Conmee, Ont. — The process of offering free heat pumps to lower income households that rely on expensive electric heat is underway, less than a week after the provincial program was unveiled.
Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) has budgeted $40 million to make available 2,500 heat-pump units to homeowners who currently heat their houses with electricity, be that be baseboard heaters or forced-air furnaces.
IESO demand side management director Tam Wagner said Tuesday heat pumps can reduce hydro bills by up to 50 per cent.
The units to be installed in homes that qualify under the program have been tested to work effectively in Canadian winters, said Wagner, who is based in Toronto.
Heat pumps, which draw heat from cold, outside air and transfer it into a home, work in tandem with existing electrical heating appliances.
They could be a viable option for rural households just outside Thunder Bay that rely on electric heat because they don’t have access to natural gas.
“Certainly there are residents that heat with electricity,” said Conmee clerk-treasurer Shara Lavallee. “The township will be including information (about the IESO heat-pump program) in our next newsletter.”
Though there has already been interest shown in the program from potential applicants, Wagner couldn’t yet say specifically what part of the province the interest is coming from.
The program, which is available until the end of 2024, is a new component under the IESO’s existing affordable energy initiative.
Though the non-profit Low-Income Energy Network advocacy group praised the heat-pump program, it urged the provincial government to broaden it to include a greater variety of dwellings.
Currently, the Toronto-based group noted, the “heat pump offering is only available to residents of detached, semi-detached, duplex, triplex, townhouse or social housing buildings under three stories.”
The network also called on the government to offer the program to those who heat by natural gas, propane, oil or wood.
Under the IESO program, the agency sends assessors to qualified homes to determine what type of heat-pump system is required.
Potential applicants can check an income chart on the IESO’s website to see if they might qualify.
According to the chart, a single person earning up to $42,000 could apply, while the maximum income for a family of five under the program can be no greater than $94,000.
The heat-pump units, which come with a 10-year warranty, are installed for free for qualifying households.
More information is available online at ieso.ca.
