“Disgraceful.”That’s what environmentalists are calling plans by the British Columbia government to hand out $10,000 for Fortis customers to install heat pumps alongside high efficiency natural gas furnaces.But not for the reasons one would normally suspect. Greenies are notoriously in favour of heat pumps in climates where they normally don’t work. They just don’t like the idea of subsidizing gas furnaces in areas where they do..Recognizing that a heat pump in Victoria — which usually has less than a half dozen frost days a year — doesn’t work as well in Fort St. John or Prince George, Fortis is proposing top-ups of up to an additional $3,000 for high efficiency gas fired furnaces.Those are over and above any other rebates offered by the federal and provincial governments. By some estimates, the program could cost taxpayers $110 million annually.When used in combination, the dual fuel systems can operate at more than 100% efficiency, Fortis said in a news release."Whether it's the coldest winter morning or hottest summer afternoon, dual fuel systems provide our customers with the certainty of a comfortable home while using energy efficiently to lower associated greenhouse gas emissions," said Joe Mazza, Fortis’ vice president of energy supply and resource development. "The new rebate helps make this system more affordable for customers and combines the strengths of both energy systems to meet their heating and cooling needs.".Low-income customers and Indigenous communities may be eligible for a rebate of $15,000. These customers living in extreme northern communities can also access the top-up for a maximum rebate of $18,000.But BC’s notoriously aggressive climate hawks called the rebate “shameful,” designed to keep customers“hooked” to fossil fuels and specifically natural gas.“Canada’s main residential suppliers of fossil gas remain unrelenting in their bloody-nailed determination to expand our reliance on their planet-burning, climate chaos-inducing product,” wrote National Observer columnist Seth Klein.“(Fortis’) business model, simply put, requires tying-in new buildings to the gas network. And the corporation is bound and determined to keep doing just that.”.On top of federal and provincial rebates, the cost of NOT hooking into the gas grid is almost prohibitive, he said.Instead, he argues the B.C. government should just move to ban natural gas in building codes altogether — like 14 municipalities including Nanaimo, Victoria and Burnaby have already done.In January, the BC Supreme Court barred Fortis from offering rebates for natural gas appliances.But not all are on board with the ban.Earlier this week on Tuesday, Vancouver reversed its ban on new natural gas hookups by a 6-5 margin."People want to have the choice on how to cook their food," said Coun. Brian Montague. "They want to have a choice on how they heat their homes and how they heat their water, and they want to have a choice on how much they pay to do that."
“Disgraceful.”That’s what environmentalists are calling plans by the British Columbia government to hand out $10,000 for Fortis customers to install heat pumps alongside high efficiency natural gas furnaces.But not for the reasons one would normally suspect. Greenies are notoriously in favour of heat pumps in climates where they normally don’t work. They just don’t like the idea of subsidizing gas furnaces in areas where they do..Recognizing that a heat pump in Victoria — which usually has less than a half dozen frost days a year — doesn’t work as well in Fort St. John or Prince George, Fortis is proposing top-ups of up to an additional $3,000 for high efficiency gas fired furnaces.Those are over and above any other rebates offered by the federal and provincial governments. By some estimates, the program could cost taxpayers $110 million annually.When used in combination, the dual fuel systems can operate at more than 100% efficiency, Fortis said in a news release."Whether it's the coldest winter morning or hottest summer afternoon, dual fuel systems provide our customers with the certainty of a comfortable home while using energy efficiently to lower associated greenhouse gas emissions," said Joe Mazza, Fortis’ vice president of energy supply and resource development. "The new rebate helps make this system more affordable for customers and combines the strengths of both energy systems to meet their heating and cooling needs.".Low-income customers and Indigenous communities may be eligible for a rebate of $15,000. These customers living in extreme northern communities can also access the top-up for a maximum rebate of $18,000.But BC’s notoriously aggressive climate hawks called the rebate “shameful,” designed to keep customers“hooked” to fossil fuels and specifically natural gas.“Canada’s main residential suppliers of fossil gas remain unrelenting in their bloody-nailed determination to expand our reliance on their planet-burning, climate chaos-inducing product,” wrote National Observer columnist Seth Klein.“(Fortis’) business model, simply put, requires tying-in new buildings to the gas network. And the corporation is bound and determined to keep doing just that.”.On top of federal and provincial rebates, the cost of NOT hooking into the gas grid is almost prohibitive, he said.Instead, he argues the B.C. government should just move to ban natural gas in building codes altogether — like 14 municipalities including Nanaimo, Victoria and Burnaby have already done.In January, the BC Supreme Court barred Fortis from offering rebates for natural gas appliances.But not all are on board with the ban.Earlier this week on Tuesday, Vancouver reversed its ban on new natural gas hookups by a 6-5 margin."People want to have the choice on how to cook their food," said Coun. Brian Montague. "They want to have a choice on how they heat their homes and how they heat their water, and they want to have a choice on how much they pay to do that."
