Homeowners can now Pre-Register for the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability Program
On February 22, 2023, the Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources Canada, announced that eligible homeowners can now pre-register for up to $5,000 in funding through the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability (OHPA) Program.
This funding is in addition to the $5,000 available to homeowners through the Canada Greener Homes Grant (CGHG), which means a low-to-middle-income household could receive up to $10,000 in total federal support to switch their home-heating oil with an electric heat pump.
By switching to a heat pump, NRCan estimates that homeowners could save between $1,500 and $4,700 per year on their home energy costs.
The program has been very popular with homeowners across Canada.
According to the Minister’s Office, “As of February 13, 2023, a total of over 288,000 CGHG applications have been received through the national portal and provincial and territorial delivery partners. The CGHG has issued $178 million in grants to 46,000 homeowners. These grants are supporting home-efficiency upgrades across Canada, including heat-pump installation[s].”
The federal government is also committing additional dollars to homeowners through the Low Carbon Economy Fund (LCEF).
In September 2022, the Hon. Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada, announced that the LCEF Home Heating Oil Transition Fund will provide up to $250 million to the “provinces and territories to expand existing programs or create new initiatives that support low-income households in their transition from home heating oil to low-emitting heating sources,” such as heat pumps.
Approximately 50 percent of that fund, or $120 million, is earmarked for Atlantic Canada where home-heating oil is more common compared to the rest of the country.
Minister Guilbeault’s office said the fund will become available to homeowners sometime in 2023-2024 once the agreements with the provinces and territories are in place.
Homeowners in Nova Scotia can register through the EffiencyOne website.
If you have any questions or concerns, contact Stephen Chartrand at 1-800-267-2231 ext. 276 or email schartrand@hrai.ca.
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