Thousands of Nova Scotians waiting for Greener Homes rebate as program bogs down

Thousands of Nova Scotians may be waiting longer than expected for the Greener Homes rebate they applied for from the Nova Scotia and federal governments because of a large backlog in files.

As of March 1, at least 2,700 files are in the queue to be processed in Ottawa and by Efficiency Nova Scotia in Dartmouth.

One of those files belongs to Chris Hecimovich, a recently laid-off sales and marketing executive.

He is eager to get a rebate of about $6,000 he's expecting through the program to partially offset the nearly $17,000 he spent last year installing a heat pump system in his Halifax home.

"I was expecting that — by [the] latest — October," said Hecimovich. "Then in mid-November is when I started to get cranky. It's all maddening."

Albert James is in a similar situation for the $22,000 conversion from an oil furnace to a heat pump system he completed on his Timberlea home in the fall. He expected to receive a total rebate of about $8,000.

"It looked simple when you read the instructions," said James. "It should have been straightforward.

"And I think we had different expectations because, in the summer, we bought an electric car and the rebate was instantaneous and painless. So we expected a similar process, but it's not been that at all."

Both men complained of getting contradictory information from Efficiency Nova Scotia, the agency responsible for administering the provincial portion of the program in Nova Scotia, and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), the federal department in charge of the Greener Homes program.

For its part, NRCan told CBC in a Feb. 20 emailed statement that it has already issued $178 million in payments to 46,127 homeowners across the country, including 1,209 homeowners in Nova Scotia who received an average of $3,589.

"Almost all payments, through the national portal, are issued within our 40-day standard, including more than 95 per cent which were paid within 21 days," wrote NRCan communications advisor Michael MacDonald. "In some cases, homeowners are experiencing delays in processing their files due to system bottlenecks,"

In one automated response from NRCan, James was told, "We are experiencing a high volume of applications and inquiries. Inquiries are being processed in the order in which they are received and may take up to 30 days for a response. We appreciate your patience and understanding."  

But it turns out there are two logjams — one in Ottawa — where NRCan is handling files it received until the end of November 2022. And another at Efficiency Nova Scotia, which is continuing to process the provincial portion of the program, and all new files received since November.

Janet Tobin, who speaks for Efficiency Nova Scotia, said the agency would be handling both the provincial and federal portions of the rebate starting this month.

"In December of 2022, NRCan asked Efficiency Nova Scotia to stop sending new applications for processing of the federal rebate portion to NRCan," said Tobin. "This was in preparation, and transition of, Efficiency Nova Scotia taking over the federal rebate payment process which will be beginning in March."

"And we're confident moving into that model will be able to get through this backlog as quickly as possible, starting with those that have been waiting the longest."

'Growing pains'

Earlier this week, NRCan communications advisor Miriam Galipeau sent an emailed response to CBC saying it has sent payments to 1,230 homeowners in Nova Scotia, 69 per cent of which included a heat pump.

"We continue to work through 1,400 N.S. applications to collect necessary documentation, payment will be issued within the 40-day service standard," she wrote.

But that 1,400-file figure does not include about 1,300 files that are already in the hands of Efficiency Nova Scotia for processing, as part of the transfer of responsibility. 

Tobin called the delays being experienced by some Nova Scotians "growing pains" with the co-delivery.

The fact Efficiency Nova Scotia is taking over management of the program was news to both James and Hecimovich, who still have not been told when they can expect their rebates.

The situation is particularly upsetting for Hecimovich because he borrowed to pay for some of the upgrades to his heating system.

"I'm one of these homeowners that bought on a variable rate mortgage at the height of the Halifax market," said Hecimovich. "I was short some money to pay for this heat pump process, so it went on to my line of credit."

"So I'm carrying things on a line of credit with a mortgage going up exponentially and it doesn't seem like I can get anybody to give me a solid answer on even where the file sits."

Both men said they would caution others interested in the program to think long and hard about delays in getting the rebate.

Trying to clear backlog

"Prepare for a long wait," said James.

Tobin said Efficiency Nova Scotia would get to work this week trying to clean up the backlog as quickly as possible.

"We certainly understand that this isn't ideal," said Tobin. "We understand for some cases they've paid out of pocket to have some of these upgrades and they're waiting on these rebates."

"We truly appreciate their patience and we are working as fast as we can, especially during this transitional process, to move everything over to Efficiency Nova Scotia in terms of paying out those rebates."