Whereas access to Energy Advisors and materials is required for communities to meet provincial policies; And whereas there is limited access to Energy Advisors and the required materials, located in northern, rural and remote communities, to meet the implementation of provincial timelines: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM continue to lobby the Province to secure additional Energy Advisors, make grants available and review implementation timelines for the northern, rural and remote communities.
Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation Energy Advisor capacity has improved province-wide in the past year, including in rural and northern communities. This trend is expected to continue as energy advisors see market opportunity with continued investments by the Province, utilities and the federal government in energy retrofit incentives. The Province is also investing in a Virtual Home Energy Rating System, a web-based tool that will provide energy ratings remotely to homeowners as well as retrofit decision assistance linked to CleanBC incentive offers and supports. This tool will be free, accessible across the Province, and available in the next year. As a part of its BC Building Code updates, the Province is planning to introduce a prescriptive compliance option for the BC Energy Step Code, which can be pursued without the use of an Energy Advisor. This was included specifically to address concerns raised by rural and northern communities where access to Energy Advisors is limited.