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
The Companies rolled out the Efficient Commercial Water Heater program in late July 2010.
Overall program participation in 2010 was modest, though the Companies believe this is to be
expected. The program went live comparatively late in the year, and it generally takes at least
one year in market for new programs to gain traction. Moreover, encouraging the program’s key
target customers (restaurants, hotels, and multi unit residential buildings or “MURBs”) to choose
high efficiency options for water heating will involve a significant amount of working one-on-one
with prominent customers to obtain buy-in and generate success stories that may be used to
convince others to adopt high efficient technology. The Companies simply did not have the
opportunity to begin this work in 2010. Even so, greater participant numbers are expected in
2011, the first month of which saw eight applicants; nearly as many participants as the program
had in 2010.
The minimum required water heater efficiency in BC for commercial water heaters is currently at
80 percent. NRCan has, however, proposed implementing a new federal regulation that would
impact commercial gas fired water heaters. The proposed changes would see the required
thermal efficiency of commercial gas fired storage type water tanks climb to 92 percent by 2016.
Though the regulation is as yet only a proposal, it is clear regulation is being actively
considered. The Efficient Commercial Water Heater program is in operation today, helping to
build awareness and capacity in the marketplace and pave the way for future regulation when
implemented. The Companies believe the program will provide invaluable assistance to the
government’s objectives in this regard.
The program turns in TRC scores generally above 1.0, indicating that participants are cost
effectively reducing their natural gas consumption; however, caution must as yet be used when
interpreting the values indicated in the table above. The number of participants and the resultant
amount of data collected does not yet allow the Companies to generate results with any degree
of statistical significance. Further, the TRC score for the initial year is burdened by program
development expenses such as website and program collateral development.
4.4.2.3.3 2011 Efficient Commercial Water Heater Program
Performance Forecast
As can be seen in the table below, the Companies expect increased participation in 2011 as the
market becomes aware of the program and more customers are effectively encouraged to
choose high efficiency water heaters. The primary driver of this increased awareness and
program uptake must be the Companies’ outreach and promotions activities. Thus far, only a
limited effort has been made to promote the technology and program to market participants. The
program’s TRC score should benefit slightly as program development costs are not incurred in
2011 and increased participation helps cover general program administration costs. Program
performance forecasts for 2011 are provided in the table below.
SECTION 4: COMMERCIAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM AREA Page 69