Q&A: Kristian La Rose, Metro Vancouver Housing Corporation

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For the past four years, Kristian La Rose worked Assistant Project Engineer with the Metro Vancouver Housing Corporation (MVHC). In this role, his responsibilities included energy efficiency and project management. Kristian holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Lakehead University.

Who do you represent on BC Hydro's engagement initiatives?
I represent the Metro Vancouver Housing Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Metro Vancouver.

What are some of your responsibilities at Metro Vancouver Housing Corporation?
I am responsible for energy efficiency initiatives, and project management for a variety of building maintenance projects. In addition, I manage mechanical upgrades for our properties.

What are the top challenges currently facing your organization?
The biggest problem is the aging of our buildings. Most of our problems stem from this issue. When the properties were built in the early 80s, there was no focus on energy efficiency and no awareness of the limits of the energy supply.

We also have a large water ingress problem, commonly known as leaky condo syndrome. The designs of the roofs and exterior walls for many of our buildings were inadequate for our rainforest climate here on the West Coast. These days, the designs are more sophisticated and allow water to be dried by air flow between the frame of the building and the walls, rather than causing rot and mould.

What do you enjoy most about your job?
I enjoy the wide range of work topics, the level of responsibility and the civic nature of the work. We're providing a much needed service and resource to the Lower Mainland, and it feels good to be helping people. I also have the opportunity to assist in reducing MVHC's ecological footprint, which is important to me.

When did you become involved with BC Hydro's engagement initiatives?
I became a member of the Split Incentives Working Group in November of 2008.

What are your top two or three energy interests?
The MVHC is intent on reducing the consumption of electricity and natural gas; both to reduce costs and our ecological footprint.

What are your top two or three BC Hydro interests?
I am interested in the Power Smart programs. I am also interested in the outcomes of the Split Incentives Working Group, and the tools we will be given to help us reduce the energy consumption of our tenants.

What motivates you to engage with BC Hydro?
I'm motivated by my desire for change because of my dissatisfaction with the current system. As landlords, there are no incentives for us to undertake initiatives to reduce the consumption of our tenants – there's something wrong with that. There should be a simple way for landlords to share in the benefits of energy efficient upgrades; at the very least landlords should receive the Power Smart Product Incentive Program (PIP) and Pre-authorized Payment Plan (PPP) incentives when performing upgrades to suites – rather than having those incentives go automatically to the account holder.

What strengths do you bring to the engagement table?
The affordable/social housing viewpoint and my background as an engineer.

What are your top two recommendations to help BC Hydro become more stakeholder-focused and better able to meet your interests?
The Split Incentives Working Group is a great step forward; consultation with representatives from various sectors affected by this issue is an important step towards a solution. I'm very pleased to have the opportunity to voice some of the concerns held by the social housing sector. Further efforts to involve a wider range of representatives and interested parties is a good idea.

Update: In June, Kristian moved to the Policy & Planning department at Metro Vancouver, where he will continue to work on sustainable practices. In his new role, he will be focusing on solid waste management and performing studies and pilot projects for technologies that will help the region meet its Zero Waste Challenge goals. Congratulations to Kristian on his new role!