Dennis Fitzgerald

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Dennis Fitzgerald, President, DJF Consulting Ltd.

Dennis Fitzgerald has 34 years of work experience at Catalyst Paper Corporation (and its predecessor companies) in several locations across British Columbia. Over the years, Dennis focused his work on various energy projects. He retired from Catalyst in 2008 and currently spends his time as a private consultant. Dennis is a Director of Orca Power Corporation and is registered as a Professional Engineer in British Columbia.

Just prior to retiring in June 2008 as Director of Energy for Catalyst Paper Corporation, Dennis was responsible for the procurement, optimization and contract management of all energy purchases that supplied power to Catalyst's operations. In addition, Dennis acted as Catalyst's representative on several other organizations relating to energy and environmental matters.

Since leaving Catalyst and after forming his independent consulting business, Dennis has assisted clients in support of bio-energy and renewable power projects in British Columbia and has continued to provide advice in the areas of conservation and demand-side management for business. Most recently he has assisted clients in renewable energy and carbon offsets and acts as a BC Hydro-sponsored energy coach. Dennis has also assisted BC Hydro in the design and development of conservation-based electricity rates.

Who do you represent on BC Hydro's engagement initiatives?
In theory I am an independent stakeholder, but because of my background I tend to represent the industrial customers' views. I also benefit from hearing the viewpoints of others and as a result I will favour views that in the end are best for all customers. I am a believer in a good, healthy debate. In the end I support a conclusion that will be acted on, even if consensus cannot be achieved.

What are some of your responsibilities as President of DJF Consulting Ltd.?
I have a limited number of clients. My approach is to use my experience and expertise to provide advice and direct support that best meets each client's unique business objectives and needs.

What are the biggest challenges facing your clients?
Most of my clients tend to be from the forest industry, who have obviously struggled in recent years to simply stay afloat. I see my role as helping those clients to remain a viable business by reducing their energy costs or introducing new revenue streams that can offset some of the other negative factors impacting their business.

What do you enjoy most about your job?
I very much enjoy working with people, from BC Hydro, to a myriad of other organizations that I tend to interface with.

When did you become involved with BC Hydro's engagement initiatives?
I have been involved with JIESC (Joint Industry Electricity Steering Committee) and have been engaged by BC Hydro on behalf of large industrial customers through JIESC for at least 20 years. I believe the first formal engagement activity with BC Hydro was on the Conservation Research Initiative (CRI). CRI was the pilot for the residential metering program conducted in three B.C. communities, where I participated as a member of the stakeholder oversight committee and also as a program participant in my community of Campbell River.

What are your top two or three energy interests?
My top three energy interests are finding ways to save my clients money through how electricity is purchased and consumed, through developing new revenue sources from the generation and sale of electricity and related environmental attributes, and finally in understanding the developing linkage between energy and environmental policies that should help define corporate strategies in both those areas.

What are your top two or three BC Hydro interests?
Number one is probably my work as an energy coach where I have a chance to help new energy managers, but beyond that are strong interests in power acquisition activities, the use of rates in incenting conservation, in reducing electricity costs, and in the development of environmental attribute opportunities in conjunction with BC Hydro.

What BC Hydro initiatives are you currently involved in?
I work as a BC Hydro-sponsored energy coach at my client's sites, and assist them in other areas of their business that are linked to BC Hydro. I have also served on the Rates Working Group [a sub-committee of the Electricity Conservation & Efficiency (EC&E) Advisory Committee] for several years and other stakeholder committees before that.

What motivates you to engage with BC Hydro?
My preference is to encourage debate, exploration and understanding of all views as long as the parties are committed to reaching a conclusion that will be acted on by BC Hydro, even where consensus cannot be reached. I believe BC Hydro shares this philosophy and has improved in recent years in becoming more action-oriented.

What strengths do you bring to the engagement table?
I've been fortunate to have enjoyed a number of years of direct, hands-on experience in energy and organizational management, so this background now proves to be particularly helpful in current engagement activities.

What's your most memorable experience with BC Hydro?
The BC Hydro individuals that I have had the pleasure of working with over the years have been most memorable to me, and I am constantly meeting new employees that are very bright and are motivated toward doing their best to support the BC Hydro organization and its objectives.

Do you feel your stakeholder interests are given due consideration?
I believe that while BC Hydro has always gone to great lengths to listen to their stakeholders, the challenge has always been to follow through with the decision processes that must follow. It is no longer sufficient to merely to have dialogue without decisions and actions even where there is not complete consensus. External stakeholders and BC Hydro alike need to support the decision-making process in a timely and accountable fashion.

What are your top two recommendations to help BC Hydro become more stakeholder-focused and better able to meet your interests?
I've stressed a number of times that the most important thing that BC Hydro can do is to encourage, listen and learn from the debate. Then, make decisions and take actions that are based on all of the factors that must be considered, including those identified in the engagement process. The key is to decide and act in a timely fashion, and it is not sufficient to have dialogue unless it is followed by actions. Fortunately BC Hydro is improving in these areas, and the organization is becoming more effective as a result. Secondly, I would encourage all BC Hydro staff to constantly question and ensure that their individual actions are ultimately in support of their own corporate objectives, which in turn should be reflective of their customers', stakeholders' and shareholders' objectives.