A coalition of organizations requires from the Minister of Natural Resources and Fauna, Nathalie Normandeau, to intervene with the Energy Efficiency Agency (AEÉ) which announced its intention to give up the only program of energy efficiency intended for  households with low income.

According to the coalition led by Consumers Option / Option Consommateurs, the Consumers' Association and Vivre en Ville/Urban Life, the Éconologis program would be replaced by the Rénoclimat program which will exclude a great proportion of people with low incomes.

The AEÉ requested from the Régie de l’énergie to authorize it to put a term to the Éconologis program beginning on next April 1.

Éconologis was launched in 1999. According to the coalition, this program allowed more than 60.000 tenants and owners with low incomes, to profit from free visits-in-residence to receive advice and to profit from light works of energy efficiency as well as the installation of products allowing energy saving.

“Éconologis is the only measure of energy efficiency which makes it possible specifically to join customers who, otherwise, would not profit from any program”, specified Alexandre Turgeon, executive president of Vivre en Ville/Urban Living, on Monday.

The decision to give up the program has caused the anger of the organizations protecting the consumers. Moreover, the pilot phase of the replacement program shows a delay which one considers worrysome.

“In case of failure of the pilot project, the precipitated withdrawal of Éconologis will leave many households without a plan”, affirms Michel Arnold, director general of Option consommateurs.

“It would be unjust and unacceptable that the disadvantaged households, who finance the programs of energy efficiency with energy tariffs and which need these programs more than the others, cannot have access any more ”, denounced Charles Tanguay, spokesman of the Consumers' Association.