Canadian Energy Efficiency Scorecard:
Provinces and Territories
New Brunswick
New Brunswick ranks seventh in this year’s Scorecard, having earned 30 points out of 100.
New climate plan, new funds
New Brunswick ranks seventh in this year’s Scorecard, having earned 30 points out of 100.
In New Brunswick, energy efficiency was a big topic this year. In February, the Auditor General focused on the need for more stable program funding and financing, and removing barriers for low-income customers. The government created an energy efficiency fund to support non-electric, low-income, First Nations, and not-for-profit programs and proposed regulations that will establish electricity savings targets.
A new climate plan also commits to make all new buildings net-zero energy ready by 2030, phasing out heating oil in buildings, disclosing building energy performance when they are being sold, financing energy efficiency over the long term and training 300 tradespeople. As the government acts on these commitments, future Scorecard results are expected to improve.
Strengths
Smart meters
New Brunswick started rolling out advanced meters in March, 2022. The program is expected to be complete in 2024. This infrastructure will enable an accurate targeting of energy saving opportunities, while aiding evaluation and giving customers real-time feedback.
Energy efficiency research
New Brunswick has the highest proportion of National Science and Engineering Research Council energy research grants going to energy efficiency research. This is due to a single project at the University of New Brunswick that focuses on dispatchable control systems in local electricity distribution networks.
Opportunities for Improvement
Energy efficiency resource standard
Proposed annual electricity targets in New Brunswick increase savings to 0.75 per cent of sales by 2028–2029. That’s higher than the province achieved historically, yet lower than the one per cent of savings achieved in Nova Scotia in 2021 and much lower than leading American states that consistently achieve annual savings of two per cent or more. This level of savings is unlikely to be adequate to achieve net-zero emission goals.
Low-income energy efficiency
The Auditor General compared funding levels for low-income programming with other Atlantic provinces, and called for NB Power to develop a plan and timeline to ensure easy access for all applicants to the utility’s Low Income Energy Savings program. Based on this year’s benchmark, New Brunswick would need to increase low-income energy efficiency spending from $4 million to $32 million to match PEI and $12 million to match Nova Scotia.
Policy Area Scores
Programs
NB
National Median
Points possible
10 points
11.25 points
40 points
Enabling Policies
NB
National Median
Points possible
9 points
9 points
16 points
Buildings
NB
National Median
Points possible
2 points
4 points
19.5 points
Transportation
NB
National Median
Points possible
6 points
6 points
17.25 points
Industry
NB
National Median
Points possible
4 points
4 points
7 points
Energy use in Canada
Alberta
19/100 Points
British Columbia
55/100 Points
Manitoba
29/100 Points
New Brunswick
30/100 Points
Newfoundland and Labrador
17/100 Points
Nova Scotia
50/100 Points
Ontario
39/100 Points
Prince Edward Island
39/100 Points
Québec
48/100 Points
Saskatchewan
16/100 Points
Yukon
35/100 Points
1
British Columbia
2
Nova Scotia
3
Québec
4
Prince Edward Island
5
Ontario
6
Yukon
7
New Brunswick
8
Manitoba
9
Alberta
10
Newfoundland and Labrador
11
Saskatchewan
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