As people begin to turn up their thermostats this fall, some options are available for residents in Peterborough, Ont., to help pay their energy bills.
A new report released by Statistics Canada on Monday highlights that 15 per cent of Canadian households either reduced or passed on basic necessities such as food and medicine at least once over the past year in order to pay an energy bill.
Eight per cent trimmed spending on necessities over the past three months.
Jim Russell, CEO of the United Way Peterborough and District, says many families in the region are struggling financially as energy costs climb.
“Heating costs have gone up. We know there’s some relief for some Canadians, but here in Peterborough, we know many, many families are faced with tough choices,” he said.
According to Enbridge Gas, an average homeowner in the Peterborough area pays $108 a month on energy costs.
“The cost to heat your home and hot water with hot water for a typical residential house in Peterborough and the surrounding areas is about $1,300 a year,” said Andrea Stass, Enbridge Gas media relations.
The federal Liberal government promised some financial relief this week as they announced a three-year pause on carbon pricing on home heating oil until March 27, 2027. The Liberals said pausing the carbon tax on home heating oil will save an average homeowner $250. The pricing pause will begin in Atlantic Canada followed by the rest of Canada.
In a statement on Thursday, Peterborough-Kawartha Conservative MP Michelle Ferreri called on the government to support her party’s motion to pause the carbon tax on all home heating.
“We heard from a Liberal minister on national television last weekend say that if people want a break from the carbon tax, they must vote Liberal,” stated Ferreri. “That is a shame. Every Canadian deserves the necessities to live. Heating your home during a Canadian winter is not a luxury.
“The most compassionate thing we can do is make life affordable for our children, seniors, and the middle class struggling to make ends meet with this Liberal/NDP inflationary spending problem.”
Pilot project
In Peterborough, Enbridge is offering a pilot hybrid heating program, for which 170 residents have signed up, to provide a rebate towards installing an electric heat pump which pairs with their existing natural gas furnaces.
“That allows you to have efficiencies of over 100 per cent,” said Stass. “It reduces your energy costs and it also reduces your carbon footprint by about 30 per cent.”
Announced a year ago, the province of Ontario is providing up to $4.5 million for the project in Peterborough, St. Catharines, Sault Ste. Marie and London to assist 1,000 homes.
Also in Peterborough, GreenUp has a team of registered energy advisers who will perform home assessments to determine ways to cut energy costs.
“They make people eligible for some incentive programs for improving home energy efficiency including heating systems, insulation, air sealing,” said Clara Blakelock, home energy program manager. “So people can get some grants and rebates as well as interest-free loans.”
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