At their meeting on December 2nd, Council directed staff to investigate options for incentivizing alternative home heating methods at the development stage of housing projects and also directed staff to return to Council with a list of options to consider for implementation and their costing and source of funding.  

This initiative stems from a recommendation by the Environmental Charter Advisory Committee, suggesting that Council consider an incentive program in conjunction with BC Hydro and Fortis BC for developers and/or builders to install alternative home heating. The staff report details that a preliminary review of currently available rebates and incentives shows that there are very few, if any, that apply to new housing builds. Rebates offered through BC Hydro and Fortis BC are intended for homeowners that want to update existing heating systems and have very explicit eligibility requirements regarding the age and type of heating systems that qualify. Staff also recommend that input be requested from the Development Liaison Committee to determine what form of incentive the development community within Mission would have the most appetite for.  

Additional information can be found in the  full report by City staff.