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
upgrades. A utility-operated program could be viewed as competing with the financial
services industry;
2. The Utilities do not have the expertise to implement and operate large-scale loan programs;
3. A province-wide energy efficiency financing program would expose the Utilities to additional
financial risk and potentially affect their overall ability/cost to borrow; and
4. The Companies are in the process of transitioning to a new customer billing service provider
and will not have the ability to administer a financing program on their billing system for two
to three years.
2011 Action Plan
To address some of the concerns identified above, the Companies and BC Hydro have put
forward a proposal to explore energy efficiency financing further with the Ministry of Energy and
Mines. This includes proposing an offer that focuses on partnering with financial institutions to
introduce and expand energy efficiency financing programs. The Utilities would use their market
presence to issue criteria (i.e. request of qualification) for financial institutions to become eligible
providers of financing for a joint utilities renovation program. The intention would be to drive
more favorable terms and conditions for participating customers with all the eligible financing
providers. Financial institutions will benefit in a number of ways including enhanced marketing
opportunities, lower cost customer generation, and leads into other program offers through their
companies. The Companies believe some of the identified concerns about loan default and
reputational risk can be partly mitigated through such a mechanism since the banks would
provide the required loans and collect the payments through their existing channels, with no
promise of savings exceeding monthly payments. In order to proceed with developing this
proposed revised approach, the Companies are currently working with the Ministry of Energy
and Mines to explore this option and assess the concerns of the Ministry before reaching out to
the financial institutions. In the event this program moves forward as a pilot, the Companies
would communicate with the Commission staff in the forthcoming stakeholder workshops.
11.4 Summary
Enabling Activities are important initiatives that support broader EEC activities and programs.
The Companies initiated these activities in 2009 and continue to expand on them to support
EEC activity with the inclusion of Energy Management Funding in 2010 to further create
supportive conditions for a successful 2011 EEC portfolio.
Research and evaluation activities will continue to support the overall EEC portfolio and help
provide direction to future program areas and enabling activity planning. The Efficiency Partners
program will expand to include the FEI service area by potentially adding another 1,000
contractors to deliver EEC programs. Given the aggressive provincial GHG emissions targets,
participation in the development of the new construction building code will strengthen the
Companies’ communication with the building industry. Hot water tank regulations and Tier 3
SECTION 11: ENABLING ACTIVITIES Page 254