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

The Commission Panel concurs with Mr. Plunkett’s recommendation, and considers the Joint
Initiatives Program to be an appropriate area from which funds should be used to aggressively
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pursue integrating Terasen’s EEC programs with those of the electric utilities in British Columbia.
The Commission Panel’s view is that integrating the efforts of gas and electric utilities will better
encourage customers to take advantage of the programs by eliminating unnecessary duplication in
communication, applications, audits and similar time consuming activities.
2.4.2 Trade Relations
The Trade Relations program area is aimed at the support and education of skilled trades,
equipment manufacturers, distributors, suppliers and retailers, appliance and equipment
salespeople and Realtors. The $1.5 million in funding being requested for Trade Relations with this
Application is to support the activities of a Terasen Utilities staff member focused on Trade
Relations as it relates to energy efficiency.
Commission Determination
The Commission Panel takes note of Terasen’s descriptions of the key decision makers in each of
the Residential and Commercial EE programs, referred to previously, as well as the references to
the complexity of the commercial new construction and retrofit sector programs and resulting
paucity of detail for those program areas. (Exhibit B‐1, p. 61)
The Commission Panel considers that the Trade Relations program area expenditures represent a
significant duplication of the Residential and Commercial Energy Efficiency programs’ non‐incentive
costs. As noted in the Application, the Energy Efficiency programs will significantly increase the
interactions as between Terasen and its customers, and therefore increase “the opportunities for
[Terasen] to communicate general conservation information in addition to program‐specific
information...” (Exhibit B‐1, p. 46) The Commission Panel finds the evidence with respect to the
details of the Trade Relations program area to be insufficient, and accordingly, this area of
expenditure is rejected.