ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — At St. John’s city council’s Wednesday committee of the whole meeting, councillors will decide whether to apply for funding that could help people across the province avail of energy-efficient upgrades to their homes via a mix of low-interest loans, loan guarantees, grants and capacity building.
According to the agenda, council will be presented with the opportunity to partner with NetZero, the Newfoundland and Labrador Environmental Industry Association, and Newfoundland Power with support from the provincial government to apply to the Community Efficiency Financing initiative by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Green Municipal Fund (GMF).
If council gives the application the green light, and if approved, the fund would cover some of the costs to design how the funds would be delivered, such as on-bill financing or direct financing through financial institutions.
St. John’s would be the lead municipal partner in the study, but other municipalities will be invited to the partnership.
A staff note says median energy expenditure in St. John’s is $2,404 per year, with 34 per cent of households experiencing a high home energy cost burden, which is more than six per cent of after-tax income spent on home energy
If approved, the GMF would fund up to $10M to implement the program.
“The ability to empower residents by making financing available for energy efficiency and other enabling retrofits (such as heat pump installations, building envelope improvements, other energy efficiency retrofits) in a more holistic way than what is currently available, would give residents in St. John’s the opportunity to improve their own financial well-being, reduce household stress, lower greenhouse gas emissions and increase resilience,” reads city council’s decision note from city staff.
“Furthermore, this type of financing has the potential to unlock additional private capital for building retrofits, resulting in energy and emissions reductions, more resilient buildings, economic development, and job creation.”
City staff are recommending council support the application.
Staff note that the city’s 2018 energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory estimated that up to 15 per cent of GHG emissions came from the residential sector.
As well, the note says the median energy expenditure in St. John’s is $2,404 per year, with 34 per cent of St. John’s households experiencing a high home energy cost burden — that’s more than six per cent of after-tax income spent on home energy. A recent cross-Canada study put St. John’s at the top of this metric, according to the decision note.
“With residents concerned about electricity costs, a struggling provincial economy, and COVID-19 economic impacts, the amount of people facing higher energy cost burden may increase without interventions,” the note says.
