The City of Kamloops has rolled out a new rebate for people getting rid of or replacing their older wood burning stoves.

Sustainability program coordinator Sherry Boateng says the new rebate is $200 for people getting rid of that appliance and aren’t planning to replace it.

“The main vision and the goal of this program is to try to reduce smoke pollution, so smoke from wood stoves and wood burning, and to promote air quality… Either get rid of it, or get rid of it and replace it with a newer, more energy-efficient appliance.

For two years, the city has already offered an $800-dollar rebate for people replacing older-model wood stoves with newer gas or electric appliance. FortisBC also offers a $300-dollar rebate for upgrading to a gas appliance.

Boateng says there is still a rebate for replacing a wood-burning stove with a newer model, which is $500.

“If you look at it, the incentives tend to be a little higher for non-wood-burning appliances. But we also have options for residents who still want to have that wood-burning appliance, but as long as it’s EPA certified so that the harmful emissions are reduced, it is also an option.”

She says the city had 29 people participated in that program in 2018, and 38 in 2019.

The city has the budget to take in about 60 rebates per year. Kamloops budgets $25,000 each year for the rebate program in a reserve fund for climate action, and dollars that aren’t spent carry over.

Those dollars match what the province has put in to the city’s program, meaning the city has $50,000 available this year to give back in rebates for wood stoves.

“The vision and the goal is to have that same funding (annually) from the province,” Boateng says.

People looking to find out if they are eligible for the wood-burning stove rebate can do so here.