The federal government’s push to get people in Atlantic Canada to switch from home heating oil to electric heat pumps isn’t expected to have an appreciable financial impact on NL’s two major utilities in NL.
Ottawa has paused implementation of the carbon tax on home heating oil across the country, and is offering grants to people in the Atlantic region as part of a pilot project to help them make the switch.
The credit rating agency DBRS Morningstar rates three regulated utilities in the Atlantic region, including Newfoundland Power and NL Hydro, with no financial impact expected from policy changes – although the heat pump grant could increase power loads over time.
That’s according to Vice President of Infrastructure, Power and Utilities for DBRS Morningstar, Adam Provencher who says it could result in greater demand on the electrical grid.
