Oct 13th, 2016

News Release: Ontario Supporting Social Housing Retrofits in Ottawa

Retrofits Improving Comfort, Increasing Safety and Reducing Electricity Costs

Ottawa, October 13, 2016 – Minister of Energy Glenn Thibeault was in Ottawa today to highlight local efforts to conserve energy through retrofits led by Ottawa Community Housing Corporation (OCH), a manager of rent-geared-to-income and rent-supplemented housing, and Hydro Ottawa.

Joined by Hydro Ottawa President and CEO Bryce Conrad and OCH CEO Stéphane Giguère, Minister Thibeault commended both parties for their efforts in providing energy efficiency retrofits for hundreds of individual and family social housing units, including installing new energy efficient lighting and new heating equipment. In total, OCHC has reduced electricity use by 6,073,696 kWh annually, equivalent to removing 750 homes from the grid. OCHC and Hydro Ottawa were further acknowledged by Minister Thibeault for earning $396,910 in incentives for social housing retrofits through Ontario’s saveONenergy program.

Ontario is investing 12 million from the Green Investment Fund into social housing retrofits in Ottawa to take advantage of the economic opportunities in clean technologies, improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Ontario Electricity Support Program provides assistance directly on the bills of eligible low-income electricity consumers up to $600 dollars a year. A monthly on-bill credit of between $30 and $50 is available to households earning less than $52,000 annually, with expanded benefits available to families that heat with electricity or use medically assisted devices, or are First Nation or Métis customers. Presently, more than 8,200 families in Hydro Ottawa’s service territory are receiving assistance through the OESP.

Investing in social housing retrofits is part of our plan to create jobs, grow our economy and help people in their everyday lives.

Quotes

“We applaud Ottawa Community Housing Corporation for keeping their residents’ quality of life and energy conservation top of mind. Hydro Ottawa’s energy retrofits programs are helping all homeowners and businesses in this community save energy and money.”

— Glenn Thibeault, Minister of Energy

“At Hydro Ottawa, we are committed to doing everything in our power to support our customers in managing their energy consumption and costs all year round. Whether it’s taking part in one of our energy conservation programs or applying for a provincial initiative like the Ontario Electricity Support Program, our role as the local utility is to be a good neighbour and help however we can. My message to customers is: Contact us. We can help. We want to help.”

– Bryce Conrad, President and CEO, Hydro Ottawa

“We at Ottawa Community Housing (OCH) are committed to environmentally friendly and sustainable practices and are always searching for ways to innovate and gradually transform our operations and our buildings. There is a real synergy with Hydro Ottawa. The partnership has provided OCH with the resources necessary to make some of our properties more energy efficient while reducing our carbon footprint considerably. Furthermore, it lines up with our new ECO2 Plan, which demonstrates our commitment to the environment and to our tenants while promoting the importance of sustainability – a real win-win for all”

– Stéphane Giguère, CEO, Ottawa Community Housing Corporation

Quick Facts

• Ottawa Community Housing Corporation is the largest social housing provider in Ottawa, managing two-thirds of the city’s social housing portfolio. It is the second largest social housing provider in the province and provides 15,000 homes to more than 32,000 seniors, parents, children and persons with special needs in communities across the city.
• Most of Ontario’s social housing towers were constructed in the 1960s and 1970s and can use up to 25 per cent more energy per square metre than a house.
• Ontario is supporting growth in the green economy, helping businesses thrive as they lower their carbon footprint and delivering benefits to Ontario households. The province has committed $325 million in 2015–16 through the Green Investment Fund to help businesses undertake energy-efficiency initiatives, support energy retrofits in homes, and install public charging stations for electric vehicles.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• Apply for the Ontario Electricity Support Program
• Read the news release about the Green Investment Fund
• See how Ontario is putting Conservation First
• Read Ontario’s Long-Term Energy Plan

Katrina Xavier, Minister’s Office, Katrina.Xavier@ontario.ca, 416-325-2690

ontario.ca/energy-news Disponible en français