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By Sydney Sheloff

What is energy poverty?  

Energy poverty is the experience of households struggling to meet their energy needs, including heating and cooling their homes, and powering lights and appliances (Empower Me, 2018; CUSP, n.d.). The average Canadian spends less than 3% of their after-tax income on home heating and electricity. According to Canadian Urban Sustainability Practitioners (CUSP) households that spend double this (6%) are considered to be living in energy poverty (n.d.).    

50,765 Edmonton households – that’s 16% – live in energy poverty. This varies across the city, 36% of residents in the Alberta Avenue neighbourhood experience energy poverty, whereas only 8.3% in Ellerslie do (CUSP, n.d.). A variety of factors influence this. Households in Alberta Avenue have lower incomes than those in Ellerslie ($60K vs. $104K). In addition, houses in Alberta Avenue are older (86% were built before 1991) and more likely to need major repairs (17% vs. 0%). 

People who own homes are more likely to live in energy poverty (20-30%) than those who rent (14%). This is likely because a) those who rent often have energy costs included in their rent, and b) renters tend to live in smaller apartments and row housing that requires less energy to heat. However, renters whose utilities are not included in their rent are most likely to experience energy poverty. People that live in single detached housing also have a much higher likelihood of experiencing energy poverty (Empower Me, 2018). 

Energy poverty is not isolated to people living with low income. In fact, two-thirds of those living in energy poverty are not considered to be living in low income. People with higher incomes are more likely to be living in larger homes that cost more to heat (Empower Me, 2018). At the same time, lower-income families are more likely to be in homes that, while smaller, have poor insulation and are therefore hard to heat, as well often live in homes in major need of repairs (ODPHP, 2020). While low-income families may be less likely to experience energy poverty, they feel its effects much more harshly. 

What are the effects of energy poverty?  

Living in energy poverty has many negative consequences on the lives of families. Families may choose to keep their homes at lower temperatures, which is uncomfortable. Living in cold homes also has negative health consequences, such as higher rates of respiratory problems and high susceptibility to illness for children (EmPower Me, 2018). Families may have to sacrifice other important needs, such as groceries and medication, to pay for energy (CUSP, n.d.).  

One of the most extreme consequences of energy poverty is having one’s power shut off. This has incredibly negative impacts on people’s health and quality of life. Losing refrigeration means food and medications can go bad and makes it so that families cannot cook food. A lack of hot water makes hygiene difficult (Cummings, 2022; CUSP, n.d.). As essential services, work, and school move online, not being able to power electronics or Wi-Fi routers makes these things inaccessible. Children can fall behind in school, and adults risk losing their jobs.  

Living in energy poverty is incredibly stressful. Families need to make tough choices about what they power and when, and live under the fear that they could lose all power if they make a wrong choice. Above all, it greatly impacts a family’s sense of dignity.  

What is happening in Edmonton?  

The Government of Alberta has rules in place to ensure households do not lose heat in the cold winter months. Between October 15 and April 15, limiters are installed instead of a full disconnection (Cummings, 2022). These limiters allow families to have enough energy to power their necessities – such as their furnace, fridge, a few lights, and one 

small appliance. Anecdotes show that families are forced to stop using their ovens, stoves, washers, and dryers as these appliances use too much power. If people go over the ‘limit’ their power will suddenly go off, and they have to either manually restart their meter, or if they have a meter with remote capabilities, wait 15-30 minutes for it to automatically restart (Edwardson, 2022).  

Once summer hits, if these families have not caught up on bills, they risk losing power altogether. This has been the reality for 200 Edmontonians in 2022 (Cummings, 2022). As described above, losing power greatly affects these families’ ability to meet their basic needs – storing and cooking food, washing clothes, taking care of personal hygiene – and sacrifices their dignity. 

EPCOR claims that disconnection is always a “last resort” after they have exhausted all other attempts at resolving balances (Cummings, 2022). From a human rights approach, is it ever okay to take away someone’s power? The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 7 calls for universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy. Energy is essential for people’s physical and mental well-being, and as such, can be considered a fundamental human need (Shyu, 2021). Energy is currently unaffordable for many Edmontonians, this is a breach of their rights. 

