P.E.I. government wants receipts before granting home-energy reno money

The P.E.I. government is changing the way it provides money to people who want to make their homes more energy efficient.

Grants will no longer be offered. Instead, residents will have to submit an application after the work is done.

"Previously, when you wanted to put for instance a heat pump in your home you had to go out and get all the quotes, then you had to come in and put in your application before you could do anything," said Paula Biggar, minister of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy.

In the past,grants were awarded based on an estimate of the cost of materials or equipment, said Biggar.The new rebates will reflect the amount of energy that will be saved, which will encourage Islanders to install products that maximize energy efficiency.

People who are considering getting work done should call in advance to ensure they are eligible for funding, she added.

Green Party concerned

But the process concerns Green Party Leader Peter Bevan-Baker, who questioned it in the legislatureThursday.

"I'm not quite sure how that is going to work," he said.

"Most of these people do not have the facility to go to the bank and ask for $20,000 to retrofit their house and then come forward with the receipts to a government agency for rebates."

Government will also launch a new public education program to make Islanders more aware of assistance and energy programs are available.

The changes follow an independent third-party review and came into effect April 1.

P.E.I.'s Office of Energy Efficiency has been in operation since 2007, said Biggar, and has provided funding to more than 8,000 individuals and businesses.The name of the office has nowbeen changed to Efficiency P.E.I.

The budget for energy efficiency programs and services will not change, Biggar said, but they "hope to provide more service to more people."

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