FEI-FEVI 2010 EEC Report filed March 31, 2011 - FortisBC

FORTISBC ENERGY INC. AND FORTISBC ENERGY (VANCOUVER ISLAND) INC.
2010 ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION ANNUAL REPORT
8 CONSERVATION, EDUCATION & OUTREACH (“CEO”) PROGRAMS
8.1 Overview
The Conservation Education and Outreach (“CEO”) program was designed to include general
conservation and non-program specific communications. CEO initiatives support the EEC’s
portfolio goals of energy conservation and GHG emissions reduction established by the
Government of BC. This program area is also intended to foster and develop a culture of
conservation within the province by educating customers about changing their mindset and
behaviours in regards to conserving energy. The goal of these initiatives is to ensure customers
learn about taking small steps towards energy conservation and that customers will be receptive
to incentive programs when they are proposed. This section describes the principles behind the
CEO initiatives, evaluation methods, 2010 initiatives by customer group, and programs in
development for 2011.
8.1.1 DEVELOPING ENGAGING CEO INITIATIVES
In designing the CEO program area, the Companies were, according to the EEC Decision and
Order G-36-09 (see page 21) in Appendix C, directed to review the CEO program area with a
view to “altering the program to allocate funds away from the mass media campaign and to
include other initiatives, with particular attention paid to conservation education within the school
system and affordable housing initiatives.” In addition, as per section 44.1 (8) (c) of the Utilities
Commission Act, R.S.B.C 1996, c.473, s.125.1 (4) (e), a public utility’s plan portfolio is adequate
only if it includes an education program for students enrolled in the public utility’s service area.
Furthermore, CEO initiatives follow many of the same program principles that were put forth in
the EEC application, in particular:
• Programs will have a goal of universality; offering access to energy efficiency and
conservation for all residential and commercial customers, including low income
customers through the Conservation for Affordable Housing initiative;
• Where possible, programs will be uniform across the service territories of the
Companies, so customers will have equal participation opportunity; and
• Programs will be multi-year to create a sense of funding certainty necessary to
effectively implement them in the marketplace.
Lastly, CEO activities include a diverse range of initiatives targeting various customer groups.
The Companies consider many factors before settling on the right initiatives to pursue. These
include, but are not limited to:
• Potential participant reach;
• Geographic spread across FEI and FEVI service territories;
• Demographics of event attendees;
SECTION 8: CONSERVATION, EDUCATION & OUTREACH (“CEO”) PROGRAMS Page 142