Press Release
SURREY, B.C.—October 18, 2024: FortisBC Energy Inc. and FortisBC Inc. (“FortisBC”) unveiled nine of B.C.’s exceptional energy champions at their 2024 Efficiency in Action Awards yesterday. The actions these award recipients took represent the innovative and effective work happening in the province to help lower energy use, overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and operational costs across B.C.’s commercial and industrial sectors. Their efforts are having an impact on advancing province-wide emissions targets and will continue to have an impact by shaping and influencing future energy-efficiency programs. All winners have also seen benefits to their organizations, from more comfortable homes for seniors to operating more competitively in their respective markets.
“The winners’ efforts exemplify the tremendous work underway by organizations across B.C. to address energy use and overall GHG emissions,” said Joe Mazza, vice president of energy supply and resource development at FortisBC. “We’re proud to honour their achievements through these awards. These awards further highlight the potential of energy efficiency to advance provincial climate action goals while improving business operations and the spaces where people live and work.”
FortisBC’s 2024 Efficiency in Action Award winners are:
Four organizations made substantial strides in lowering their energy use by working with FortisBC to test gas heat pumps across different types of buildings. Leveraging this cutting-edge heating technology is already resulting in more comfortable conditions for seniors and hospital patients, and the findings will help advance future energy-saving programs. Baptist Housing installed gas heat pumps at assisted living and rental housing facilities in White Rock and Victoria. In addition, Fraser Health installed gas heat pumps at two local hospitals. These gas heat pumps are providing more effective and efficient space heating than the previous heating system to help keep residents and patients comfortable.
For two organizations, efforts to save energy have led to operational cost savings with benefits passed along to their customers. A family-owned grocery store in Fruitvale, Liberty Foods, invested in new, high-efficiency refrigeration equipment to lower energy use, helping them better serve their customers. Avery Family Farms owns a vertical farm in Okanagan Falls designed to produce optimal growing conditions year-round. The farm has a harvesting capacity of 10,000 heads of fresh lettuce a day and, by completing a lighting upgrade, it’s helped lower the cost of growing local food.
“As a multi-generational, family-run business, we’re committed to growing sustainable and delicious food locally to better serve British Columbians,” said Rachelle Peters, quality assurance manager at Avery Family Farms. “The energy-efficiency upgrades at our vertical farm operation have helped lower electricity use and made it easier to maintain a stable and consistent growing environment. This is allowing us to sell lettuce at a price that competes with organic field grown produce.”
The actions taken by this year’s award recipients are making tangible progress in lowering emissions associated with energy use. Combined, six of the 2024 Efficiency in Action Award winners lowered gas use by an estimated 27,200 gigajoules (GJ) annually, the equivalent yearly energy use of nearly 270 homes1 and two winners reduced their electricity use by more than 750,800 kilowatt hours (kWh) annually, the equivalent energy needed to power almost 30 homes for a year.2 In addition, the winners took advantage of more than $5.6 million in FortisBC energy-efficiency rebates.
These actions represent just a small amount of the energy-saving actions underway in B.C. Last year alone, FortisBC’s industrial and commercial customers that took part in the company’s energy-efficiency programs saved more than one million GJ of gas use annually, the equivalent yearly energy use of around 10,200 homes3 and reduced electricity use by nearly 26 million kWh annually, the equivalent energy needed to power more than 900 homes for a year.4
FortisBC plans to invest close to $700 million in their electricity and gas energy-efficiency programs between 2024-2027. Helping customers reduce their overall GHG emissions is top of mind for FortisBC as they continue to invest in conservation and energy efficiency and work to increase the supply of renewable and low-carbon gases.5
To read more about the work these organizations completed, visit fortisbc.com/efficiencyawards.
Backgrounder
1Natural Resources Canada greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator.
2Natural Resources Canada greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator.
3Natural Resources Canada greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator.
4Natural Resources Canada greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator.
5FortisBC uses the term renewable and low-carbon gas to refer collectively to the low-carbon gases or fuels that the utility can acquire under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Clean Energy) Regulation, which are: Renewable Natural Gas (also called RNG or biomethane), hydrogen, synthesis gas (from wood waste) and lignin. FortisBC’s renewable and low-carbon gas portfolio currently includes only Renewable Natural Gas. Other gases and fuels may be added to the program over time. Depending on their source, all of these gases have differing levels of lifecycle carbon intensity. However, all of these gases are low carbon when compared to the lifecycle carbon intensity of conventional natural gas. The current burner tip emission factor of RNG is 0.27 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per megajoule of energy (gCO2e/MJ) and the current renewable and low-carbon gas portfolio lifecycle emissions for stationary combustion are -22 gCO2e/MJ. This is below B.C.’s low carbon threshold for lifecycle carbon intensity of 30.8 gCO2e/MJ as set out in the 2024 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Regulation amendments.
Media contact
Lauren Beckett
Corporate communications advisor
FortisBC
Phone: 604-312-8158
Email: lauren.beckett@fortisbc.com
IBF5