In the Air - HRAI Industry News

BACKGROUND 

On November 10th, HRAI confirmed reports that the federal government’s Greener Homes grant program will stop accepting new applicants in March of 2024.  NRCan reported that the uptake of Greener Homes grants is exceeding forecasts, and that the average grant amount per application is higher than anticipated.  While the program’s original target of 700,000 homes1 across Canada might not be met, it expects to exhaust the budgeted $2.6 billion in payouts sooner than originally expected.  

NRCan confirmed that participants who have already applied under the grant program, or who apply before the closure date will be protected.  Home energy evaluators are therefore urging homeowners to jump into the program before it’s too late. 

It seems likely that this new deadline will cause a surge in activities for the next few months.  In fact, with a remaining $2.2 billion in funds to pay out, industry members can expect to be busy fulfilling orders well into 2025. 

Adding to industry confusion, in Ontario, Enbridge last week announced a temporary "pause" for their component of the program (called HER+). Enbridge stated that the pause was a consequence of high levels of interest and their concern about meeting customer expectations: “we want to ensure that all current Ontario customer commitments will be met with the available funding.  In order to do that, Enbridge needs to complete a reconciliation of all scheduled audits.”  The pause affected Greener Homes energy audits as well, of course, because the two programs are tied to together.  The pause was expected to take a few days, with normal operations resuming afterwards.  

INDUSTRY RESPONSE AND HRAI’S ACTIONS TO DATE 

The news from NRCan in November created a reaction among many HRAI members, not only contractors and home energy evaluators, who want to know what they can tell customers, but also manufacturers and wholesalers who desire greater certainty for purposes of inventory planning for 2024 and beyond. NRCan has urged all interested parties to be patient and not to make any immediate business decisions in reaction to the announcement, as there will be “further announcements coming in the months (or even weeks) ahead” concerning how the federal government will address mounting concerns about the need for climate action.  Even without the announcement of an extension, however, industry members won’t feel the impacts of the program end for least another 12 to 18 months.  But the longer NRCan waits to spell out what will come next, the more nervous the industry will become. 

Acting on these concerns, earlier this week HRAI sent a letter to Prime Minister Trudeau, as well as Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources and Stephen Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change expressing industry concerns about the impacts of program termination.   

Click HERE to see a copy of the letter. 

HRAI is also exploring a grassroots campaign that will invite members to submit their concerns directly to their local Members of Parliament. 

For more information contact Martin Luymes at 1-800-267-2231 ext. 235 or email mluymes@hrai.ca.