How will the new Green Energy Act affect you?

Ontario Home sellers face $300 'green' audit
Ontario residents won't be able to sell their houses or condos without first getting a home energy audit which now costs about $300 under the proposed new Green Energy Act. That's one of several measures in the legislation unveiled by Energy Minister George Smitherman to boost incentives for electricity conservation and encourage renewable sources of energy.The legislation was applauded by environmentalists as ambitious, although the David Suzuki Foundation says its green intent is undermined by government plans to build a new nuclear power plant at Darlington.But critics fear the energy audits and Smitherman's estimated 1 per cent rise in household electricity bills as a result of the law will pinch pocketbooks as the recession deepens."It'll be used to beat down the seller of a home," Progressive Conservative MPP and energy critic John Yakabuski warned of the audit, which would put detailed information on a home's energy efficiency into the hands of buyers.Toronto homeowners are already concerned about the impact the city's new land transfer tax in addition to the provincial one is having on sales and prices. Both taxes add up to thousands of dollars even on cheaper houses.As for higher electricity prices, Smitherman promised measures to help low-income families but said anyone thinking prices will fall is mistaken as governments around the world try to curb greenhouse gases that cause global warming."Most people expect that electricity prices will be going up," he told a news conference, adding that there are incentives and government aid under the act to help homeowners improve their energy conservation efforts.While homeowners will have to get a private contractor to do an energy audit before selling, there will be no requirement to take any action the measure is simply intended to inform potential buyers what state of energy efficiency a property is in so they can take action if desired. But New Democrat MPP and energy critic Peter Tabuns (Toronto-Danforth) said the act which will also update the provincial building code to require new buildings to be more efficient and require higher efficiency standards for appliances just doesn't go far enough. What we've seen today is still too timid compared to what we need in Ontario," Tabuns said, citing as an example that Portugal now requires solar systems in new houses. The higher cost on electricity bills and many of the 50,000 jobs that the government claims the act will create over three years will stem initially from a $5 billion investment to improve the electricity transmission and distribution grid. Smitherman's plan is to modernize it so homeowners, for example, can put solar panels on their rooftops and sell any excess power they don't need back into the system at a price yet to be determined, making the grid a "two-way street." Utilities such as Toronto Hydro will undertake that work under ministerial directives to be issued soon, Smitherman said. Government programs, still in the developmental stages, would provide low-interest or no-interest loans to help homeowners pay for the solar, thermal, ground source heat pumps and micro-wind energy systems that will be promoted under the act, which still requires a vote of the Legislature this spring. February 24, 2009-Toronto Star