Changes to Clean Heat Project Christchurch requires special consultation

Environment Canterbury commissioners today approved “Statements for Proposal” to amend the regional council’s 2009 -19 Long Term Plan. These cover the ratepayer-funded Clean Heat Project in Christchurch and the group of activities included in the Energy portfolio, leading into this year’s annual plan consultation.

Because the air rules for Christchurch came into effect in April last year, the focus for the council is now upon implementing those rules, said Commissioner David Bedford at today’s first Regional Council meeting for 2011.

“The demand for Clean Heat Project assistance in Christchurch has dropped since the end of last winter. Many homes in Christchurch suffered chimney damage or loss in the September earthquake or subsequent aftershocks and they will qualify for help from Central Government’s EECA chimney replacement scheme.

“Even before the earthquake, EECA’s Warm Up New Zealand programme offered subsidies for people to replace older, polluting open fires and older burners with low pollution, efficient appliances. There is no need for Christchurch people to pay for two clean heat option systems through their taxes and their rates.”

The Clean Heat Project was introduced eight years ago to help Christchurch people shift from polluting open fires and older burners to clean heat and insulation, preparing for the regional council’s ban on open fires and phase-out of older burners. It was originally intended to run for ten years and offer financial subsidies to 26,000 households, funded through a targeted rate.

“However the cost per conversion had increased over time and continuing with it would have required a significant increase in the targeted rate,” said Commissioner Bedford.
The Clean Heat Project in Christchurch was budgeted to cost $3.6M in the 2011/12 financial year, through the targeted rate.

“In recent years it averaged 3-4,000 conversions annually to achieve close to 20,000 households currently, bringing with it a massive drop in winter pollution levels in the city,” he said.

“In that eight year period, high pollution nights in Christchurch in winter have dropped from 30 - 50 each winter to 13 for the past two winters. It has been a remarkable success. When it began, the Clean Heat Project was the only way Christchurch people could access advice and financial help towards a low-pollution home heating appliance and insulation. The scheme shows what can be achieved when a community decides it will do something about air pollution.”

Commissioner Bedford acknowledged the hard work by former Environment Canterbury Councillor, the late Neil Cherry in convincing the council and community the scheme would work and keeping clean, healthy air uppermost in people’s minds as the end goal.

He said air pollution in Christchurch was likely to continue to drop with households taking up the EECA options in future, boding well for the health of city people, in particular the young, the old and people with respiratory illnesses.

“Now that the air plan is operative, the rules will be applied regarding individual burners that are found to be producing air pollution,” said Commissioner Bedford.

The council’s energy group of activities were also largely redundant given the EECA options available now, he said. “There are some remaining activities in the energy portfolio which can be adequately covered by other parts of the council’s work or through that of other stakeholders through their core roles.”