone and going from 100 to 200 amps with the service entrance redone both have their price in the quote — doing both at once costs much less than a second job.
Have the charger installed in the same visit. You get Écorecharge’s $600 on the charger, and the circuit is run while the panel is already open.
Ask for a detailed, line-by-line quote. That’s what lets you see what belongs to the panel, what belongs to the service entrance, what belongs to the charger — and so what is eligible for what. A global quote, in a single amount, can’t be submitted to any program.
Keep all invoices and the work report. That’s what the programs ask for, your insurer too, and the next buyer’s inspector.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a rebate to replace just my panel?
For a single-family house, almost never. No current program pays aid for a panel replacement in itself. The only exception: RénoRégion, for low-income owner-occupants in a municipality of fewer than 15,000 people, when the house has a major defect. For an apartment building, yes, provided the upgrade is used to supply EV chargers.
Does Écorecharge pay to upgrade my panel?
At home, no: the $600 applies to the price of the charger only, not to its installation. In an apartment building, yes: oversizing the panel is one of the eligible expenses of the infrastructure component, at 50% up to $120,000 per building.
What about Rénoclimat?
Rénoclimat doesn’t pay for a panel replacement in itself: none of the measures in its Energy efficiency component targets the panel. Its Adaptation component can, however, pay to raise the electrical panel against flooding, for a home in a flood zone recognized by the MELCCFP, if the mandatory climate resilience assessment, done before the work, recommends it. The new version of the program, in effect from October 1, 2026, to March 31, 2029, also adds two measures that involve a master electrician’s work: adding a fixed battery, up to $4,000 on the equipment, and connecting a backup source, such as a generator, up to $1,000 for their fees. Buying the generator and the transfer switch isn’t covered. Both measures exclude secondary residences. The work can already be done, but the application portal is still in development. All the battery and generator conditions are in our guide Rénoclimat 2026: battery and generator.
I heard about a 30% federal credit.
It’s an investment tax credit for businesses, not individuals. A homeowner isn’t entitled to it for residential work.
Does Chauffez vert still exist?
No. The oil and propane conversion component ended on March 31, 2026, and no new applications have been accepted since. Files submitted before that date are still being processed.
Does Hydro-Québec offer anything for the panel?
No. LogisVert, its residential program, covers heat pumps, thermal storage, roof insulation, airtightness, some efficient appliances and solar panels, but not the battery. The building’s electrical infrastructure isn’t included.
Can I apply for aid after the work?
The rules vary from one program to another, and some require that the expense be incurred while the program is in effect. Check the conditions of the program you’re targeting before you start, not after — it’s the most costly and most common mistake.
A quote detailed enough to submit to a program
We separate the panel, the service entrance and the charger line by line, and tell you in advance what is eligible for what. For a house as for an apartment building.
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Sources
The figures and requirements cited in this guide come from the official pages below, consulted on September 11, 2026. Programs change: check the page’s update date before committing to any expense.