First Nations Community Building Retrofit Program
Up to CAD 330,000 per community for electricity-saving upgrades to on-reserve, band-owned facilities in Ontario.
Esta oportunidade está atualmente disponível em inglês.
Improve lighting, lighting controls, smart thermostats, window air conditioners and vending-machine controls through the direct-install route: Save on Energy’s delivery partner arranges contractors and installation. The programme also provides energy assessments for up to 15 selected facilities.
Under the community-install route, the community hires a third-party contractor and manages more complex upgrades. Approved equipment, contractor installation labour and engineering-study costs are eligible. The shared CAD 330,000 budget applies across both routes, before taxes; up to CAD 10,000 within it can pay for the required detailed engineering study. The community pays for the study first and is reimbursed after project completion, subject to this study allowance.
For community-install projects, pre-approved interim funding can cover 50% of estimated eligible costs once at least 50% of project costs have been incurred and approved. The balance follows completion and adjustment to actual approved costs. Submit accounting records, contractor invoices and any other evidence IESO requires. IESO may require repayment if the project is cancelled or fails to meet the approved plan.
The community-install contractor must remove or decommission replaced equipment lawfully and be ready to provide disposal evidence if IESO requests it. It must also carry out the agreed measurement and verification work, checking the energy savings achieved, and prepare a savings report for each completed project.
Eligibility
- The applicant must be an on-reserve Band Council for a community listed in Appendix 2 of the programme requirements, with the authority to install the upgrades. The programme serves Ontario communities connected to the provincial electricity grid.
- Facilities must be within an eligible reserve, on band-owned land, operated for the community’s benefit and connected to the IESO-controlled grid. Their primary use must be non-residential. Non-exclusive common areas in multi-family residential buildings, such as hallways and laundry rooms, can qualify.
- Community-install facilities must be water or wastewater treatment facilities, arenas, street lighting, or another facility determined to provide energy savings for this route. Measures must reduce the average electrical power used during the programme-defined peak demand period by 1 kW and/or save at least 2,000 kWh of electricity annually. These savings must be projected for at least 48 months after completion. A detailed engineering study is required.
- Pilot, demonstration, unproven and non-commercial measures are excluded. Direct-install replacements of equipment previously funded through the specified Ontario or IESO frameworks are subject to IESO guidance/approval. Community-install replacements of previously incentivised equipment are excluded; previously funded measures are also excluded unless evidence supports installation in a different part of the facility.
- Community-install funding excludes the participant’s own labour, administration and overhead outside a third-party contractor’s costs; financing and leasing costs; insurance; maintenance or repairs after installation; spare equipment and inventories; installation tools; and HST. Costs covered by Ontario or Canadian public funding, or manufacturer or supply-chain rebates, are excluded. Disclose third-party contributions.
- Complete all upgrades within 12 months after the project plan is approved. Participate in programme audits, reporting and verification, giving reasonable access to records and facilities.
- IESO receives the share of environmental credits or similar rights arising from the supported electricity savings that corresponds to its proportion of eligible costs funded. Notify IESO in writing before transferring, trading or otherwise using your remaining share.
- For rental units covered by Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act, the owner or operator cannot use the incentive or upgrades to justify rent increases above the statutory guideline.
How to apply
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Email info@fnretrofitprogram.ca or call 1-877-631-2380 to request an application package from Save on Energy’s programme team.
Sign the participant agreement, provide a signed Band Council Resolution and appoint a Community Coordinator to liaise with the delivery partner. Commit to supplying energy-use benchmarking data within 20 business days of IESO countersigning the agreement. The coordinator helps collect this data and arrange programme activities.
Use the benchmark report to select up to 15 facilities for assessment, then select projects from the site-visit report. Approve the project plan before arranging installation; the 12-month completion period runs from that approval.