Ottawa is promising up to $250 million over four years to help Canadians who currently heat their homes with oil shift to greener—and more affordable—sources like electric heat pumps.
Nearly half of the promised Low Carbon Economy Fund (LCEF) is earmarked for Atlantic Canada, where some 30% of households still depend on oil heat and have been hammered by the global spike in oil prices, reports Global News.
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Early estimates are that the new funding will help 10,000 to 25,000 households nationwide switch over to greener energy, more than 40% of them in the Atlantic.
“We can help Canadians save thousands of dollars on yearly energy bills, all while fighting climate change,” Environment and Climate Minister Steven Guilbeault told media last week.
“We committed to Atlantic Canada that we would come to the table with more help for home energy costs, and today we are delivering on that promise,” he added.
Kings–Hants MP and Atlantic Liberal Caucus Chair Kody Blois welcomed the funding announcement. “Half of our households in the Atlantic region still use home heating oil,” he said, “and the cost of transitioning to a new, energy efficient electric heat pump can be really daunting.”
Householders who take advantage of all the funding available from all levels of government could see 100% of eligible expenses covered, Global News writes, adding that federal programs alone could cover 75% of costs.
Home heating with a heat pump is a great recommendation, but preferentially selecting homes using oil heating rather than giving priority to homes on natural gas (methane) seems to me wrong. Is it not true that GHG emissions are much worse from natural gas?