A Good Idea for Carbon Pricing Complicated by Rising Energy Costs: Nova Scotia Proponents

HALIFAX – Affordable energy advocates say imposing a carbon price on consumers in Nova Scotia is a good idea, but add that rising energy costs continue to cause problems for low-income people. I’m here.

Brian Gifford, chairman of the Affordable Energy Coalition of Nova Scotia, said most people would be helped by the federal government’s plan to offer quarterly rebates to offset the cost of carbon pricing starting in July. thinking about.

With the rebate, Nova Scotia households received $248 in every payment, while households in the other two states with carbon pricing on Tuesday (Newfoundland, Labrador and Prince Edward Island) received $328 and $328, respectively. You will receive a rebate of $240.

But Gifford said more help is likely to be needed.

“There will still be problems for people, especially at this time of high oil prices and rising electricity bills,” Gifford said in an interview Wednesday.

Carbon prices are expected to add 17.4 cents per first liter to the cost of kerosene.

The $250 million federal grant announced Monday was intended as another offset to help people switch from home heating oil to electric heat pumps, Gifford said, but the It just doesn’t help. The money, in addition to his $250 million envelope over four years, was announced in September by Federal Environment Secretary Steven Guilbeau to help with home heating costs.

“It[the subsidy]doesn’t work for low-income households because they can’t pay part of the cost,” Gifford said, adding that subsidies of up to $5,000 alone won’t cut it for heat pumps.

“Our house was remodeled for about $12,000, and this was about seven years ago,” he said. “It (the subsidy) requires more money per household. The ceiling is too low.”

About 30% of Atlantic Canada households use oil for heating, including almost half of Nova Scotia’s 400,000 households.

Given the amount of money potentially available, Gifford believes only a small percentage of these homes will actually get the help they need to change their heating systems. He said the funds would have to be synchronized with existing state programs to be more effective.

Still, Gifford was careful not to criticize carbon pricing. “Carbon tax is not a problem,” he said. “Fossil fuels are the problem.”

Increased demand for heat pumps could also be a complication, said John Devereaux of Ground Hog Geothermal and Heat Pump Ltd., which serves customers in the Annapolis Valley and Halifax municipalities. .

Devereaux said his company phone has been “off the hook” due to recent demand. He said there is now a six-month waiting list for service.

The popularity of heat pumps has “increased over time,” he said.

Devereaux said there is also a shortage of technicians who can install heat pump systems. He said about 10 companies in the state are actively trying to hire qualified workers. At Ground Hog, he has 10 technicians, and Devereaux could easily say, “And he can get four people working without a problem.”

“There has been a shortage for some time,” he said.

This report by the Canadian Press was first published on November 24, 2022.

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