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BC Hydro announces Power Smart Excellence winners

Award winners.

Robert Bradley of the Fraser Health Authority accepts a Power Smart Excellence Award from BC Hydro's Bev Van Ruyven.

B.C. businesses honoured for great strides in conservation

VANCOUVER – BC Hydro has named 15 B.C.-based businesses as winners of the 2010 Power Smart Excellence Awards.

The annual awards recognize energy conservation leadership from organizations in the commercial, government, industrial and retail sectors. All together, the winners announced Monday night are helping to save more than 70 gigawatt hours of electricity a year – enough energy to power more than 6,000 homes annually.

Two of the 15 winners received BC Hydro's highest level of recognition, the Power Smart Leader, which was awarded to both Simon Fraser University and Sinclar Group Forest Products for their outstanding advancements in energy efficiency. Additionally, Dr. John Robinson was honoured with the Larry Bell award for his inspirational impact in imagining and promoting new sustainability solutions.

"As Minister, one of the most enjoyable roles I have is to celebrate and honour individuals and companies who are making an exceptional commitment to B.C.'s energy future," said Bill Bennett, Minister of Energy. "I want to congratulate each and every winner tonight and thank them for their leadership in energy conservation.

"BC Hydro's business, industrial and commercial customers account for about two thirds of the energy consumed in the province and we are counting on their commitment as we work together toward achieving our provincial target of meeting 66 per cent of the province's future electricity needs through conservation by 2020."

Now in its eighth year, the Power Smart Excellence Awards showcase the best and brightest energy conservation practices amongst BC Hydro customers. The awards strive to not only recognize B.C. businesses for their continued efforts toward energy efficiency but to also inspire other businesses to step up and make their own commitments to conservation. The winners are celebrated not only at the awards evening but also through a provincewide online and print advertising campaign.

"On behalf of everyone at BC Hydro, I extend our congratulations to all of our winners and thank them for making great strides in helping us achieve our conservation goals," said Dave Cobb, BC Hydro president and CEO. "Increasingly, we see BC Hydro's commercial and industrial customers recognizing the importance of saving energy and it's encouraging to note they already account for more than half of our annual Power Smart program savings."

Philips Lighting, The Home Depot, Sears Canada Inc. and Best Buy Canada were named winners in the Consumer Product Manufacturer, Lighting Retailer, Appliance Retailer and Electronics Retailer categories respectively. The winner of the Residential Builder/Developer award was Glacier Creek Pacific Contracting Ltd. in Whistler.

The Workplace Conservation Leader award went to the City of Dawson Creek for the city's energy-efficiency upgrades, which will save the municipality $15,000 in annual energy costs.

In the commercial and industrial sector, Canadian Tire Corporation was awarded the Energy Conservation Commitment award for an overall commitment from franchisees and executives alike. As the first industrial association to partner with BC Hydro for the Power Smart Energy Manager program, the BC Food Processors Association won in the Conservation Partner category. The Energy Manager award went to Fraser Health Authority for their energy management plan that has been shared with health authorities across B.C.

Millennium Development Corporation and the City of Vancouver jointly won the Sustainable Communities award for the Millennium Water development, home of the Olympic Athletes' Village. The New Construction award went to Encana Corporation whose remote electrified gas field is saving enough electricity to power a community the size of Bowen Island for a year. Taseko Mines Limited won in the New Technology category for their stirred grinding mill technology.

For more information, go to the Power Smart Excellence Awards website.

Contact:

Simi Heer
BC Hydro Media Relations
Phone: 604 623 3963
Mobile: 604 375 2746