Loney’s ‘The Big Switch’ to Cut Heating Costs

Revamped Winnipeg Water and Waste Department to
Offer Affordable Renewable Heating Options 


Released September 26, 2022

Winnipeg, MANITOBA – Shaun Loney announced today that when elected Mayor he will modernize the mandate of the City’s water and waste department to add heating with renewable made-in-Manitoba electricity. ‘The Big Switch’ will enable at least 40,000 Winnipeg families and businesses to make the switch from heating with natural gas to electric heat pumps by 2030, saving on their energy bills and substantially reducing carbon emissions. 

“City Hall has been acting on the wrong assumption that switching to heat pumps is a financial burden. The opposite is true. We just need some vision and new financing tools to reduce or eliminate upfront costs like we already do with water and natural gas service,” said Loney. 

Loney explained that new homes and buildings, or those undergoing major renovations would be eligible for convenient installations of either geothermal or cold climate air-source heat pumps at a price equal to or less than using natural gas.

The renamed Winnipeg Water, Waste and Heat (‘Winnipeg WWH’) will install underground loops for geothermal heat pumps and charge a monthly fee to access the loop, just like they do with water pipes.

“A modest monthly fee will be applied to recover installation costs over time. This will feel very similar to how Manitoba Hydro’s Centra Gas subsidiary handles the cost of natural gas service right now”, said Loney. “This will give Winnipegers an enticing new option to cut both their heating bills and carbon footprint.” 

Businesses will also be able to finance heat pump installations through their property tax bills, an approach called ‘Property Assessed Clean Energy’ (PACE) that is growing in popularity across the U.S. and Canada. This will enable the property owner to enjoy immediate savings and repay the installation cost on their property taxes over an extended period with monthly energy bills being less than using natural gas.

Loney emphasized that the public sector needs to lead-by-example. He pledged to strengthen the City of Winnipeg’s outdated Green Buildings Policy to mandate that all new civic facilities plus existing facilities undergoing a major renovation must use electric heat pump systems.

Joining Loney at his announcement was Brent Laufer, President of the Manitoba Geothermal Energy Alliance.

“I can’t think of anyone more qualified in Canada to lead Winnipeg’s transition away from heating with natural gas to electric heat pumps,” said Laufer.

Loney noted that Winnipeg WWH would partner with the federal government and Efficiency Manitoba, the province’s energy agency, to coordinate and leverage their incentive programs to create a single convenient access point for Winnipeggers.

Loney stated that Winnipeg WWH will work with the heat pump industry to ensure the quality and performance of new heat pump installations.

The final element of Loney’s ‘Big Switch’ will be to phase-out extensions of natural gas to new residential developments by the end of his first term. “I recognize that the homebuilding industry and its suppliers need time to ramp-up capacity and adjust their supply chains,” said Loney. “I look forward to working with industry to create an orderly transition and new opportunities for Winnipeg businesses.”

Loney noted that today’s ‘The Big Switch’ heating announcement, along with his previously announced EV strategy, Community Solar Action Plan and the creation of a big-city transit system called MetroMobility, will set Winnipeg on a path to create more than 100,000 person-years of green jobs and save Winnipeggers $1.2 billion annually as cited in the recently-released Community Energy Investment Roadmap (CEIR) commissioned by the City.  

Loney is an early adopter of heat pump technology having switched to a geothermal heat pump in his own home over 11 years ago. Shaun is also a former Director of Energy Policy with the Government of Manitoba and holds a Master’s Degree in Economics.

“Addressing our carbon footprint is not a problem to overcome,” said Loney. “It is our biggest economic opportunity in generations.”

Backgrounder

  • Major changes in how we heat our homes and buildings have happened before. 

In early Winnipeg, wood was the most common source of energy to heat homes and other buildings. It was eventually displaced by coal followed by heating oil. The last major transition began in 1957 when natural gas was introduced to Winnipeg.

  • We cannot meet our climate goals without switching away from natural gas.

Winnipeg has set a climate target to meet or exceed net zero emissions by 2050.
Because of natural gas heating, our homes and non-residential building sectors are the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in our community (39% in 2020).

The City of Winnipeg’s Community Energy Investment Roadmap confirms that “switching heating and transportation systems from fossil fuels to electricity is the primary strategy in reducing GHG emissions and achieving the net-zero target.”

Another report, Manitoba’s Road to Resilience released in 2021 by the Climate Action Team, reached a similar conclusion that switching to electric heat pumps is an essential part of a broader strategy to full decarbonization in our province.

  • Winnipeg will not be alone in shifting away from heating with fossil fuels.

Across the United States, 80 cities and counties have adopted policies that require or encourage the move from fossil fuels to all-electric homes and buildings.

In Canada, a growing number of jurisdictions, including Victoria, Vancouver and Quebec, have already adopted policies to phase out the use of natural gas for new construction and encourage a shift away from natural gas when retrofitting existing homes and buildings.

  • How was the target of at least 40,000 heat pump installations by 2030 determined?

The target is conservative. It is derived from assumptions used for the Community Energy Investment Roadmap (CEIR), the current replacement rate for natural gas heating systems and projections for new housing starts for Winnipeg to 2030.  

  • Won’t that many heat pumps strain the capacity of our electricity supply?
    Technical analysis for the CEIR report has found that building retrofits combined with local solar generation and battery storage can reduce Winnipeg’s annual electricity consumption enough to create space on the electrical grid to electrify both heating and transportation.

Sources

  1. Winnipeg’s Climate Action Plan. City of Winnipeg, adopted September 30, 2018.

  2. City of Winnipeg Green Building Policy. City of Winnipeg, adopted July 21, 2010.

  3. Canada Greener Home Initiatives Eligible Retrofits - Heat Pumps.
    Natural Resources Canada, accessed September 26, 2022.

  4. Heat Pump Program. Efficiency Manitoba, accessed September 26, 2022.

  5. City of Winnipeg Community Energy Investment Roadmap and Appendices.
    Sustainability Solutions Group, June 2022.

  6. Manitoba’s Road to Resilience. Climate Action Team, 2021.

  7. Property Assessed Clean Energy in Energy. Pembina Institute, June 2020.

  8. Annual Space Heating Comparison. Manitoba Hydro, August 1, 2022.

  9. What is Geoenergy?
    Manitoba Geothermal Energy Alliance, accessed September 26, 2022.

Why Oil and Gas Heating Bans for New Homes are a Growing Trend.
CBC News, January 30, 2022.