WHEREAS energy efficiency rebates offered by BC Hydro are applied based on the product manufacturer rather than the product specification, resulting in only certain manufacturers products being eligible for rebates despite the fact that competitors products meet the same energy efficiency standards; AND WHEREAS consumers are being strongly urged to purchase energy efficient appliances and products to reduce greenhouse gas emissions only to find out that doing so restricts their choice of manufacturers or discovering after the fact that they are ineligible for the rebates despite the fact that the materials used met the energy efficiency standards: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of British Columbia Municipalities urge the provincial and federal governments to ensure that they and their Crown corporations offer energy efficiency rebates based on products specifications, rather than on select manufacturers.
Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources The Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources agrees that it is preferable to offer rebates based on the energy efficiency performance of the product itself. The provincial LiveSmartBC: Efficiency Incentive Program www.livesmartbc.ca provides funding for home energy audits and retrofit incentives using this approach. All products that meet the energy efficiency standard specified by the program receive the applicable provincial, utility and federal rebate in full, regardless of the manufacturer. BC Hydro rebates under the Product Incentive Program do not specify a manufacturer. They are offered for all products that meet an energy efficiency standard. There are a number of energy efficiency rebates for windows that are offered by manufacturers and promoted by BC Hydro. Neither BC Hydro nor the provincial government have any control over those offers.
Ministry of Natural Resources NRCan administers the ENERGY STAR initiative in Canada. ENERGY STAR criteria are, as you recommend, performance based. Only products that manufacturers certify meet these criteria can use the ENERGY STAR symbol. NRCans listings of ENERGY STAR - qualified models are widely used by utilities across the country, including BC Hydro, to identify high efficiency products.