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
under firm contracts and treated as firm customers until their consumption amount goes beyond
the limits provided to them. In the event these customers exceed their limits they are then
considered as interruptible customers and are treated accordingly.
FEI’s interruptible industry customers are usually categorized in groups of different rate
schedules such as Rate Schedules 7, 22, and 27, whereas firm or non-interruptible customers
are under Rate Schedules 2, 3, 5, 23, and 25. As discussed in the 2009 EEC Annual Report,
FEI sought funding approval for EEC programs for interruptible industrial customers in the 2010-
2011 RRA and it was approved as per Order No. G-141-09. With respect to the development of
EEC programs for the manufacturing sector, the Companies had already received approval
through BCUC Order No. G-36-09 for the firm industrial customers. Thus, this section of the
Report will discuss both firm and interruptible industrial customers.
9.1.2 INDUSTRIAL SECTOR END USES
The major end use technologies in this sector are for steam/hot water generation for process
use and direct fired drying processes. For instance, the largest energy consumption for the
softwood lumber industry would result from the wood drying process in our customers’ kilns.
The drying kiln dries the cut lumber to selected moisture content (eight -18 percent dependent
on the product and service conditions) before it is shipped offsite and sold to customers. The
process is quite slow, requiring over 28 to 40 hours for spruce/pine/fir commodity products and
weeks for thick and high value coastal products. Coastal products describe wood products
manufactured in the coastal region of British Columbia. Areas of activity would include
production of a wide range of solid wood products including high quality appearance/decorative
products, structural lumber for housing and general construction, special sizes and grades for
remanufacturing, as well as utility and lower grade products suitable for pallets, packaging, and
other industrial uses. These products are produced in the five softwood species that grow in the
coastal region: Western hemlock - Western red cedar, Yellow cedar, and Sitka spruce. The
drying schedule employs temperatures in the range of 80 -105° C. Other high energy use
systems for the industrial sector would include hot water and steam boilers, ovens, lime and
ceramic kilns, direct fired material heaters, veneer dryers, and dryers of other products such as
minerals, pulp, and paper.
9.1.3 BACKGROUND
The 2009 EEC Annual Report stated that there were three additional program areas to be
introduced to market in 2010, one of these being the Interruptible Industrial program area. The
intention behind interruptible industrial sector programs was to engage FEI with its interruptible
industrial customers, as well as firm customers operating in British Columbia, to create energy
efficiency programs, integrate energy efficiency into their ongoing business practices, and instill
a conservation ethic. FEI believes there is significant potential for a reduction in industrial
consumption including both firm and interruptible customers. For example, in the 2006
Conservation Potential Review, filed as Appendix 1 of the Companies’ Energy Efficiency and
Conservation Programs Application in 2008, it was stated that the majority of lumber dry kilns in
SECTION 9: INDUSTRIAL SECTOR PROGRAMS Page 164