City ups its commitment to Fortis Energy Diet
By Castlegar Source
The City of Castlegar will be providing 50 additional $25 rebates for residents who take part in FortisBC’s Kootenay Energy Diet program, according to an announcement made at Monday night’s regular council meeting.
“FortisBC PowerSense will provide Kootenay Energy Diet participants with a discounted energy assessment, energy-saving products installed directly in their home, hands-on help applying for up to $6,000 worth of rebates, plus participants may qualify for low-cost loans from their local credit union,” said a press release issued by the city this morning. “This program provides, at a reduced cost, a step by step process for residents to take advantage of residential rebates for home upgrades that will result in long term energy savings.
“The city is proud to be a municipal partner in the Kootenay Energy Diet,” said Castlegar mayor Lawrence Chernoff. “The program helps meet our community goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and is good fit for the objectives and policies in our Official Community Plan (OCP).”
FortisBC’s Energy Diet specifically supports two goals as outlined in City of Castlegar’s OCP. These include:
• Continuing to promote education and awareness of greenhouse gas emissions, and encouraging actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• Building public awareness of the household actions that can be taken to reduce GHG emissions, such as home energy audits, and preparing for climate change.
“These energy diets have proven to be a very effective way to help customers make energy saving upgrades to their homes.” said Tom Loski, vice-president of customer service for FortisBC. “In fact, during our Rossland Energy Diet, many participants reduced their energy use by 50 per cent or more.”
Quick Facts:
• Residents must register in the Kootenay Energy Diet by December 13, 2013.
• Participants will receive a home energy assessment and installation of energy efficiency products, such as: outlet insulation, a low flow shower head, and kitchen tap aerators, for $35— about 90 per cent off the regular price of $400. They can also use the FortisBC energy calculator fortisbc.com/energycalculator to compare the costs of different home heating energy sources and individual appliance energy costs.
• A local energy coach will help customers through the process and offer energy-saving tips along the way.
• Participants can access up to $4,000 in rebates from LiveSmart BC and up to $2,000 in rebates from FortisBC.
• Some participants may qualify for loans from their local credit union for completing their energy upgrades.
• Since it was founded in 1989, FortisBC’s PowerSense program has helped Southern Interior electricity customers save more than 445 gigawatt hours. That’s enough electricity to power 35,000 homes every year for twenty four years.
To learn more about the Kootenay Energy Diet, visit fortisbc/energydiet or call 1-866-436-7847. To learn more about the City of Castlegar’s Official Community Plan, visit http://castlegar.ca/pdfs/OCP_Bylaw_1150.pdf.
