Manitoba Hydro’s new Power Smart Pay-as-You-Save (PAYS) financing program is now available to help consumers reduce energy consumption and cover upfront costs when they make energy-saving home improvements. This announcement was made by Premier Greg Selinger and Manitoba Hydro CEO Scott Thomson.
“Manitoba Hydro’s new Pay-as-You-Save program is the first of its kind in Canada. With huge upfront costs gone, more families will be able to make smart, energy-efficiency improvements to their homes and save money each month,” said Selinger. “Together, we’re putting efficiency upgrades to heating, insulation and home water heating within the reach of more families.”
In June of this year, Manitoba enacted the Energy Savings Act to encourage energy and water efficiency upgrades of existing homes and buildings. In response, Manitoba Hydro launched Pay as You-Save financing.
Under this new program, Manitoba Hydro will finance the upfront capital cost of approved cost effective energy- and water-efficiency improvements to a consumer’s home. Manitoba Hydro will recover the costs as customers pay back the financing with the savings on their bill. The interest rate would be fixed at 3.9 per cent for the first five years. The new program initially focuses on single family housing, but will be expanded to cover multi-unit residential, commercial and institutional buildings.
Energy-saving measures that can be financed under the program include high-efficiency gas furnaces, geothermal systems, insulation, drain-water heat recovery systems and water-saving toilets.
“Not only will this program save Manitoban families money, but it will have a significant impact on reducing our province’s energy consumption,” said Selinger. “This is the kind of innovative thinking that grows from collaborations between government and industry partners.”
