If you’re one of Enbridge’s 3.6 million residential customers, you’re subsidizing this private company to run new gas pipelines – in the middle of a climate crisis – to communities that don’t currently have gas service.
And what is even more nuts is that the communities at the end of Enbridge’s proposed new pipes could save big money by instead installing air-source heat pumps.
Our new study shows that homes in these communities will be better off to the tune of, on average, $20,000 over the lifespan of their heating and cooling equipment (15 years) by installing a heat pump instead of hooking into Enbridge’s premium-priced fossil gas.
These huge savings are a result of the following facts. First, homes in these new gas communities have to pay a whopping 23 cents per cubic metre surcharge for their gas. Second, a heat pump is much more energy efficient than a gas furnace. Third, a heat pump provides both heating and cooling, which is especially important given our rapidly warming summers.
Our New Gas Communities Calculator can help anyone considering Enbridge’s dubious offer see how much they can save by switching from propane or fuel oil to a heat pump instead.
There is just no question which is the better choice when you see the numbers and consider that the federal government will provide zero interest financing and a $5,000 grant to help with the costs of installing a heat pump system.
The numbers are also sweet for homes that are already hooked up to gas, with savings from switching to a heat pump averaging $10,000. (We have a calculator for that too.)
Enbridge has told the Ontario Energy Board that it needs $2.5 billion in “funding support” (this is where YOU come in) to provide gas to an additional 40,000 homes. That is, $62,000 for each new gas home!
With our climate rapidly unraveling and threatening our communities, this is not the time to be spending billions on expanding fossil gas use.
What you can do
Tell Premier Ford that you don’t want your energy dollars to be used to subsidize hooking-up more Ontario homeowners to high-cost, climate-damaging fracked gas from Pennsylvania and western Canada. We need to invest in heat pumps to lower our energy bills and our climate pollution.