For many lower-income households in Alberta, high energy bills are driven by older, inefficient homes that are expensive to heat and maintain. These households face a disproportionate energy burden, often spending a higher share of their income on utilities while lacking access to the capital required for upgrades. Without the means to make upgrades, energy efficiency upgrades often remain out of reach, leaving many families paying more each month for homes that use more energy than they should.
The Home Upgrades Program, delivered by Kambo Energy Group since 2019 in collaboration with a cross-sector coalition of municipal, philanthropic, utility, and private sector partners, removes these barriers by providing fully subsidized home energy retrofits at no cost to participants. Current partners include the City of Calgary and the Town of Canmore, while past partners include Alberta Ecotrust Foundation, the City of Calgary, the City of Edmonton, the City of St. Albert, the Town of Pincher Creek, the Town of Canmore, ENMAX, Alberta Real Estate Foundation, McConnell Foundation, Suncor Energy Foundation, and Calgary Foundation.
The program includes home energy assessments, safety inspections, and tailored upgrades such as insulation, high-efficiency heating systems, and energy-saving devices. By integrating technical upgrades with culturally appropriate, multilingual education and trusted community-based delivery, the program ensures participants can understand, adopt, and sustain energy-saving practices over time.
Since its launch, the program has upgraded over 800 households and supported more than 3,000 Albertans through education and outreach. Participating homes have achieved an average lifetime reduction of 40 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, delivering measurable climate impact while simultaneously advancing housing equity, energy affordability, and community resilience.