What can be done?  

There are programs in place to address energy poverty, but these are not sufficient. The province of Alberta promised automatic $50 electricity rebates, but in the face of a rising cost of living, this barely makes a dent in families’ monthly budgets, let alone allows them to pay off debts (Cummings, 2022). Upgrades to make homes more energy efficient are a great way to reduce energy costs. However, if families cannot afford their monthly bills, it is unlikely they can afford home upgrades. Programs such as Empower Me offer home upgrades to help lower energy costs, but these are geared to people who own their homes and are out of reach for many renters and low-income families.  

We need to instate policies to ensure all people living in Canada have access to their basic energy needs. In South Africa, vulnerable households have access to 50kWh per month as Free Basic Electrification (Shyu, 2021). Governments in Canada could instate a similar system to ensure all families can power their essential needs. Investing in renewable energy sources would make energy more affordable. Overall, governments in Canada, and Edmonton specifically, need to reconceptualize energy as a fundamental human need and put policies in place to ensure everyone has access. 

Note: This is an excerpt from our September 2022 Community Matters, you can read the full publication here

Did You Enjoy this Article? Please provide feedback here

Sources 

Canadian Urban Sustainability Practitioners (n.d.). The many faces of energy poverty in Canada. https://energypoverty.ca/  

CUSP. (n.d.). Energy poverty and equity explorers.  https://energypoverty.ca/mappingtool/  

Cummings, M. (2022, July 8). Epcor has shut off power for 200 Edmonton customers since winter disconnection ban ended. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/epcor-has-shut-off-power-200-edmonton-customers-1.6514114?utm_source=Taproot+Edmonton&utm_campaign=fd3dec5df4-TAPROOTYEG_PULSE_2022_07_12&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ef1adf0932-fd3dec5df4-421442804&mc_cid=fd3dec5df4&mc_eid=02b4567cf4  

EmPower me (2018). Energy Poverty in Alberta: 2018. https://www.empowermeprogram.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Energy-Poverty-in-Alberta.pdf  

Edwardson, Lucie (March 21, 2022). ‘I don’t wish it on my worst enemy’: Calgarians detail life with an electricity load limiter. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/utility-bills-electricity-limiters-calgary-1.6388949  

Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) (2020). Quality of Housing. https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/social-determinants-health/interventions-resources/quality-of-housing  

Shyu, Chian-Woei. (2021).  A framework for ‘right to energy’ to meet UN SDG7: Policy implications to meet basic human energy needs, eradicate energy poverty, enhance energy justice, and uphold energy democracy. Energy Research and Social Science 79. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214629621002929  

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By Lexia Simmons, ESPC Volunteer

Home prices have risen 20.6% from 2018 to 2021 (Statistics Canada, 2022a), with reduced access to affordable housing. Countries, provinces, states, and municipalities have been researching, innovating, and implementing different programs to make housing more affordable. As stated by the Department of Finance Canada (2022), “Everyone should have a safe and affordable place to call home.” This article will begin with a municipality that has chosen to view the housing crisis through an innovative lens and then will focus on the strategies different municipalities have taken in solving the problems a lack of supply in the housing market has caused.  

The City of Kitchener (2020) in Ontario developed a housing affordability program called Housing for All. The program includes seven main priorities; however, the City of Kitchener has identified some priorities that are new and not addressed in other municipal housing programs. Those priorities include a concentration on education around affordable housing. The idea is to shift the community mindset to housing as a human right and reduce the mentality of the NIMBY (not in my backyard) that has gripped and slowed down affordable housing programs in neighborhoods that need it. The City of Kitchener is also committed to lived experience collaboration, allowing those most impacted by the lack of housing to be a part of the solution. Finally, the last innovative priority is the commitment to developing more community housing and facilitating partnerships between the non-profit sector and developers to create innovative solutions to help make the housing market more affordable. Although these are not core activities, they are a framework in which Kitchener is planning on moving forward with housing affordability. A theme identified in Kitchener, as well as other municipalities, is the lack of housing supply. A lack of basic supply and increased demand means a reduced housing supply which will inevitably drive the cost of housing up. The following will outline solutions across North America on increasing the housing supply. 

