Hundreds of clients, possibly thousands, have been denied the Enbridge grant due to a loophole in the home efficiency program
This article was written by Marco Chown Oved and was published in the Toronto Star on March 24, 2024.
Nicole Roberto wanted to do her part for the climate.
Because most Ontarians’ carbon footprint is dominated by natural gas heating, she decided to swap out her furnace for an electric heat pump.
Knowing there was $10,000 in government rebates available from the federal government and Enbridge Gas, Roberto went further with her renovation, replacing old leaky windows and doors to make her house more energy efficient.
But when she went to get her grant, she was told that Enbridge would not pay her, even though the federal government would, leaving her thousands of dollars in the hole and scrambling to pay for renovations that had already been completed.
“We applied and we got confirmation to go ahead,” she said. “We made decisions and committed to contracts and had work done based on the expectation (that we’d receive the grants). Now that we don’t have access to Enbridge, we’re on the hook.”
Last year, Enbridge was contracted by Ottawa to run the Greener Homes Program in Ontario, combining two pots of money: $2.6 billion in federal funding and almost $200 million collected from natural gas customers in Ontario that’s legally required to be spent on energy efficiency programs in the province.
The program has been so popular that the federal government’s portion of the money was used up two years ahead of schedule, forcing Ottawa to abruptly halt new applications last month.
When he made the announcement, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said that all homeowners who had been accepted to the program would receive their promised grants.
But Enbridge is now reneging on its part of the deal, telling homeowners like Roberto, who didn’t apply through the Enbridge website, that they cannot get the company’s portion of the rebate.
“This is a significant upfront cost to the homeowner. We’re not talking hundreds of dollars here,” said Roberto. “Times are tough. Inflation is insane. Everyone’s mortgage is up for renewal and they’ve just put thousands of Ontarians in a really tough position to be able to manage these costs that they were not anticipating.”
Transitioning home heating off fossil fuels like natural gas is critical if Canada is going to meet its carbon emission reduction targets, and if the world is going to avoid the worst effects of climate change. If the carbon tax is the stick, the federal government has also been offering a carrot: rebates to subsidize green renovations.
The Star spoke with two certified energy advisers, who measure a home’s energy efficiency before and after renovations as part of the grant process. They say they have hundreds of clients — and believe there must be thousands more across the province — who have been cut off from the Enbridge grant due to a loophole created when the program was transferred from the federal government to Enbridge.
If homeowners applied through the Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) website and their files weren’t transferred to Enbridge before Feb. 4, when the Greener Homes Grant program stopped accepting applications, then they would only be eligible for the federal government’s $5,000 portion of the grant and miss out on the additional $5,000 from Enbridge.
“One neighbour will get $5,000 and the next neighbour will get $10,000 and they both did the same thing: getting a heat pump and installing solar panels. It’s just not fair,” said Trish Long, an energy adviser and co-founder of Goldfinch Energy.
Nationwide, 595,850 people have applied for the Greener Homes Grant, NRCan confirmed, and over 184,000 of them have already received $798.4 million in rebates.
In Ontario, there were 45,493 applicants before the program was transferred to Enbridge, of which 28,792 have received their grant. This leaves as many as 16,700 people stuck in the lurch.
Contacted by the Star, Enbridge spokesperson Leanne McNaughton said: “Given the great response from consumers, the stacking of incentives, potential consumer confusion and the budgetary limitations for current efficiency programs for 2024, it made sense to wind down intake in co-ordination with NRCan and the Greener Home Grant program.”
“The Enbridge Gas Home Efficiency Rebate Plus team is currently working on reviewing, reconciling and handling all customer files promptly.”
Unlike the federal Greener Homes Grant program, which is funded with taxpayer dollars, the energy conservation and efficiency programs offered by Enbridge are funded by levies on natural gas customers’ monthly bills.
This money is required to be spent on programs to reduce natural gas consumption outlined in orders made by the Ontario Energy Board (OEB).
Times are tough. Inflation is insane. Everyone’s mortgage is up for renewal and they’ve just put thousands of Ontarians in a really tough position to be able to manage these costs that they were not anticipating.
NICOLE ROBERTO APPLICANT TO GREENER HOMES PROGRAM
In an order issued in November 2022, the OEB set out the parameters of Enbridge’s top up to the Greener Homes Program, allocating $60 million in 2023, $64.9 million in 2024 and $68.7 million in 2025.
It even foresaw the problem of greater-than-anticipated participation, and allocated 15 per cent more money if certain conditions were met.
The OEB order states that the incentives should not be reduced, the program should not be shut down nor should its budget be transferred to another program without prior approval.
Asked about the company’s legal obligations to provide funding for Greener Homes participants, Natasha Carr, another Enbridge spokesperson, said: “The OEB decision and order … does not require Enbridge Gas to spend the amounts stated.”
“It would be more appropriate to state that the OEB approved the budgeted amounts be included in gas rates to be used for the purpose of delivering the conservation programs.”
The company said that funding for 2023 and 2024 had been exhausted, and that it is “currently reviewing options” and “hopes” to launch a new program in 2024 to spend the 2025 budget.
Kent Elson, who represents the environmental advocacy group Environmental Defence at OEB hearings, said he’s not sure that is kosher.
“I do not think they’re allowed to reduce their incentives without seeking OEB approval,” he said. “And I certainly would say Enbridge is not allowed to reduce its incentives to zero, particularly for customers who are still getting Greener Homes Grant money.”
“Heat pumps and energy efficiency are the most effective way to cut energy bills. That’s why the OEB mandated these programs. Premature ending of this funding means higher energy bills for customers — and more carbon emissions,” he said.
NRCan told the Star that Ontario homeowners who applied via the federal government website were notified “through a series of email communications, as well as through information published on the NRCan website” that they could transfer their applications to Enbridge by asking their energy adviser to do so.
Long, however, says communication throughout the program has been awful and contradictory, and that she was told right up until the program closed that she should not transfer her clients’ files to Enbridge until their renovations are complete.
Now that the program is shuttered, it’s too late.
“I get emails everyday and I have to explain to them that they won’t get the full funding. Enbridge has said nothing. Why do I have to be their messenger?”
The whole green renovation experience has left a bad taste in Roberto’s mouth.
“If you run programs in this fashion and you break the trust of the participants, they’ll communicate with their friends and family and tell them what a horrible experience this is. Then it’s not going to result in individuals wanting to participate in programs in the future because they don’t trust that the government’s going to deliver on it,” she said.
“This is not a complicated program to administer. It’s rebates based on people providing receipts. It’s not that complex and it is astonishing that it’s been so poorly managed.”
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