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Kitchener Utilities Clean Energy Transition Strategy

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The City of Kitchener is planning for the future energy needs of the community. A lot’s changing, and we need your help to think bigger.

As new clean technologies change how we heat buildings and water, Kitchener Utilities is working on a strategy to help residents and businesses transition. As a community-owned energy utility providing natural gas distribution and rental water heaters, Kitchener Utilities has supported the community through changes in the ways we use energy, and we’re getting ready to evolve to meet Kitchener’s energy needs in the future.

We’re developing a strategy for how Kitchener Utilities can future-proof our community energy utility and use its unique strengths to help residents and community members to transition to a net-zero carbon future, where we no longer add more and more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere from fossil fuels like gasoline and natural gas. Given the changes that are underway, the global energy transition is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to use these changes to build an even stronger Kitchener.

Learn more about this project:


How you can contribute

As Kitchener Utilities thinks about future energy use across this community, we want to hear your thoughts about this, too. There will be many opportunities to contribute at different stages of this project:

  • In Stage 1 we will build our understanding of residents’ values, goals, and overall thoughts about Kitchener’s energy future.
  • In Stage 2 we will consider different options and assess these together with you.


Stay Informed

Subscribe for updates and be the first to know about news and information about this project. Add your email to the Stay Informed box on this page and click ‘Subscribe’.


The City of Kitchener is planning for the future energy needs of the community. A lot’s changing, and we need your help to think bigger.

As new clean technologies change how we heat buildings and water, Kitchener Utilities is working on a strategy to help residents and businesses transition. As a community-owned energy utility providing natural gas distribution and rental water heaters, Kitchener Utilities has supported the community through changes in the ways we use energy, and we’re getting ready to evolve to meet Kitchener’s energy needs in the future.

We’re developing a strategy for how Kitchener Utilities can future-proof our community energy utility and use its unique strengths to help residents and community members to transition to a net-zero carbon future, where we no longer add more and more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere from fossil fuels like gasoline and natural gas. Given the changes that are underway, the global energy transition is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to use these changes to build an even stronger Kitchener.

Learn more about this project:


How you can contribute

As Kitchener Utilities thinks about future energy use across this community, we want to hear your thoughts about this, too. There will be many opportunities to contribute at different stages of this project:

  • In Stage 1 we will build our understanding of residents’ values, goals, and overall thoughts about Kitchener’s energy future.
  • In Stage 2 we will consider different options and assess these together with you.


Stay Informed

Subscribe for updates and be the first to know about news and information about this project. Add your email to the Stay Informed box on this page and click ‘Subscribe’.

Ask a question

Do you have a question about this project? Ask it here.

To protect your privacy:

  • Do not include your last name in your username
  • Do not include any personal information (like your address) in your question  

Before submitting your question, make sure it meets our etiquette and moderation policy. If it doesn’t, we will not be able to respond.

We usually respond within three business days. If your question is urgent, call the City of Kitchener at 519-741-2345 (TTY: 1-866-969-9994)

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  • Share This seems to mostly address homeowners. What is the strategy (if any) for engaging landlords and rental corporations / REITs in order to make the switch? Can residents of particular buildings get involved in any way? All of this is very exciting, but seems to exclude a large portion of the Kitchener population that has no control over where their energy comes from. on Facebook Share This seems to mostly address homeowners. What is the strategy (if any) for engaging landlords and rental corporations / REITs in order to make the switch? Can residents of particular buildings get involved in any way? All of this is very exciting, but seems to exclude a large portion of the Kitchener population that has no control over where their energy comes from. on Twitter Share This seems to mostly address homeowners. What is the strategy (if any) for engaging landlords and rental corporations / REITs in order to make the switch? Can residents of particular buildings get involved in any way? All of this is very exciting, but seems to exclude a large portion of the Kitchener population that has no control over where their energy comes from. on Linkedin Email This seems to mostly address homeowners. What is the strategy (if any) for engaging landlords and rental corporations / REITs in order to make the switch? Can residents of particular buildings get involved in any way? All of this is very exciting, but seems to exclude a large portion of the Kitchener population that has no control over where their energy comes from. link

    This seems to mostly address homeowners. What is the strategy (if any) for engaging landlords and rental corporations / REITs in order to make the switch? Can residents of particular buildings get involved in any way? All of this is very exciting, but seems to exclude a large portion of the Kitchener population that has no control over where their energy comes from.

    petra asked over 1 year ago

    Thanks very much for your question, and for speaking to this important consideration. This is an area that we have been hearing is a priority from our early discussions with City advisory committees, as well. We know that renters often get stuck in the “split incentive” problem, where they often pay their utilities bills, but their landlord is responsible for the equipment that people use for space heating and water heating (and sometimes space cooling). This means that there is limited benefit to the landlord for making upgrades when renters would be the ones to benefit from utility bill reductions. We are eager to hear from renters during this engagement process on what their needs and priorities are. We also want to engage with landlords, so that we can consider ways that Kitchener Utilities, or the City and its broader partners, might be able to help with the split incentive problem.

    We will work to consider and include this segment of the population and business type into the strategy as we begin to build the details together in Phase 2 of the project in 2024. We hope you will continue to be engaged in the work on this issue moving forward.

    renters
    renters
  • Share Where can I find a scientific paper that claims a theory that CO₂ is changing climate, and where the theory is supported by experiment? on Facebook Share Where can I find a scientific paper that claims a theory that CO₂ is changing climate, and where the theory is supported by experiment? on Twitter Share Where can I find a scientific paper that claims a theory that CO₂ is changing climate, and where the theory is supported by experiment? on Linkedin Email Where can I find a scientific paper that claims a theory that CO₂ is changing climate, and where the theory is supported by experiment? link

    Where can I find a scientific paper that claims a theory that CO₂ is changing climate, and where the theory is supported by experiment?

    07minters-skier asked over 1 year ago

    Thank you for taking the time to submit this question. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) provides a summary for the public of the evidence on which their assessments are based. There have also been different studies that have looked at large numbers of other studies to assess the amount of agreement on the human causes of climate change.

    climate science
    climate science
Page last updated: 30 May 2024, 02:41 PM