Monday, September 11, 2023

With Home Energy Upgrade Program report tonight, Council to be asked to keep collaboration between City of Prince Rupert and EcoTrust Canada ongoing


A cooperative venture between the City of Prince Rupert and the local offices of EcoTrust Canada will bring the delivery of Feasibility Study Report tonight, exploring in some detail the path forward towards a Home Energy Upgrade program.

Council will receive the report from Myfannwy Pope, the Director of Development Services for the City which will chart some of the work taken on this year as part of the partnership between the City and EcoTrust Canada.

The expansive Report includes more than 148 pages of research to the topic which explains how improvements to local existing housing stock could bring more home energy efficiency and add to climate mitigation efforts in the community.


The key Findings and Recommendations portion of the report,  highlights the prioritization towards heat pump retrofits, a concept of energy savings that EcoTrust has been working on for a number of years now in the North and Central Coast region.



In addition to the report, which is availble  on the City's Agenda page for tonight's session, Council will also host a presentation from Josephine Schrott an Analyst with EcoTrust Canada. 

That presentation takes place at the start of tonight's Council session, which has a special start time of 5PM

More notes on this evening's Council session can be reviewed through our Preview item here


2 comments:

  1. Congratulations to Rupert taxpayers on continuing to subsidize this non profit.

    This reader would rather have anti idling bylaws in place than be told that my war time house needs to be more energy efficient.

    https://www.princerupert.ca/sites/7/files/2023-07/2022%20SOFI%20-%2015Jun2023.pdf

    https://ecotrust.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/2022-Financial-Statements_EcotrustCanada_Audited.pdf

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  2. I checked the link to the 2022 Statement of Financial Information, which reports that the City paid Ecotrust $66,442.

    Going back to previous years, the City paid Ecotrust $27,590 in 2021. NCR's archives report that in 2020 the City applied for a $100,000 grant on behalf of Eco-trust, which was received. No payments are reported for 2019, but that may be because payments under $25,000 are not reported in the SOFI. In 2018 Ecotrust received $50,000 from the City.

    Ecotrust received at least $244,032 from or through the City over a five year period. It seems that the "partnership" between the City and Ecotrust has come with a considerable price tag, but other than the grant being mentioned at a public council meeting there does not appear to have been any discussion about the cost.

    Hopefully the current council will explore other approaches such a hiring consultants on an arms length basis if and when needed rather than maintaining a "partnership". I have no doubt that City Manager Rob Buchan is well qualified to advise the mayor and council in this regard.


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