The Ontario authorities has introduced what the province calls the most important vitality effectivity funding in Canadian historical past, allocating $10.9 billion over twelve years to assist households and companies get monetary savings whereas lowering vitality consumption.
A media launch mentioned a key a part of the initiative is the brand new House Renovation Financial savings Program, launching January 28, 2025. This system provides householders rebates of as much as 30 per cent for energy-efficient upgrades comparable to new home windows, doorways, insulation, good thermostats, and rooftop photo voltaic panels. This system will develop later in 2025 to incorporate rebates for energy-efficient home equipment like fridges and freezers.
“These new Energy Efficiency Programs are great news and will help lower energy bills and support Ontario’s energy grid,” mentioned Bruce-Gray-Owen Sound MPP Rick Byers. “Our government continues to make affordability a priority for Ontario residents.
By 2050, electricity demand is expected to rise sharply due to population growth, electrification, and advanced technologies.
“As the demand for electricity continues to rise, we’re giving families and small businesses more ways to save money and energy as we launch the largest energy efficiency program in Canadian history,” mentioned Stephen Lecce, Minister of Vitality and Electrification. “Ontario’s new Home Renovation Savings Program will benefit Ontarians, covering up to 30 per cent of the costs on energy efficiency products. We will expand this program again in 2025, including rebates for energy efficient appliances including refrigerators and freezers, to further reduce energy bills and demand on the grid.”
The Reasonably priced Vitality Act, efficient December 2024, extends this system’s attain past households utilizing electrical energy for heating, now together with these counting on propane and oil. Small companies, together with comfort shops and eating places, may also profit via the expanded Peak Perks Program, which provides monetary incentives for adopting good thermostat expertise.
The province can also be enhancing twelve present Save on Vitality applications, focusing on sectors like agriculture, low-income households, municipalities, and First Nations communities. Fashionable applications, such because the Retrofit Program, will proceed to obtain funding to assist companies improve vitality programs.
By 2036, these applications are anticipated to cut back Ontario’s peak electrical energy demand by 3,000 megawatts, equal to eradicating three million houses from the grid. The province predicts this discount will save ratepayers an estimated $12.2 billion by avoiding the development of recent vitality technology services.
The province’s initiative, known as Ontario’s Reasonably priced Vitality Future: The Urgent Case for Extra Energy, may also work to advance nuclear vitality initiatives, together with a brand new large-scale construct at Bruce Energy and small modular reactors at Darlington. The plan additionally consists of creating built-in vitality planning to handle rising electrical energy demand, forecasted to extend by 75 per cent by 2050. And the initiative requires building of recent transmission traces in key areas to help EV battery manufacturing and clear metal manufacturing.
