CECO Annual Report: Health Care, Academic Institutions and Leading Businesses Should Appoint Conservation Champions

    TORONTO, Nov. 5 /CNW/ - Ontario's Chief Energy Conservation Officer
(CECO) Peter Love released his fourth annual report today, formally
recommending the appointment of energy conservation officers for all health
care and academic institutions, as well as leading businesses, across the
province.
    This recommendation is one of nine opportunities identified in the report
entitled, Be the change to a culture of conservation. It is intended to
encourage broader energy conservation leadership across the province and to
help Ontario to take action to meet some of the toughest energy savings
targets in North America: reducing peak demand by 1,350 MW by the end of 2010
and by 6,300 MW by the end of 2025. Love first publicly advocated the
appointment of energy conservation officers in institutions and major
businesses during Ontario's first Energy Conservation Week in May.
    The formal recommendation also mirrors one from the 2007 annual report,
which called for appointing Municipal Energy Conservation Officers (MECOs) in
every Ontario community. Since then, a growing and active working group of
municipal energy conservation champions has been cultivated, and 15
individuals are now formally designated as "MECOs."
    "Every Ontario health care and academic institution, and leading
businesses, should appoint an Energy Conservation Officer to champion their
energy conservation efforts and to gain the multiple benefits of energy
efficiency," says Love. "The economic landscape has changed dramatically," he
acknowledges. "But what I refer to as the '3E' value of energy conservation
remains strong. Energy conservation and energy efficiency support the economy,
create employment, and protect the environment. Energy conservation must
remain a priority for the province and for its citizens-our future depends on
it."

    The report also identifies opportunities for the government to:
    -   ensure buildings supported through provincial funding or provincial
        organizations meet minimum energy-efficiency standards required of
        all buildings in 2012.
    -   increase resources and collaboration between Municipal Affairs and
        Housing, and Energy and Infrastructure towards improving energy
        efficiency of new and renovated buildings.
    -   ensure the fair implementation of in-suite metering in multi-unit
        residential buildings.

    The complete report also offers an overview of: steps taken to implement
proposals contained in earlier reports and results achieved to date; the
government's own conservation progress to date; the Ontario Power Authority's
proposals for energy conservation and demand management for the coming year,
as well as an account of existing policy and legislation that may impede the
adoption of conservation measures. Additionally, it contains a summary of the
CECO's efforts to develop a culture of conservation over the previous year and
vignettes of other Ontario organizations' energy savings accomplishments.
    The report is shared broadly with elected and appointed government
decision-makers, senior representatives of nongovernmental organizations and
others with an interest in energy conservation. It is available from the
Conservation Bureau website: www.conservationbureau.on.ca.

    The Chief Energy Conservation Officer and Conservation Bureau are part of
the Ontario Power Authority (OPA), which was established to plan Ontario's new
power system, to acquire new sources of power, and to promote a culture of
conservation throughout the province. The Electricity Act requires the
submission of an annual report by the Chief Energy Conservation Officer each
November to review progress and to identify opportunities for further energy
conservation gains.

    Supplementary materials follow, including local contacts and details for
today's webcast.

                   Municipal Energy Conservation Officers

    In his 2007 annual report, Ontario's Chief Energy Conservation Officer
(CECO) called for the appointment of Municipal Energy Conservation Officers in
Ontario's communities to support the adoption of a "culture of conservation"
in the province.
    Since then, through the CECO's efforts, a growing energy conservation
working group of local representatives has become active, and communities
across the province have made formal designations as indicated below.

    Community       MECO              Formal Title

    Barrie          Barry Thompson    Energy & Environmental Officer,
                                      Engineering Department

    Burlington      Ken Pirhonen      Coordinator of Special Projects, Parks
                                      & Recreation Department

    Callander       Peter D'Angelo    Member of Sustainability Committee

    Dryden          Dan McArthur      Facilities Manager

    Guelph          Prashant Bhalja   Energy Conservation Project Manager

    Hamilton(*)     Geoff Lupton      Manager of Energy Initiatives

    Markham(*)      Viive Sawler      Manager, Energy Conservation Office

    Norfolk County  Marlene Ireland   Manager of Fleet and Facilities

    Oakville        Suzanne Austin    Research Policy Analyst - Environmental
                                      Policy

    Oshawa          Suzanne Elston    Senior Environmental Co-ordinator,
                                      Planning Services

    Peel Region(*)  Steve Hall        Director, Corporate Energy Management

    Thunder Bay     Vanessa DeGiacomo Energy Analyst, Facilities and Fleet
                                      Department

    Toronto(*)      Richard Morris    Manager, Energy Efficiency Office

    Welland         Chris Herstek     Facilities Manager

    Windsor         Karina Richters   Environmental Coordinator

    (*) These individuals held their roles prior to the call by the CECO for
        Municipal Energy Conservation Officer appointments. All information
        current to November 2008.


