[getsmart-l] ONTARIO: Chief Energy Conservation Officer Issues 2007 Annual Report

[Media Release]

Emacs!





Chief Energy Conservation Officer Issues 2007 Annual Report

Urges Ontario Government To Take Action on 12 Key Recommendations

TORONTO, Ontario, November 7, 2007 -- Ontario's Chief Energy 
Conservation Officer, Peter Love, released his 2007 annual report, 
Taking Action, urging the Ontario government to adopt 12 key 
recommendations to achieve a "culture of conservation" throughout the province.

Codes and standards are among the most effective ways to achieve the 
province's conservation goals, Love emphasized, saying that the OPA 
will be pursuing enhanced codes and standards in 2008. As a means of 
extending the provincial drive to the local government level, he said 
he would be encouraging the appointment of municipal energy 
conservation officers to empower all of the province's communities to 
conserve energy.

Speaking to a forum of the Ontario Energy Network, Love recapped a 
number of positive conservation developments over the past year:
    * Ontario will meet its peak demand reduction target of 1,350 
megawatts by 2007.
    * Ontario consumers have reduced their electricity consumption by 
about five percent per capita (weather-adjusted), between January and 
June 2007, compared to 2005.
    * The Ontario government has bettered its own 2007 target of 10 
percent energy savings in government buildings by an additional two percent.
However, Love believes more must be done to save a "limited and 
expensive resource" and reach long-term goals. Love is pushing for 
the government to adopt his other recommendations, including:
    * The Ministry of Energy should develop a comprehensive, 
integrated energy conservation policy for all government departments 
that aligns electricity policies with other related policies; 
prescribed ministries should commit to energy conservation in their 
statements of environmental values.
    * The Ministry of Energy should issue regulations under the 
Energy Conservation Leadership Act to designate combined heat and 
power projects, clotheslines and solar collectors so that they may be 
used where there are restrictions that would otherwise impede their use.
    * The Ministry of Energy should raise the minimum energy 
performance standards for six appliances now exempt from provincial 
retail sales tax to the highest levels in North America.
Love also renewed his call, first made this summer, for the 
appointment of municipal energy conservation officers across Ontario: 
"Ensuring that every city, town and/or region has a local champion 
for energy conservation will help meet our goal of saving 1,350 MW by 
2010 and 6,300 MW by 2025," said Love. "Some Ontario communities 
already have someone performing this function to some degree - every 
Ontario community needs one."

Love added that: "We must unify energy conservation efforts across 
the province to include all levels of government, institutions, 
businesses, and consumers." He told the senior energy industry 
representatives that it's time for everyone to: "Think. Believe. 
Act." when it comes to energy conservation--Think about conservation; 
Believe they can make a difference and Act to make it happen.

Municipalities interested in getting more information about the 
municipal energy conservation officer concept or that want to 
register the names of their appointees should contact the Chief 
Energy Conservation Officer at: CECO at conservationbureau.on.ca .

The Chief Energy Conservation Officer and Conservation Bureau are 
part of the Ontario Power Authority (OPA), which was established to 
plan Ontario's new power system, to acquire new sources of power, and 
to promote a culture of conservation throughout the province. The 
Electricity Restructuring Act, 2004 requires the submission of an 
annual report by the Chief Energy Conservation Officer each November 
to review progress and to identify opportunities for further energy 
conservation gains. The report is available from the Conservation 
Bureau website: www.conservationbureau.on.ca.


Radio News Copy
By the end of 2007, Ontarians will have reduced their peak demand for 
electricity by five percent, Ontario's Chief Energy Conservation 
Officer says in his Annual Report. Peter Love goes on to make 12 
recommendations to government to make sure Ontarians continue to 
embrace a "culture of conservation"-saving electricity and money.


Audio Clips
Three audio clips of Peter Love commenting on his 2007 Annual Report 
and its recommendations to government are available at 
www.conservationbureau.on.ca.


END

Media Contacts
Ontario Power Authority: 416-969-6307 / Toll Free: 1-800-797-9604


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