N.B. government to spend $40M to expand energy efficiency program

The New Brunswick government is putting another $40 million into energy efficiency programs for homeowners.

As part of the province’s “enhanced energy savings program,” the money is to make homes more energy efficient to manage rising energy costs.

The energy minister says half the money will help homeowners move away from heating with furnace oil.

The other half will go to a program that offers a free mini-split heat pump to homes with electric baseboard heaters.

It has approved numerous installers to do the work.

"We've been working very closely to make sure there's a qualified contractor network out there and to make sure that they knew that if they were a qualified contractor -- and many are -- that they are available to participate in this,” said Energy Minister Mike Holland.

“We never intended for it to be a bottleneck that would limit the amount that we could do and we've since taken steps forward so that now there's over 30 different contractors in that qualified network.”

The program is for people making $70,000 or less a year.

The province says homeowners in the same income bracket with an alternate heating source are eligible for upgraded insulation, free of charge.

It says residents can save about $500 annually by adding a mini-split heat pump and upgrading their insulation.

The acting president and CEO of NB Power says the response to the enhanced energy savings program has been “tremendous.”

“We will continue to expand our programs for the benefit of New Brunswickers today and in support of our mission to move to cleaner energy for the benefit of future generations,” said Lori Clark.