An announcement is “coming quickly” on the Greener Properties grant program, the federal authorities’s supply accomplice mentioned in an electronic mail to CBC.
The Greener Properties program, launched by the federal authorities in 2021, gives owners with as much as $5,000 for power effectivity retrofits and residential power evaluations, and as much as $600 to assist with the price of residence power evaluations.
Householders should spend the cash upfront after which be reimbursed. The $ 2.6 billion program was imagined to final till 2027 or till the funds are depleted.
This system has been fairly in style. Enbridge, which administers this system in Ontario, paused accepting purposes in January to present it time to assess whether or not it has sufficient cash to cowl the purposes which have been obtained.
The utility firm prompt there’s information coming quickly about this system’s future.
“Since we’re a supply agent on the Greener Properties Program, we’ve to take our communication lead from [the federal government],” mentioned Leanne McNaughton, the exterior communications and media relations supervisor for Enbridge Gasoline.
“There might be a proper announcement quickly.”
A senior authorities supply who was not licensed to talk publicly additionally advised CBC the federal government is anticipated to share new particulars about the way forward for this system early subsequent week.
Whereas Enbridge has paused purposes in Ontario, this system remains to be accepting purposes in different jurisdictions. Ontario has accounted for the lion’s share of purposes — 51,321 paid out with a median fee of $3,617.
Whereas sources recommend that the pause on purposes could also be momentary, these within the power effectivity sector say Enbridge’s pause was accompanied by a pause within the provincial power effectivity program.
“The pausing of the federal program, it is also created a pause on Ontario’s provincial program, which is funded by ratepayers, which is unlucky,” mentioned Brent Kopperson, the manager director of Durham’s Windfall Ecology Centre.
The centre helps folks in Toronto and surrounding areas join federal and provincial grants value as much as $10,000.
Dylan Trebels is an Ottawa-based registered power auditor who will depend on the federal grant program for a lot of his enterprise. He mentioned he is anxiously awaiting the federal authorities announcement.
He mentioned he additionally hopes any future program gives long-term, sustainable work for power auditors and the HVAC trade. Trebels mentioned this system must be re-balanced to assist owners who cannot afford the upfront expense.
“I believe what we have to hear from the federal government is how they plan to construct this in as a program that does not mirror previous errors,” he mentioned.
