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
other messages, and the type of information desired by our customers. The primary targets for
the study are residential and small commercial (i.e. Rates 2 and 3) customers who are also the
key audiences for EEC programs. The research firm, TNS, are testing three waves of bill inserts
through phone surveys. The study began in Q4 2010 and will be completed by Q2 2011.
8.2.2.2 Trade Shows and Association Events
Industry trade shows and association events remain an effective way to reach commercial
customers by targeting key decision makers and identifying energy savings opportunities they
can consider for the businesses they represent. Based on the increasing number of customer
inquiries and requests for funding, the Companies strongly believe that participation in trade
shows is an essential channel for educating key decision makers about available CEO
educational, behavioural, and incentive programs. Participation in association events, such as
the Business Improvement Association of BC’s regional meetings, Rental Owners and
Managers Society of BC tradeshow, and BC Hydro PowerSmart Forum, provides the
Companies with an opportunity to promote CEO education and EEC incentive programs to both
small businesses and large commercial customers. In 2010, the Companies attended generally
the same shows as the previous year and were in direct contact with over 1,500 key decision
makers. For a complete list of 2010 trade shows, please refer to Appendix E.
8.2.2.3 Behaviour Change Programs
Under the BC Climate Action Charter, several municipalities (i.e. the Companies’ commercial
customers) have committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2012. In their dealings with some
commercial, institutional, and municipal customers, the Companies have received anecdotal
indications that since these customers are strapped for financial resources, they have to focus
on low cost behaviour adjustments in their efforts to reduce energy costs within their facilities.
As a result, the Companies are currently piloting behaviour change programs for commercial
and municipal customers, due in large part to customer demand. The goal of the behaviour
change pilot programs is to develop a successful program design and then expand to other
large commercial and public organizations. Behavioural changes are currently not incorporated
into the Companies’ savings portfolio because of the difficulty tracking results from individual
actions; however, in the two pilot programs described below, they have both included a
benchmark in an attempt to measure any changes in behaviour.
Behaviour change programs, also known as community based social marketing, look to identify
the barriers to behaviour change, design a strategy utilizing behaviour change tools, and then
implement that strategy. The benefits of implementing a behaviour change program include
understanding the psychological and motivational aspects of human behaviour in decisionmaking,
and the power of community and peer influence to develop an engagement strategy
that may have a longer-lasting impact than traditional mass media campaigns. Another
foundational element of behaviour change is that people tend to adjust their behaviours so as to
create consistency through all aspects of their lifestyle. For instance, an individual who learns
through CEO programs to conserve energy at work is plausibly more likely to transfer those
SECTION 8: CONSERVATION, EDUCATION & OUTREACH (“CEO”) PROGRAMS Page 153