The first factor was increasing housing construction. One of the most significant barriers to housing construction is the rising cost. According to Statistics Canada, residential building construction increased 5.6% in the first quarter of 2022, with Calgary having the highest increase at 6.9%, followed by Edmonton and Toronto, up to 6.8% (Statistics Canada, 2022b). Many municipalities have embraced modular housing to drive down the increasing cost of construction. Modular Homes are homes built indoors in a home construction factory (Quality Homes, 2020). The parts of these homes (modules) are transported to their new location and assembled by tradespeople on an already poured and treated foundation. The City of Toronto (2019), as part of its HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan, has also committed to creating 1,000 modular homes in Toronto. The City of Vancouver (n.d.) has also identified modular homes as a type of housing that can be constructed more quickly and provide immediate relief to people without homes. Vancouver built around 663 units in modular housing buildings, which not only supplies housing, but also provides individuals with two meals a day, and opportunities to connect with community groups, volunteer opportunities, and social events. Vancouver identified that modular housing could be constructed in about three months on vacant, underused sites across the city and can be relocated and reconfigured to fit different locations. It can also provide immediate relief, and the right supports until permanent social housing is available. Modular housing can create a sense of community, amenity space, and connections with the neighborhood. 

Another barrier to housing construction is the single-family zoning that limits the ability to increase housing units. In Toronto, 62.3% of residential land is exclusively zoned for detached houses; 80.5% in Vancouver, 67.2% in Calgary, 69.3% in Edmonton, and 45.8% in Montreal (Sun, n.d.). The City of Minneapolis identified that single-family zoning resulted in a lower supply of homes and perpetuated systematic disparities between racialized and non-racialized communities. As a result, they eliminated single-family zoning and allowed at least three residential units in each parcel of land, previously reserved for only single-family homes (Minneapolis City of Lakes, n.d.). The decrease in single-family housing enables the building of more multiunit and multi-use buildings that can allow for a greater supply of housing, resulting in greater accessibility and, in turn, greater affordability. With a change in zoning, developers can build more multi-unit homes; however, it also allows homeowners to create multi-unit homes themselves.  

The City of Edmonton (n.d.a) did change some zoning areas across the city to allow for the creation of Garden Suites which are single, or two-story structures built in the back yards of single detached homes, semi-detached homes, and row houses that have their own living room, bathroom and kitchen.  The City of Edmonton (n.d.b) first introduced the concept of Garden Suites in 2017 and has continued to update the bylaw as recently as 2020 to allow it to become more accessible; however, it still does not go as far as Minneapolis does in making Garden Suites an option for all houses across the city. The City of Vancouver (2021) has also created secondary dwellings; they are one of the first cities to allow two secondary dwellings on the property, one attached to the main house and the other laneway housing, which is helping to increase the supply of housing in the city. 

Changing the zoning to increase housing is one step in the right direction to allow for a greater supply of housing in the market; with the rising cost of inflation and everyday financial and time commitments families are facing, finding the capital and time to develop these homes may not be feasible. The City of Pasadena in California is addressing this issue by creating an affordable housing initiative that helps homeowners with assistance in the financing, designing, permission, and constructing new Additional Dwelling Units (ADUS) (Pasadena, Department of Housing, n.d.). Another initiative that helps to combat this barrier is in Atlanta. Backyard ATL is a project undertaken by Eightvillage where they invest in additional Dwelling Units in partnership with homeowners to make ADUS more accessible to the general population (Backyard ATL, n.d.). Additional Dwelling Units increase the supply of livable homes in the market which should push down the price and make homes more affordable. 

There is no one solution to the housing crisis in Canada, and this article has only addressed innovation around the lack of housing supply. There needs to be a continued conversation around other factors that impact housing affordability. Moreover, there may be lessons learned further than those found in North America. Housing is one of the most significant crises of our generation. Governments, non-profits, and private companies are doing great things to help with the housing crisis; however, it will take a lot of varied solutions and trial and error to get it right.  

