The Yukon government has announced that rebates are available for property owners who upgrade their thermostats or hot water tank controllers through a Yukon Energy program.
Yukon Energy said consumers enroled in their Peak Smart program can receive rebates of up to 75 percent on equipment purchases and installation costs. The announcement was made in a joint press release with the territorial government on Dec. 4.
The program aims to reduce pressure on the grid by shifting electricity consumption away from peak demand periods. This is the second phase of the program delivered by the Yukon government and Yukon Energy, according to the release.
The rebate program is currently running and can be accessed online through the Yukon government’s MyYukon application portal. Applicants must apply within a year of purchasing or installing new devices, notes Yukon Energy’s website.
The website also specifies that eligible Peak Smart devices include smart thermostats and hot water tank controllers manufactured by Mysa and Sinopé.
Yukoners who purchase both devices and enroll in Yukon Energy’s Peak Smart program could qualify for rebates of up to $1,500 per home, said Kate Erwin, spokesperson for the government energy, mines and resources department.
When devices are enroled in Peak Smart, applicants could receive 75 percent of total costs, up to $750. If smart thermostats are not enroled in Peak Smart, applicants could receive a rebate of 25 percent of costs, up to $250, Erwin added.
The Yukon government’s application webpage states that rebates are unavailable to properties not connected to the Yukon grid. These include Old Crow, Burwash Landing, Destruction Bay, Beaver Creek and Watson Lake. Applicants must also have a stable internet connection.
This version of the program includes allowing renters to enrol households in Yukon Energy’s Peak Smart program, depending on whose name is on the utility bill, Erwin said. Yukoners with an electricity account with Yukon Energy or ATCO Electric Yukon are eligible to apply under the Peak Smart home program, she added.
Applicants who enrol in the program with an eligible device allow Yukon Energy to adjust the temperature settings of their homes. Yukon Energy claims on their website that this shifts energy demand during periods of peak usage, helping to avoid the need for additional electricity generation.
Yukon Energy claims the program was born out of a two-year effort by multiple stakeholders to shift peak energy demands during the cold winter months, using technology to modulate usage. A pilot program in 2021 saw hundreds of Yukoners participating, their website states.
Yukon Energy’s pilot results show that in the winter of 2021, 12 test events with over 400 programmable electric baseboard thermostats demonstrated positive results. Peak power demands were lowered by up to 44.5 kW, reducing diesel use for electricity generation.
Preheating thermostats by 2°C before peak hours and turning them down by 3°C during peak events led to significant reductions. Average reductions reached 0.26 kW per device for a -3°C setback, with minimal temperature changes noticed by participants.
Contact Jake Howarth at jake.howarth@yukon-news.com
