Skip to content

Stories & Features

Meet our new Alliance of Energy Professionals manager

Pavin Sidhu, Manager, BC Hydro Alliance of Energy Professionals
Pavin Sidhu, BC Hydro's new Alliance of Energy Professionals manager, explains how to find expert help for your next industrial project.

Say hello to Pavin Sidhu

If you've been planning an energy efficiency upgrade project during 2022, you may already have met the new manager of our Alliance of Energy Professionals, Pavin Sidhu.

Pavin is a familiar face to many of our industrial customers, with 17 years of experience in various roles, including Indigenous Relations, Operations, and most recently as a Sector Manager in Industrial Marketing focusing on forestry, mining, oil, and gas.

This extensive experience means she's well aware of how challenging it can be to implement new or unfamiliar systems or technologies.

"Who can you trust to complete the work to a standard that satisfies both the building and any incentive requirements?" asks Pavin. "That's where the Alliance of Energy Professionals can help. It's a network of energy professionals, including consulting engineers, installation contractors, suppliers, and vendors. Their expertise helps customers to identify areas of opportunity – particularly in energy efficiency and electrification. Together, we're able to make these projects happen."

How can the Alliance help?

There are over 700 registered Alliance members across B.C. Here are three ways they can help your business become more energy efficient:

1. They're familiar with the latest BC Hydro programs and offers

"We train registered Alliance members on everything required for our programs," explains Pavin. "Alliance members have access to information on new programs, updates, and any promotions that could help your company access incentives. All this helps them to streamline your project application."

2. They can help you with incentive applications

"With their wide project experience, Alliance members know what a successful business case requires," says Pavin. "They can also help you sort out the technical paperwork, like your Business Energy Savings Incentives (BESI) and Self-serve Incentive Program (SIP) applications. And they'll create a proposal for you that usually includes a return-on-investment calculation to explain what kind of payback time you can expect."

3. They're experts in implementing and integrating the latest systems

Of course, the biggest benefit of working with an Alliance member is that they're all experts in fitting or integrating the latest systems within specific industries. "We're here to ensure that you get the right individual with the right industry experience in that sector," explains Pavin. "When you work with an Alliance member who specializes in your industry or type of facility, your project won't just be energy-efficient – it'll be time-efficient, too."

Along with helping customers and Alliance members today, Pavin is also busy looking to the future. "We're working hard to ensure we have a network of energy professionals ready to support our customers and identify opportunities for any new offers or technologies for energy efficiency, low carbon electrification, and capacity programs."

How to find out if your organization is eligible

If your organization is registered on the Conservation and Energy Management (CEM) Hub, you can review your program eligibility when you log in. If you're not yet registered for the CEM Hub, you can find out more, which will also identify if your site is considered industrial and which programs you're eligible for.

"You should always confirm your eligibility with us before engaging an Alliance member," says Pavin. "You'll still receive communications from BC Hydro, but you'll be working directly with the Alliance member for the duration of the project."

How to find and contact Alliance members

If you have a good idea of the kind of project you'd like to start and you've confirmed your eligibility, then you can go straight to your Key Account Manager or the Alliance referral page.

"We'll get to know the nature of the project to see if it's eligible for any incentives," says Pavin. "Then we'll decide whether we need to begin with a consulting engineer or an installation contractor. We'll connect you with a couple of Alliance members so then you can get quotes and decide how to proceed. If you don't have a preferred contractor that you already use, we can help with that, too."

Want to know more?

To find out more about the BC Hydro Alliance of Energy Professionals, contact your Key Account Manager or Regional Energy Manager, or call 604 522 4713 in the Lower Mainland or 1 866 522 4713 elsewhere in B.C.