For 2025, we’re supporting increased energy savings targets by increasing investment in industrial and commercial customer projects.
New ways to meet growing energy demands
For 2025, we're increasing our energy savings targets and budget for investment in customer projects. We've been redeveloping our offers for a more integrated approach. Along with energy efficiency, we're now also focusing on demand response and adding any sort of storage capacity such as batteries.
Tamara Berger, BC Hydro's senior manager of industrial, commercial and residential energy management products explains: "The big news for this year is that we have a larger budget to do more energy efficiency and demand response studies and projects, including funding larger projects. That budget has increased significantly since last year, especially for the industrial sector."
"We've spent time identifying the best ways to meet B.C.'s growing energy demands," says Tamara. "Encouraging and incentivizing customers to make the switch to clean energy wherever possible has been an essential part of our work – and it's been very successful. With electrification comes the need to manage energy through energy efficiency and demand response, to keep the load at an optimal level."
Demand response is something we've been featuring more and more in Current – including this edition's story about Primo Brands. So how does it help? "Customers ask us that a lot," says Tamara. "We tell them it's about reducing how much energy you use, combined with when you use the energy in order to reduce the impact on the system."
An integrated approach to offers and incentives
"Over the past 18 months, we've been redeveloping our offers so that we can take an integrated approach with customers – combining energy efficiency and demand response" says Tamara.
If you're planning any energy efficiency upgrades to your facility in the next 18-24 months, now is the time to start looking into a feasibility study or an integrated energy audit. "A lot of customers have been doing audits and studies over the past year, and it's not too late to factor in demand response for this year," says Tamara. "We know it takes time to identify those opportunities, and bringing a project to fruition can take over 12 months for many industrial customers."
And what if you're planning a brand new facility? "We can help you find ways to include battery storage, load shaping and hard-wired solutions to make everything as efficient as possible," explains Tamara. "If it's a new build or you're switching over from diesel to electricity, you definitely need to be considering energy efficiency and how you plan to manage that energy."
"Whatever type of project you're planning, or how far down the road you are, it's always best to reach out to your Key Account Manager as soon as you can to see what's possible – especially as we're also increasing the number of energy managers to help organizations to plan their projects."
Thinking about a project for 2025?
To find out more about how to integrate energy efficiency and demand response in your facility, 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.