Note: This is an excerpt from our September 2022 Community Matters, you can read the full publication here

Did You Enjoy this Article? Please provide feedback here

Lexia Simmons is a certified educator with a passion for social issues. She has completed a Bachelor of Arts and Education degree and worked for non-profit, government offices, schools, and EdTech companies. Lexia aspires to use her educational background to help break down complicated policy issues into easy-to-understand parts. 

References 

Backyard ATL. (n.d.). Eightvillage. https://eightvillage.com/byatl. 

City of Edmonton. (n.d.a.). Garden suites. https://www.edmonton.ca/residential_neighbourhoods/garden-suites.  

City of Edmonton. (n.d.b.). In suite buildability. https://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/urban_planning_and_design/garden-suite-buildability.  

City of Kitchener. (December 2020). Housing for all: A blueprint for a more caring community. https://www.kitchener.ca/en/strategic-plans-and-projects/housing-for-all.aspx. 

City of Toronto. (2019, December). Housing TO: 2020-2030 action plan. https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/94f0-housing-to-2020-2030-action-plan-housing-secretariat.pdf. 

City of Vancouver. (2021, March 24). Laneway housing how-to guide. https://bylaws.vancouver.ca/bulletin/bulletin-laneway-housing-guide.pdf. 

City of Vancouver. (n.d.). Temporary modular housing. https://vancouver.ca/people-programs/temporary-modular-housing.aspx. 

Department of Finance Canada. (2022, April 7). Making housing more affordable. Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2022/04/making-housing-more-affordable.html. 

Minneapolis City of Lakes. (n.d.). Housing. Minneapolis 2040. https://minneapolis2040.com/topics/housing/#topic-policies-anchor. 

Pasadena, Department of Housing. (n.d.). Pasadena second unit ADU program. https://www.cityofpasadena.net/housing/second-unit-adu-program/#:~:text=The%20Pasadena%20Second%20Unit%20ADU,Dwelling%20Unit%20(ADU)%20loan. 

Quality Homes. (2020, February 26). What exactly does modular mean. https://qualityhomes.ca/blog/what-exactly-does-modular-mean/. 

Statistics Canada. (2022a, July 21). Housing challenges remain for vulnerable populations in 2021. The Daily. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220721/dq220721b-eng.htm. 

Statistics Canada. (2022b, May, 5). Building construction price indexes, first quarter 2022. The Daily. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220505/dq220505b-eng.htm. 

Sun, Y. (n.d.). A visual guide to detached house zones in 5 Canadian cities. DataLABTO. http://www.datalabto.ca/a-visual-guide-to-detached-houses-in-5-canadian-cities/. 

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Note: This is excerpted from the September 2022 edition of our Community Matters publication. 

Welcome to the third issue of our new quarterly publication, Community Matters.

Community Matters aims to inform the community about social issues that impact citizens and connect the dots between social issues, evidence, and policy. We aim to use this space to give a voice to local agencies, ESPC volunteer writers, and staff members alike.

Each edition will spotlight a specific social issue and demonstrate the intersectional nature and impact on equality. Our goal is to use evidence as we continue to inform on the issues affecting individuals and families.

For our Fall 2022 issue, we are focusing on housing, shelters, and the state of houselessness in Edmonton.

Housing is recognized as an international human right. Nevertheless, we have fallen quite short in fulfilling these rights when it comes to providing adequate, affordable, and suitable housing. Houselessness has been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, many important gains that have been achieved in reducing the number of people who are unhoused prior to 2020 were erased within the span of two years. While pandemic supports such as the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) prevented many people from losing their housing, the ending of these supports places those living in financial uncertainty at risk.

Those who live without housing or are facing some level of housing insecurity are disproportionately members of marginalized groups. This issue strives to capture some of the housing challenges faced by these marginalized peoples as well as some of the agencies striving to support them. We were pleased to have a number of social agencies that incorporate housing and shelter needs as part of their services, join this edition including Old Strathcona Youth Society, Bissell Centre, Terra Centre, and the Edmonton Pride Senior Group Society.

Addressing housing needs is crucial towards building a just and inclusive society. We hope this issue will help build more awareness around the diverse and intersectional housing needs of marginalized populations and work towards solutions that provide housing for all.

– Susan Morrissey, Executive Director