2005/77 (a)

BACKGROUNDER

Energy Efficiency Incentives for Homes and Buildings

The Government of Canada will help Canadians save energy and money by making their homes and buildings more energy efficient. A new program will provide financial assistance to low-income Canadians to help them retrofit their homes; an expansion of the existing EnerGuide for Houses Retrofit Incentive will seek to improve the energy efficiency of about 750,000 homes; a new incentive will encourage the purchase of high-efficiency home heating systems; and a program to boost energy efficiency in existing community, institutional and commercial buildings will be renewed and expanded.

The energy efficiency incentives are part of Project Green, the Government of Canada's set of policies and programs aimed at supporting a sustainable environment, healthy population and competitive economy.

EnerGuide for Low-Income Households

The EnerGuide for Low-Income Households is a $500-million federal initiative over 5 years that will help about 130,000 low-income Canadians make energy-efficiency retrofits that will make their housing more affordable and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that contribute to climate change.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) will deliver the program through its Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program (RRAP). Energy evaluations will be performed through Natural Resources Canada's EnerGuide for Houses service, and assistance for energy audits on large apartment buildings will be provided through EnerGuide for Existing Buildings (formerly known as the Energy Innovators Initiative).

This initiative will be available to owners of homes, multiple-unit buildings and rooming houses built prior to 1980 and may be used for energy retrofits such as draft-proofing, heating system upgrades and window replacement, for example.

The amount of assistance will vary by the type of structure and location. For single, row and semi-detached housing, financial assistance will be between $3,500 and $5,000. For multiple-unit buildings and rooming houses, financial assistance will be between $1,000 and $1,500 per unit.

Applicants will need to meet existing RRAP income qualifications which take into account household size and variations in local housing market costs. For example, a four-person household with two children residing in Hamilton with a household income of $44,500 or less would be eligible for assistance under the EnerGuide for Low-Income Households program. This same household would have to earn $34,000 or less if they resided in Kamloops because of the lower cost of housing in that market.

The program will be available in early January 2006.

EnerGuide for Houses Retrofit Incentive

The Government of Canada is investing an additional $170 million over five years to expand the successful EnerGuide for Houses Retrofit Incentive program. This funding is in addition to the $225 million extension announced in Budget 2005. The expanded program will help retrofit up to 750,000 homes and will include a new supplemental incentive for energy efficiency measures in electrically heated homes, averaging $250.

Since its launch in October 2003, the EnerGuide for Houses Retrofit Incentive has paid out close to 30,000 grants totalling $20 million. Over 130,000 evaluations have been performed since the launch of the retrofit incentive and the average grant is about $750. On average, qualifying homeowners have reduced their energy use by about 30 percent, and reduced the GHG emissions by four tonnes.

To be eligible for a grant, homeowners must have an EnerGuide for Houses evaluation of their home done before and after making energy-efficiency improvements. The amount of the grant will depend on the difference between the EnerGuide for Houses energy efficiency rating before retrofits and after they are done.

The EnerGuide for Houses Retrofit Incentive was expanded to include owners of low-rise rental properties and assisted housing in June 2005.

High Efficiency Home Heating System Cost Relief Program

In Canada, space heating accounts for 60 percent of household energy use. The High Efficiency Home Heating System Cost Relief Program, a five-year $105 million initiative, will provide incentives to Canadians to install modern, efficient heating systems to offset heating costs over the long-term. Incentives will average $150, ranging from $100 to $300.

Using the latest high-efficiency furnaces can lead to significant energy and money savings. For example, the efficiency of most older gas heating systems is between 60 to 80 percent, while the efficient systems currently available are rated between 85 to 95 percent efficient. Potentially, energy use could be reduced by as much as 35 percent, which is the equivalent of saving $350 on an annual heating bill of $1,000.

Details of the program will be developed in discussion with utilities and other partners to build on existing initiatives and explore the most cost-effective way to deliver the new incentive.

This initiative complements an existing program, the Accelerated Standards Action Program, which seeks to have more energy efficient equipment in the market through a combination of promotion, incentives, standards and regulations. This program will be renewed for five years at a cost of $60 million.

EnerGuide for Existing Buildings

Programs targeted at existing buildings are being renewed and expanded with a $210- million investment over five years.

The Community and Institutional Buildings Program is a new component of EnerGuide for Existing Buildings (formerly the Energy Innovators Initiative). It will expand on existing initiatives aimed at community buildings and hospitals, schools, universities and other institutional buildings and help them reduce energy use and improve the energy efficiency of their facilities. A total of $157 million has been earmarked for the Community and Institutional Buildings Program, which will lead to energy saving retrofits in over 8,000 institutional buildings.

EnerGuide for Existing Buildings (EEB) will also continue to target the commercial building sector. A total of $53 million will renew this component for an additional five years, which is expected to result in retrofits to 2,600 commercial buildings.

With both components, EEB financial incentives will help pay for energy saving retrofits. Eligible organizations will receive up to 25 per cent of the cost of the project to a maximum of $250,000 for retrofit measures that lead to verified energy savings. Training and information on energy efficiency are also provided.

In total, EEB will leverage over $1 billion in private and institutional sector investments, resulting in over $330 million in annual energy cost savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions of 2.25 megatonnes.

For more information, media may contact:

Inquiries from the general public - please call 1-800-0-Canada (1-800-622-6232)