Very few people from Osoyoos have taken advantage of energy conservation and rebate programs offered by FortisBC, but the company hopes that will change following a presentation to Town of Osoyoos council on Monday.

Carol Suhan, manager of conservation and energy management with FortisBC, presented town council with all of the details about its residential rebate programs offered by the utility company.

While the energy provider has 17 residential rebate programs for homes heated with natural gas and electricity, it has recently introduced two new programs, she said.

They are called the Energy Conservation Assistance Program (ECAP) and Rental Apartment Program.

The goal of the program is to make homes across the South Okanagan more energy efficient and comfortable, while lowering utility bills, particularly for customers who are on fixed incomes, said Suhan.

With the ECAP, staff with FortisBC will visit your home or apartment unit and provide a detailed energy assessment audit for all income-qualified households, she said.

“There is no cost to the participant at all … we pay for everything. We do all the work and we take all the risk,” said Suhan.

Those eligible through ECAP include anyone who earn 30 per cent above the Low Income Cut Off in B.C.

For a single person, to be eligible you would have to earn $32,000 or less. The maximum household income scale grows to less than $39,800 for two people, $48,900 for a family of three, $59,400 for a family of four, $67,400 for a family of five, $76,000 for a family of six and $84,600 for families with seven or more people.

Anyone living on government subsidy and all First Nations residents also qualify, she said.

After completing a detailed energy audit of your home or apartment, FortisBC will pay the entire cost of installing LED lighting, low flow showerheads, kitchen and bathroom tap aerators, pipe insulation, basic draftproofing of windows and doors and installing a fridge thermostat, she said.

Staff will also provide additional advice on how to increase energy efficiency in the residence, she said.

Any refrigerator that is 18 years or older will also be replaced with FortisBC picking up the tab, she said. The old fridges will also be removed and recycled.

The value of individual retrofits can range from $500 to close to $9,000, she said.

The expected annual energy savings range from $150 for basic measures up to $500 for customers who have their homes fully insulated or have new efficient furnaces installed, she said.

When the company announced the ECAP last year, the goal was to reach 250 homes across the South Okanagan in 2016, but that number was reached before the end of February, she said.

Because of the huge success of the program, that goal has now been expanded to 750 homes and 1,500 apartments, she said.

So far, there have only been two applicants from Osoyoos and five from Oliver and FortisBC is working hard to get the word out in this region about this rebate program, said Suhan.

The program is also available for customers living in rental apartment units as all they have to do is get consent for upgrades from the building owner, she said.

FortisBC already offers numerous other energy efficiency rebate programs, including Home Energy Rebate Offer (HERO), energy saving kits, space and hot water rebate programs, appliance and lighting rebate program and the Energy Star New Home Program, she said.

There are also similar rebate programs for the owners of small and medium size businesses, she said.

Mayor Sue McKortoff thanked Suhan for her presentation and said she was confident many more local homeowners would be accessing this program following her presentation.

“I’m quite surprised you can offer all of this free of charge,” said McKortoff.

It’s easy to apply for the ECAP and other rebate programs offered by FortisBC as you can call or apply online at www.fortisbc.com/myecap, she said.

After completing the application form, it usually only takes one to two weeks for approval and then a site visit will be arranged by FortisBC, she said.

Participants must provide proof of their annual earnings to be eligible for most of the rebate programs offered by FortisBC, she said.

KEITH LACEY

Osoyoos Times