Clean Heat Project Benefits From New EECA Funding

Environment Canterbury’s Clean Heat Project will continue to offer significant levels of financial help to Christchurch’s lowest income householders, councillors agreed today.

Home owners and landlords in Timaru, Ashburton, Rangiora and Kaiapoi may also be eligible for greater levels of assistance, thanks to the recently announced Government insulation and clean heating package.

This new funding means that ECan will be able to offer a more generous criteria for heating and insulation subsidies in these places as well as Christchurch than had been proposed in the long term plan.

Christchurch householders reliant upon open fires or older solid fuel burners need to make the switch to clean heating and insulation before next winter’s ban on using open fires and older burners. Depending on income levels, people may qualify for full or partial subsidies or opt for an interest-free loan.

The original proposal in the council’s draft long term plan was to restrict full financial assistance in Christchurch to those householders who qualified for the Government’s rates rebate scheme. The criteria to date for full assistance has been the community services card alone, a larger group of people. The landlord assistance subsidy was also proposed to reduce from 40% to 33%. These changes were proposed in order to reduce the overall cost of the scheme to Christchurch ratepayers.

However thanks to the new Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) funding, householders who have a community services card but do not qualify for the rates rebate scheme, will be eligible for a sizeable subsidy.

“A family who require a new, clean form of heating and insulation can receive substantial financial assistance if they are able to provide $500 towards the new heater or burner, and up to $500 towards ceiling and underfloor insulation,” said ECan director operations Ken Lawn.

Home owners who qualify for the Government’s rates rebate scheme will continue to be eligible for full assistance to make a switch to clean heat in time for next winter.

The subsidy for landlords will reduce to the same level as the subsidy for homeowners not qualifying under the rates rebate or community services card criteria – 33%. However, if the tenants have a community services card the EECA subsidies for landlords will be applicable – 60% of energy efficiency insulation subsidised, plus $500 towards a clean heating appliance.

Other key changes to the Clean Heat Project, benefiting from the EECA funding:

• The low income householder subsidy (60% of energy efficiency insulation and $1200 towards a heating appliance) will be extended to homes in Timaru, Ashburton, Kaiapoi and Rangiora where the home owner has a community services card.


• The landlord subsidy (60% of energy efficiency insulation, plus $500 towards the heating appliance) will be extended to rental properties in Timaru, Ashburton, Kaiapoi and Rangiora, where the tenant has a community services card.


• A new scheme, funded by EECA, with some funding also coming from the Christchurch City Council ($150 per eligible home) for owners of homes in the city constructed before January 2000 who do not have a solid fuel burner or open fire but would like to upgrade their insulation levels and potentially change their heating systems. Details of this proposal are still to be finalised but are outlined on pages 140 and 141 of this week’s council agenda (see link below).

A list of all the changes will be on the Clean Heat website from early July, or read the relevant pages in this week’s council agenda, pages 138 to 142 http://www.ecan.govt.nz/NR/rdonlyres/87DD4DB7-25BF-4050-B146-1E7E66341E8B/0/Cnclagenda250609.pdf

People can call Clean Heat customer services on freephone 0800 329 276 or go to www.cleanheat.org.nz .

ENDS

© Scoop Media