                    Opportunities to Enhance Conservation

    The Chief Energy Conservation Officer has identified the following
opportunities that can help resolve barriers and promote conservation, energy
efficiency and demand management.

    1.  The Chief Energy Conservation Officer is issuing a call to action to
        every Ontarian to become involved in conservation and participate in
        the conservation programs and initiatives offered by the Ontario
        Power Authority and others.

    2.  The Government of Ontario should ensure that building-related
        projects supported through provincial funding or provincial
        organizations, including Infrastructure Ontario, are built to the
        minimum energy-efficiency standards that will be required for all
        buildings in 2012.

    3.  Leading institutions and businesses should appoint an in-house energy
        conservation champion to motivate change by all employees as well as
        the organization.

    4.  The Government of Ontario should recognize the value of community-
        based conservation activities to the province's electricity
        conservation efforts and increase the funding for them.

    5.  The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the Ministry of
        Energy and Infrastructure should increase the available resources and
        their degree of collaboration in developing a long-term strategic
        vision for improving the energy-efficiency of new and renovated
        buildings in Ontario's Building Code.

    6.  The Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure should dedicate additional
        human resources to develop and update energy-efficiency standards for
        energy-consuming products.

    7.  The Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure and the Ministry of
        Municipal Affairs and Housing should collaborate to develop rules and
        guidelines to ensure the fair implementation of in-suite metering in
        multi-unit residential buildings.

    8.  Leading commercial tenants and landlords are encouraged to plan for
        and install sub-meters in rented spaces in order to transfer to
        tenants the responsibility for the costs of electricity under their
        direct control.

    9.  The Government of Ontario should develop and implement an energy
        conservation measurement and verification plan for its in-house
        energy-efficiency program. The federal government and others engaged
        in conservation should take a similar approach.


                       Ontario Conservation at a Glance

    -   The actions of Ontario's electricity consumers contributed to the
        achievement of the province's first conservation target of a five-
        percent peak demand reduction by the end of 2007.

    -   The sustained efforts of governments, local utilities, consumers,
        delivery agents and the conservation service industry will help
        ensure that Ontario is on track to meet its long-term 6,300 megawatt
        peak demand reduction target - equivalent to taking one in five
        electricity users off the grid.

    -   Ontario scored an "A" grade on the Canadian Energy Efficiency
        Alliance's latest report card-Ontario showed the greatest improvement
        in Canada over the past four years.

    -   The Ontario Power Authority's conservation portfolio provides
        incentive options to all market sectors, including residential,
        commercial/institutional and industrial customers.

    -   Many conservation actions are invisible, but the benefits are clear-
        these are the three Es of conservation: employment, economy and
        environment.

    -   For electricity conservation to be a reliable system resource, there
        must be more rigour in measuring and verifying conservation savings.

    -   Codes and standards are among the most cost-effective ways to achieve
        conservation savings; Ontario can lead with best practices by
        ensuring that these regulatory tools contribute to a long- term
        vision.

    -   Ontario's Chief Energy Conservation Officer is calling upon the
        province's institutions and businesses to appoint an internal energy
        efficiency champion.

    -   Accelerating the province's conservation targets will require
        barriers to conservation to be overcome and create opportunities to
        enhance energy efficiency in public infrastructure, improve codes and
        standards, increase community-based initiatives and hasten sub-
        metering in multi-unit buildings.


                         MEDIA & STAKEHOLDER WEBCAST

    Date:     Wednesday, November 5, 2008
    Time:     2:30 p.m. EST
    Who:      Peter Love, Ontario's first Chief Energy Conservation Officer
              (CECO)
    What:     2008 Annual Report: "Be the change to a culture of
              conservation"
    Access:   URL: http://www.snwebcastcenter.com/event/?event_id=232
              Local:         416-849-6206
              Toll-free:     1-866-253-4737
              Confirmation:  8445414

    A PDF version of the annual report will be accessible from the
Conservation Bureau (www.conservationbureau.on.ca) and Ontario Power Authority
(www.powerauthority.on.ca) websites in advance of the webcast.

For further information: Ontario Power Authority: (416) 969-6307, Toll
Free: 1-800-797-9604; For media/onsite access: Cell: (416) 805-7720