Stories & features

How the energy manager program works

When you're running a large facility, there are plenty of ways to save money on energy costs, but only if you know what to look for and how best to fund energy-saving initiatives. That's where BC Hydro's industrial energy manager and commercial energy manager programs can help.

They provide the funding for eligible customers to hire an energy manager to oversee energy usage, invest in energy efficiency measures and track long-term savings. As an example, the industrial energy manager program incentive includes:

• Up to 75% of your energy manager's salary funding.
• 100% funding for energy management consulting services, training of your new energy manager, an on-site energy management assessment and a planning workshop to facilitate your custom plan.
• Up to $100,000* for a Level 2 energy management information system (EMIS).
• Generous funding for employee engagement activities including training and awareness events.

Meet Manish

To highlight the real-world benefits of this role, we spoke to Manish Soni, Industrial Energy Manager with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority. He's got over 20 years of hands-on experience in energy engineering and project management in the industrial energy sector. Manish is responsible for developing, implementing, and leading the port authority's strategic energy management program and acting as a liaison between port terminals, tenants, port authority project teams and BC Hydro, supporting the electrification roadmap development and implementation for the Port of Vancouver terminals and tenants.

Welcome to Canada's largest port

Before we talk to Manish, let's take a look at the Port of Vancouver. As Canada's largest port, it boasts some seriously impressive statistics:

• Connects Canada with approximately 140 to 170 countries annually.
• Handles $1 in every $3 of Canada's trade in goods outside of North America.
• Moves almost as much volume as Canada's next five largest ports combined.
• Enables the trade of approximately $300 billion in goods annually.
• Sustains 132,400 jobs and $9.3 billion in wages through port activities annually.
• Generates $16.3 billion in annual GDP across Canada.

Manish's role as energy manager supports the port's 29 major marine terminals, transload facilities and several other tenants. Together, they provide a full range of facilities and services handling cargo and passengers across five different business sectors:

• Automobiles
• Breakbulk and project cargo (including forest products, steel and machinery)
• Bulk (including grain crops, petroleum products and coal)
• Containers
• Cruise ships

Behind the scenes with the port's energy manager

Manish has been the port authority's energy manager for almost three years now. "The port authority has worked closely with BC Hydro on a joint program called Energy Action for well over a decade," says Manish. "My role is all about leadership of strategic energy management throughout the port's terminals and tenants. We don't have direct control over their operations, so we work with them to support the improvements and savings wherever we can."

Manish's time has largely been focused on the areas using the highest amount of energy. "That's where the biggest energy management opportunities lie," says Manish. "One example is the container terminals. The ship to shore cranes are electrified and when the boom goes up, they use energy. Then when the boom comes down, energy is recovered and can be sent back to the grid."

"We're now seeing a rise in electrification and some terminals have a strategic roadmap for how they want to go about this," continues Manish. "However, one of the barriers we find with electrification is that some of the equipment is in almost constant use with 24/7 operations so there would be no time to charge. Also, charging everything at the same time would push up the peak demand. So there's also interest in solar power and battery storage, and some operations are currently looking into those."

Another issue Manish faces is the different electrical capacity available to different facilities. While many energy managers often focus on a single facility or a small group of related operations, Manish's role covers hundreds of facilities spread across the Lower Mainland. Each one may have a different capacity, a different approach to energy management and different available resources for addressing it: "For each tenant I talk to, I have to find their level of understanding and listen to their unique combination of challenges before I try to advise."

Since the inception of Energy Action Program in 2013, over 80 energy management projects have been implemented across port lands. That's over 135 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of energy impact – enough to power over 15,500 houses annually. Successful projects completed include LED lighting upgrades, electric vehicle chargers for the port authority's fleet, low-emission technology pilots, and adding shore power to ship berths. "When a cruise ship comes into dock, the available shore power connections allow ships to connect to the grid while at berth. This reduces emissions by enabling them to shut down their diesel-powered auxiliary engines."

So, what would Manish say to other organizations thinking about taking the plunge into energy management? "When I was consulting, I saw facilities who needed an energy manager but instead, the role would be happening off the side of someone's desk and inevitably, projects would take far longer to complete, not be as efficient and not take advantage of all the incentives available. It wasn't that person's fault – they had ideas, but not the necessary time or experience to navigate the available incentives and prepare the business case for projects."

"However, if you're eligible to participate in BC Hydro's energy manager program, it funds 75% of an energy manager's salary. When you combine this with the expertise and savings potential that an energy manager brings, there's a good chance you would see long-term value quite quickly."

Does your facility need an energy manager?

If you think your organization could benefit from hiring an energy manager, reach out to your Key Account Manager to find out if you qualify and how to get started.

If you're not sure who to talk to, contact our business help desk at 604 522 4713 in the Lower Mainland or 1 866 522 4713 elsewhere in B.C.