Burlington Hydro and Canada’s Centre for Inland Waters sign partnership to provide showcase for energy efficiency measures
January 25, 2005
BURLINGTON, Ont. - Burlington Hydro Inc. and Environment Canada’s National Water Research Institute (NWRI), which manages the Canada Centre for Inland Waters (CCIW), today signed a Memorandum of Agreement to showcase the innovative energy conservation projects that NWRI has developed and installed at its Burlington Bay facility.
Under the arrangement, Burlington Hydro will be able to take its major corporate customers to CCIW to see demonstrations of the energy-efficient initiatives.
Burlington Mayor Rob MacIsaac congratulated Burlington Hydro and the National Water Research Institute on this cooperative venture. "I’m pleased that Hydro is taking a proactive approach to assisting Burlington businesses in investigating opportunities for energy conservation."
"In addition to the obvious impact on energy use, this initiative has the potential to make a significant contribution to protecting our environment as well as impacting the bottom line for businesses in Burlington," he said.
David Collie, Burlington Hydro CEO, said the arrangement is part of Burlington Hydro’s commitment to help meet the Ontario Government’s objective of creating a culture of energy conservation in the province. "Our link with NWRI and CCIW is an important step in our long range program for introducing and implementing energy conservation measures."
The municipal utility has submitted a 2004-2005 Distributor Conservation and Demand Management (CDM) Plan to the Ontario Energy Board as part of the approval process for a rate adjustment in 2005. "Our plan addresses the Province’s mandate to reduce peak demands, phase out coal-fired generation and increase the capacity of renewable and reliable energy," Collie said.
The Province has announced that electricity distribution companies such as Burlington Hydro will receive the third phase of their regulated rate of return due in 2005 on condition that they invest an amount equal to one year’s additional returns in conservation and demand management activities.
The McGuinty government has made a commitment to reduce energy peak demand by five per cent by 2007 and Energy Minister, the Hon. Dwight Duncan says that they’re striving to make Ontario a leader in conservation. "Our government is dedicated to making measurable improvements in the quality of our environment and air that we breathe. I’m encouraged to see partners like Burlington Hydro stepping up to provide the expertise, ingenuity and leadership needed to build a culture of conservation in this province."
Under its CDM Plan, Burlington Hydro expects to invest just under $2.2 million in conservation and demand management activities, the anticipated amount of the 2005 rate adjustment.
"This expenditure will go towards distribution system improvements, the rollout of smart meter pilots, lighting retrofitting, appliance replacement, consumer education and a number of other energy conservation initiatives," Collie said. "By linking with the National Water Research Institute (NWRI), we will have access to an ideal platform for demonstrating and delivering education about these initiatives."
"This suite of measures, which achieves greenhouse gas emission reductions in the order of ten tonnes per CCIW employee, is a considerable achievement", said the Hon. Stéphane Dion, Minister of Environment. "We are especially pleased with the partnering agreement because it will enable many large electricity users in the Burlington area to see first hand how increased energy conservation and greenhouse gas reductions might be achieved within their respective businesses."
Over the last 10 years NWRI has designed and installed a number of energy efficiency measures within Environment Canada’s largest and most energy-consuming building. They have included a total lighting retrofit, which resulted in a savings of approximately $1 million per year, and the installation of a co-generation system that provides about one-third of the building’s electricity together with a substantial portion of its heating requirements.
"I congratulate the National Water Research Institute on its tremendous achievements in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and conserving energy," said the Hon. R. John Efford, Minister of Natural Resources Canada. "By taking advantage of Government of Canada programs such as Federal House in Order, the Federal Buildings Initiative and the Renewable Energy Deployment Initiative, the Institute has implemented innovative energy-saving measures that keep our own house in order and help address the impacts of climate change."
Additional recent improvements include the installation of two solar wall systems, for providing renewable space heating within the building, and the placement of solar photovoltaic panels on a portion of the building’s roof to generate approximately 12,000 kWh per year of electricity. The cost savings from these various initiatives has exceeded $7million to date and virtually all of this has been re-invested into priority water research programs.
Burlington Hydro Inc., owned by the City of Burlington, distributes electrical power to 5,000 businesses and 52,000 residences within the Burlington municipal boundary.
For more information, please contact:
David Collie
CEO, Burlington Hydro Inc.
(905) 332-2264
dcollie@burlingtonhydro.com
Dr. Alex Bielak
Director, Science Liaison Branch
National Water Research Institute
(905) 336-4503
alex.bielak@ec.gc.ca
