EC&E Advisory Committee

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EC&E Advisory Committee releases 2008 annual report

BC Hydro's Electricity Conservation & Efficiency (EC&E) Advisory Committee has released its 2008 Annual Report [PDF, 179 Kb] this spring.

The Annual Report details the Committee's recommendations to BC Hydro to expand or improve our current conservation initiatives and programs, and broaden the focus from electricity conservation to energy conservation. The Committee believes that it is through this broader focus that BC Hydro can become a true catalyst for fundamental change in the way that British Columbians use energy.

A diverse range of perspectives and expertise

BC Hydro established the EC&E in 2006 to help develop more effective ways of addressing two key challenges:

• the rapidly increasing demand for electricity;
• the goal set by the provincial government in The BC Energy Plan for BC Hydro to acquire at least 50% of our incremental resource needs through electricity conservation and efficiency by 2020.

The 24-member committee includes stakeholders and First Nations from across the province. Here's what they had to say about the work they've undertaken over the past year:

"BC Hydro's current Power Smart program is good, but it's not enough. The provincial government's 2007 Energy Plan requires BC Hydro to acquire 50% of its incremental resource needs through energy conservation and efficiency by 2020. That's huge. That's much higher than Power Smart can deliver as it stands now. And if BC Hydro aims for 100 per cent, as President Bob Elton has said he'd like to do, you're talking double that effort. So our role is crucial: we must help BC Hydro move the goal posts to a higher level."

– John Robinson, Professor, Institute of Resources, Environment and Sustainability, and Department of Geography, University of British Columbia

"Our association represents the commercial building industry, which accounts for a third of the energy used in this province. We've seen in other jurisdictions what can happen if we don't achieve our conservation targets: either the cost of energy is going to skyrocket, or we're going to run out of power and have rolling brown-outs like they did in California a few years ago. We have to be part of the solution, because the alternatives are just too disastrous to contemplate."

– Len Horvath, Building Owners and Managers Association of B.C.

"I'm involved in the issue of energy conservation and efficiency because of the urgent need to implement climate change solutions. Finding ways to use less energy and use it more efficiently is critical in our efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions – and that's where the value of this Committee lies for me. We have to open up discussions and shift perceptions in order to make the big step changes we need to make, and that won't happen without this kind of collaborative endeavour where everyone – governments, NGOs, business, utilities, etc. – comes to the table in good faith. It gives me hope we will come up with the right solutions."

– Matt Horne, Pembina Institute for Appropriate Development

"British Columbia's energy utilities – as well as provincial, federal and local governments, First Nations, the private sector, industry associations and non-profit organizations – are all delivering a wide range of energy conservation and efficiency initiatives. The EC&E Committee offers an opportunity for dialogue, an opportunity to work together to build a vision and a consensus about what demand-side management should be. It's also a great opportunity for BC Hydro and other industry players to prepare the market for changes in government policy that will eventually lead to true market transformation."

– Andrew Pape-Salmon, Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources

"I am participating on the EC&E Committee to keep track of what's going on at BC Hydro and to keep the ratepayer interests front and centre. Many industries are located in this province only because we have low cost-based rates, which have given them a competitive advantage. And BC Hydro and other members of the committee must consider that interest when making recommendations that may impact rates."

– Dan Potts, Executive Director, Joint Industry Electricity Steering Committee

"For us, this committee has value in terms of providing more opportunities to collaborate, not only with BC Hydro, but also other committee members."

– Sarah Smith, Manager of Marketing and Energy Efficiency, Terasen Gas

View the full 2008 Annual Report [PDF, 179 Kb].