Critical investment needed to lift Alberta's most vulnerable households out of energy poverty

CALGARY, AB – With rising cost-of-living pressures and concerns about energy affordability and energy security, our new report Affordable Home Energy for All: How Alberta can help its most vulnerable households escape energy poverty, underscores the urgent need for action to support Alberta's most vulnerable households in accessing affordable energy. The report was written in partnership with the Alberta Ecotrust Retrofit Accelerator program and highlights the critical role that deep retrofits play in reducing energy poverty and improving health, affordability, and resilience to support households across the province.

Alberta governments and utilities could help its most financially vulnerable households escape energy poverty while unlocking significant economic development opportunities. Investing $212 million per year in this housing stock segment could help grow the retrofit market, stimulate $850 million per year in GDP growth, and create 42,700 long-term jobs by 2050 in communities throughout Alberta.

Energy poverty−which refers to the struggles some households face in affording essential energy needed to heat, cool, and power their homes−affects six percent of low-income households in Alberta. These households often reside in older, less energy-efficient buildings, making them more vulnerable to fluctuating energy prices and extreme weather impacts. Resilience, which refers to the ability of communities and infrastructure to withstand and recover from extreme weather events, is especially critical for these households.

The report recommends a province-wide effort that prioritizes energy affordability and resilience for low-income households who are also experiencing energy poverty, particularly through public investment in deep retrofits and energy-efficiency. Our analysis shows that providing deep retrofits and efficient heating and cooling solutions, such as heat pumps, to households could help Alberta cut energy costs and improve indoor air quality while addressing the province's growing affordability and resilience challenges.

Recommendations  

Alberta’s local and provincial governments, as well as utilities, can take direct action to help reduce energy poverty and make homes healthy, safe, and more affordable to heat and cool. Here are some of our recommendations:

• Collaborate with local governments to define energy poverty and collect the data needed to determine the number of households, including building types, facing energy poverty.
• Establish a province-wide retrofit program with cross-cutting objectives on resilience, energy efficiency and energy affordability.
• Build a robust, sustained fund for 100% publicly funded deep retrofits to lift households out of energy poverty and make their homes more resilient.
• Use regulatory and performance standards, such as alterations to existing buildings or retrofit codes, highest efficiency equipment standards, and standards of maintenance bylaws, to provide all Albertans with safe and resilient homes. 
• Implement regulation to enable utility demand side management (DSM) and establish the governing framework for utility programs and actions that support customers in reducing energy use.

Quotes

"Energy costs are a key piece of the affordability puzzle, and practical solutions to reduce energy poverty must address these root challenges. It’s time to shift from temporary relief measures to comprehensive deep retrofit programs that will help Albertans struggling with high energy bills. Deep retrofits are a practical solution that will ensure Alberta’s homes and buildings are reliable, safe, and affordable to heat and cool.”

— Betsy Agar, Buildings program director, Pembina Institute
    
“As more buildings in Alberta undergo deep retrofits, their overall impact on the environment and the costs associated with their operations will be reduced. Making deep retrofits more attainable and fostering a culture where they become a regular part of building maintenance and renewal will continue to enhance Alberta's resilience in the face of a changing climate.”

    — Deeti Makkar, Senior Program Manager with Alberta Ecotrust Foundation

Quick facts

• 80% of the buildings that will exist in 2050 have already been built.  
• In Edmonton and Calgary, buildings account for 40-60% of emissions (Calgary = 60%, Edmonton = 40%).
• To meet the goals set by the Government of Alberta Emission Reduction and Energy Development Plan, we need to retrofit approximately 63,500 homes, 4-6% of the housing stock, each year.
• In Alberta, 6% of low-income households are living with energy poverty.
• Investing $212 million per year in this housing stock segment could help grow the retrofit market, stimulate $850 million per year in GDP growth, and create 42,700 long-term jobs by 2050 in communities throughout Alberta.
• Deep retrofits reduce energy use by at least 50% and emissions by 80-100%.

Background 

Contact

Sarah Snowdon
Senior Comms Lead, Pembina Institute
416-838-3423​