The next stage of BC Hydro's plan to ramp up rates to upgrade aging infrastructure kicked in on April 1, with rates going up another seven per cent this year. Originally they were supposed to increase just four per cent, but BC Hydro added a "Deferral Account Rate Rider" to the total that brings the actual increase to 7.07 per cent.
Rates already increased eight per cent in 2011 and by Spring of 2013 they're set to rise to a total of 17 per cent.
The total increase is less than the 32 per cent that BC Hydro requested, but cumulatively will still increase costs for customers by a third. The average home in Whistler spends about $2,000 per year on electricity; a 17 per cent increase adds over $300 in annual costs.
Some Sea to Sky residents are taking steps to reduce their power consumption, taking advantage of federal and provincial grant programs to make their homes more efficient.
First step: getting an energy audit
A federal government Eco Energy grant program to encourage Canadians to make their homes more energy efficient wrapped up on Jan. 28, over two months ahead of schedule, after it maxed out with 250,000 registrations. Each of those applicants could earn rebates up to $5,000 for work, ranging from the installation of efficient furnaces and water heaters, to installing efficient windows and doors, to plugging leaks with insulation.
But while that program is no longer on the table, there are still incentives at the provincial level. The provincial LiveSmart Efficiency Incentive Program has been extended to March 13, 2013, entitling residents to rebates through the province, BC Hydro and Fortis BC.
Lisa Landry and her husband recently went through the process.
"It started by getting a blower test at home to see where all the leaks were," explained Landry. The blower test and other work was part of an energy audit, which is a before-and-after step that was mandatory to receive the grants.
"We decided to replace both the hot water tank and furnace, both of which were at the end of their natural lives anyway — the furnace was 20 years and the hot water tank 10 years — and replace them with high efficiency appliances," she said. "They probably cost twice as much but will last forever and they're 95 per cent efficient as well, so that's really going to save some money."
The blower test was the best investment. "We probably had four major (air) leaks. They didn't seem major at the time but with the blower test you could really see where it was coming from. We solved those with a $10 can of spray foam."
Crunching the numbers, Landry estimates that plugging those leaks will save about $250 per year on their hydro and gas bill, and that's not including the money they will save with the new furnace and hot water tank.
Jeremy Robb also signed on for an energy audit after learning about the federal program through Whistler Glass. He had renovated a townhouse himself several years ago and was amazed at the immediate savings to his home energy costs — even though energy efficiency wasn't front-of-mind during that renovation.
Then he moved to a larger townhouse next door two years ago and was shocked by the increase in his hydro bill.
Robb said the energy audit explained a lot. "(The energy auditor) came and did the test to see how much air we're losing through the windows, how much we're losing through our basement and roof, and the report dug down into what was worse. In our house we were losing a lot through our windows, basement and fireplace."
After looking at the cost of upgrades, the Robbs decided on tackling the basement — doing the work themselves — and the windows. "That was the best rebate in terms of what we invested," he said. "We're also looking at our hot water tank because you can get $500 back on a new system."
Provincial grants still available
Steve Hartwick of Energuy said he's been involved in up to 500 audits in the past four years, from Vancouver Island to the Lower Mainland to Sea to Sky. Between 20 and 30 were in the Squamish and Whistler area. They've worked with a few local contractors and Whistler Glass.
"The homes I've seen out that way were usually older homes, and the biggest bang for your buck would be in air leakage reduction and insulation — really cost-effective upgrades that don't cost a lot to do and can save a lot of energy," he said.
According to Hartwick, reducing leakage by 15 per cent and upgrading attic insulation to R50-rated insulation can result in substantial savings.
And while the federal program has expired, Hartwick wants to get the word out that the provincial programs are still in full swing. Among the grants available is $150 towards the cost of the $325 energy audit. There's also a list of almost 50 grants available, including up to $1,500 for big ticket items like heat pumps.
Hartwick is confident that the federal grant program will return. He says it was wrongly billed as part of the stimulus package following the economic crisis, when it should have been established as a separate, permanent program.
"It's cash-flow positive for government because they earn as much, if not more, tax revenue than they put out in grants," said Hartwick. "For every dollar that they give out in grants, the money guys say they earn $2 in tax. And they collect that tax before they put any grants out. It's a win-win-win — it helps the environment by reducing energy consumption, it's a win for homeowners that lowers their bills, it's a win for contractors — I have no idea why it would stop."
Hartwick said an energy audit comes with a 14-page report that lists the improvements that could be made and links to the appropriate grants.
Most of the audits he's doing lately are the final evaluations required by the federal grant program.
Luke Dolan from Capital Home Energy has also been conducting audits in the area and estimates that he's done between 30 and 40 in Whistler and Pemberton, and a similar number in Squamish.
"It's been a busy, busy year with the (federal) Eco Energy program and (provincial) LiveSmart programs going," he said.
"(In Whistler) it seems that homeowners are more concerned with their bills and maybe less concerned about the grants — some want to know why they're spending $2,000 a month on hydro for some of the massive homes in Whistler," he said.
However, the type of house runs the gamut and a lot of calls have come from older properties.
"One thing I typically see is that a lot of crawlspaces are inadequately insulated, so a lot of homeowners are doing a lot of spray insulation of the concrete walls," said Dolan. "Windows are also huge, and a lot of people are now switching from 1980s-style metal double glazed windows to new Energy Star-rated windows. And Energy Star-rated furnaces, and adding heat pumps as well.
"Most houses have done okay in the walls, but the odd house we need to do some attic insulation as well. Draft proofing and air sealing is also one of the biggest improvements any homeowner can make to save money, and it's one of the cheapest as well."
Like Hartwick, Dolan was surprised when the federal government cancelled its popular program, given the fact that so far it's cost less than half of what was budgeted — even after they reached the 250,000 goal.
"When the feds cancelled the program they also sent out some bad information," Dolan said, "and people don't realize that they can still get money back from the province. I do anything I can do to get the word out there that all of those programs are still going."
For more on the provincial grants available, visit www.livesmartbc.ca.
