Edmonton

Due to overwhelming response from Edmontonians to the launch of the City of Edmonton’s CEIP pilot for residential homes, the program has received pre-qualification submissions and is now more than fully subscribed. For this reason, the City of Edmonton program has closed to new pre-qualification submissions. City administration is considering options for next steps for the program and will provide information on the City of Edmonton CEIP page and on the Alberta Municipalities Edmonton CEIP page, should the program re-open to new submissions in the future. 

The City of Edmonton CEIP pilot program allotted up to $1.25M for residential CEIP projects. The program saw a high volume of pre-qualification submissions arrive upon beginning to accept applications at 10am on March 29, 2022. To ensure sufficient funds were available to finance the first full applications received, all pre-qualification submissions with estimated project costs beyond the financing cap were placed on a waitlist, to be processed in the order they were received, should financing become available. Due to the length of the waitlist, the program has now closed to new pre-qualification submissions. 

The City has set an aggressive target to be carbon neutral in its corporate operations by 2040 and for the entire community to produce net zero GHG emissions by 2050. CEIP is one tool to help them meet their targets. The requirement for multiple upgrades to qualify for CEIP financing ensures deeper green retrofits are supported.  

City of Edmonton Administration will provide results of the pilot program to Council and among other things will:  

• Determine if there is demand for this type of incentive by property owners (it has been clear within the first days of the program that this demand may exist),   
• Measure impact on GHG reduction and renewable energy generation resulting from the upgrades, and the corresponding potential for a full-scale program,   
• Measure the cost and effort should Council want to consider a full-scale program.  

Council will use these details to inform decisions on the program moving forward. 

After Pre-Qualification is confirmed, complete an EnerGuide Home Evaluation, select a Qualified Contractor, and submit the Project Application Form provided by Alberta Municipalities:

1. Schedule a pre-project EnerGuide Home Evaluation using a Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) Energy Advisor. Choose from the Energy Advisors listed on the Qualified Contractor Directory. If you have completed an EnerGuide Home Evaluation (version 15), you may not need to complete a new one. Check the City of Edmonton’s CEIP Terms and Conditions to confirm which EnerGuide Home Evaluation version is eligible.
2. Using the Renovation Upgrade Report provided by your Energy Advisor as a guide, decide which three upgrades you want to finance through CEIP.  The upgrades must be listed on the CEIP Eligible Upgrades list and must meet all eligibility requirements.
3. Next, visit the Qualified Contractor Directory and contact Qualified Contractor(s) to get quotes for eligible upgrades. We recommend getting quotes from at least three different Qualified Contractors for each upgrade.
4. With the help of your Qualified Contractor(s), complete the Project Application Form and submit the completed form and all required supporting documents to Alberta Municipalities.

If the Project Application is approved, we will confirm the approved financing amount and provide the Clean Energy Improvement Agreement and the Project Agreement for your review and signature. Both agreements must be signed by all required parties before upgrade installations can begin.

What are the program agreements?

• The Clean Energy Improvement Agreement is an agreement between the property owner and the municipality. It sets out the financing terms, disclosure requirements in the event of property sale, project costs, and the project completion deadline.
• The Project Agreement is a tri-party agreement between the property owner, the Qualified Contractor, and Alberta Municipalities. It defines the scope of the project and sets out the terms relating to the Qualified Contractor’s installation of the upgrades. For projects where you are hiring more than one Qualified Contractor (e.g., solar installer, window installer), a Project Agreement will need to be signed with each contractor.

After all agreements are signed, Alberta Municipalities will send an Installation Authorization Notice, at which point upgrade installations can begin. All upgrades that are part of the project must be completed within six months of receiving the Installation Authorization Notice.

When the installation of an approved upgrade is complete, you must submit an Upgrade Completion Form, confirming final upgrade details and costs, to Alberta Municipalities for review. If your CEIP project has multiple upgrades completed at different times, multiple Upgrade Completion Forms will need to be submitted. Once the Upgrade Completion Form is processed and approved, Alberta Municipalities will pay your Qualified Contractor(s) directly.

Once all upgrades in your project are complete, the City of Edmonton will confirm the final total financing amount and have you sign an updated Clean Energy Improvement Agreement.

After all approved upgrades in a CEIP project are installed, a post-project EnerGuide Home Evaluation must be completed to determine the energy savings and verify the installation. Property owners will receive a new EnerGuide rating and label and updated report. The updated label and report must be submitted to Alberta Municipalities within 6 weeks of the final Upgrade Completion Report being submitted.

Once the project is deemed complete, the approved project cost will be recorded on the property’s tax account. Any financial incentives approved by the City will be applied to this financing amount, reducing the total amount owing.

You will repay the cost of the project over time through the Clean Energy Improvement Tax added to your property’s tax bill. The outstanding balance may be paid as a one-time lump sum payment at any time during the repayment period.