Neighbouring provinces have introduced contrasting energy cost measures in their 2022-23 budgets, but both promise potential relief for commercial and multi-residential building owners. British Columbia’s new temporary tax credit will refund 5 per cent of eligible expenditures made between February 23, 2022 and March 31, 2025 on upgrades that help buildings achieve prescribed reductions in energy-use intensity. Meanwhile, Alberta promises a natural gas rebate if prices rise above $6.50 per gigajoule (GJ) during the six months from October 2022 to March 2023.

In his budget speech last week, Alberta Finance Minster Travis Toews likened the move to a rebate Ralph Klein’s government offered in 2006. Few details and no program cost estimates are revealed in the budget, but natural gas utility customers with annual consumption of less than 2,500 GJ would be eligible. That’s expected to include most single-family homes, farms, small multifamily buildings, small commercial buildings and small industrial operations.

“Increasing energy prices and commodity prices generally, combined with excessive federal stimulus and supply chain disruptions, have resulted in inflation rates not seen in decades. This is pushing up costs for Albertans and has elevated concerns over the costs of utilities,” Toews maintained. “To alleviate the fear of spiraling utility costs and to allow Albertan’s to benefit from an owned resource, budget 2022 implements a consumer price protection mechanism. This means Albertans needn’t fear a run up in natural gas prices of the variety currently experienced in Europe and Asia.”

Next door, the B.C. budget allocates $42 million for the new tax credit, aimed at supporting deep retrofits in commercial and multifamily buildings. It additionally estimates $8 million in foregone revenue in each of the next three budget years once provincial sales tax (PST) is removed from the purchase of heat pumps beginning on April 1 this year.

Furthering the contrast with Alberta’s initiative, the PST exemption for heat pumps comes in tandem with a new surcharge on the purchase of fossil-fuel fired heating or cooling systems, which will see the PST jump from 7 to 12 per cent. The tax penalty takes effect on any new purchase as of February 23, 2022. For contracts that were signed but yet to be fulfilled prior to Feb. 23, equipment must be installed by April 1 to qualify for the 7 per cent PST rate.

“These revenues will offset the cost of new incentives to make heat pumps more affordable for homeowners in rural and northern British Columbia,” B.C. Finance Minister Selina Robinson advised in her budget speech. “While most people want to make the right choice by the environment, it isn’t always the most affordable option. We are working hard to change that.”