Changing

‘The purpose of Power Smart |
is to reduce the consumption of
electricity. by B.C. Hydro’s cus-
tomers. Its overall target is a
load reduction of 2,300 GWh
(gigawatt hours) by 1998 and
thereafter. Stated in less tech-
nical terms, the goal is to save
Hydro — and B.C. taxpayers —
‘the equivalent of two-thirds of
what it would cost to build the
Site C dam on the Peace River.

by Betty Barton

. Site C is the next major
hydroelectric development plan-
ned in B.C. Hydro’s 20-year
plan. Whether or not this pro-
ject has to go ahead depends
largely on the success of the
Power Smart program. Site C
would be built on the Peace
River near Ft. St. John. It would
be the third, and probably final,
major ‘hydro development on
that river. ” ~
Power Smart was initiated in
_ , 1988, with testing of some pro-
* grams taking place over the next
three years. The project launch
date was March 15, 1989, Tim-
ing of Power Smart is flexible
within its 20-year horizon.
Power Smart is a whole port-
folio of programs, managed by
B.C. Hydro and designed to en-
courage B.C. Hydro’s customers
to conserve electricity. The cur-
rent consumption for electricity
per household in Canada is one
of the highest in the world. With
the plethora of electrical ap-

pliances used in every house-_

hold, demand for power in the
last two to three years is far
outstripping Hydro’s expecta-
tions, according to local area
manager Roy Staveley.

The preliminary budget for
the project is $225 million, most
of which will be committed dur-
ing the first 10 years.

The portfolio of programs
targets energy use (including
‘space and water heating, lighting

and equipment), in’ residential,"

commercial and. industrial
facilities. Financial

if we don’t,’’ says Staveley.

The residential programs in-

4

clude:

y

fot customers.’ -

‘© Electric to- Gas Hot Water — /
This, joint program . of. BC.

we think abou
electricity

Hydro with B.C, Gas-Inc, and
Pacific Northern offers a rebate

incentives
are offered in many of these pro-
grams. ‘“‘We don’t want to build
new Hyrdo electric dams. It’s
better for the environment, our
customers, and our pocket book

_@ Refrigerator Efficiency — A
$50 incentive is offered to pro-
mote the purchase of energy-
efficient: refrigerators, which
save up to 50-percent.in energy
costs over older models. Over 80
models qualify; a list is available.

‘the way

of $150 (B.C. Gas pays $100 and ©
Hydro pays $50) for replacing
an electric water heater with a
more economical natural gas
heater, For mobile homes, the
rebate is $80. .
e Power Smart Water Heaters
—- Customers purchasing elec-
tric water heaters will be en-
couraged to choose efficient .
ones through a program of
labelling, promotions and a $20
rebate.
@ Water Heater Jacket — Free
insulating jackets are offered for
electric water heaters. In selected
communities only — check with
your local Hydro office. This
summer 14,000 jackets have
been installed, versus 8,000 in
1988/89. .
@ Quality Plus Home — A pro-
gram jointly operated by -B.C.
Hydro and the Canadian Home _
Builders Association of British
Columbia to develop and pro-
mote higher standards of energy
efficiency for new home con-
struction. There are currently 73
companies in B.C, listed as

+ 4h Onn
a) -
, toe Te Fy :
toy : oo poed, te
: _ : ara &

qualified Quality Plus builders.
@ School Education — Con-
test: Over 30,000 students: in

-B.C.'s 1,602 public and private. |

elementary schools entered a
coloring contest in which they
created artwork on the theme of
using energy wisely; a calendar
was produced of winning sub- .

missions.
@ Curriculum — Hydro is
working with schools to find
ways to incorporate energy in-
formation into course material.
Commercial programs;
To help customers convert to
energy-efficient lighting rebates
are offered ranging from 25
cents for each energy-saving
Jamp to $500 per kilowatt reduc-.
tion for high intensity discharge
(HID) system changes. Hydro is
presently working on a proposal
for energy-efficient roadway
lighting for the City of Terrace.
The taxpayer, the City and
Hydro will all benefit from this
five-year program, with an
‘éstimated 20 percent saving per
year expected. This program is
expected to be launched in 1990.
Lighting will change from mer-
cury vapor to high density
sodium.

Customers are being en-
couraged -to go to 34-watt light
bulbs to replace. the 40-watt
bulbs normally in commercial
fluorescent use. The new bulbs,
although slightly. more costly
than. the 40-watt - incandescent

energy saving.

. bulbs, make up the difference in
And there is little

difference in the kind. of: light

provided. The 34-watt bulbs are
now available in local retail
outlets.
Staveley explains that, as
_more’people buy the new bulbs,
the prices will drop. Hydro is
promoting compact fluorescents
for household use to replace the
bigger-energy incandescent
lights now in common use.
Municipal Electrical Efficien-
cy: .
, B.C. ‘Hydro “has an appoint-

ment with the City of Terrace on |

Dec. 7-at 4 p.m. to perform a
walk-through audit of one
municipal building’ in Terrace.
This will identify areas with
potential for energy savings as a
lead-in to an expanded efficien-
cy program for the City of Ter-
race. Smithers and Hazelton
have already had this audit com-

pleted, Hydro recently examined .

Terrace’s pool and arena com-
pilex, coming up with some
significant energy-saving sugges-
tions, ee
Industrial;
@ Adjustable Speed Drives —
Significant savings. can be real-
ized when industrial. and com-
mercial customeérs®. replace

_ wasteful mechanical.throttles. on _

fans and pumps with electric
controls that draw full power
only when necessary. Hydro
provides technical information,

“case studies, demonstrations and

seminars. (Two seminars have
been conducted in Vancouver
and one in Victoria.) A software
package for evaluating potential
savings is available for $50.
@ High-Efficiency Motors —
The program promotes, through
rebates and education, the use of
high-efficiency motors in all new
installations and to replace
failed motors. The rebate is
calculated on the basis of $400
per kilowatt savéd. A software
package can be purchased. for
$50 to calculate savings. To the
end of September, 179 applica-
tions for 1,843 motors, totalling
over 95,000 hp, have been pro-
cessed, with an estimated annual
saving of over 13 GWh.

Skeena Cellulose is taking ad-

vantage of this program and.

converting to energy efficient
motors after discussion with
B.C. Hydro.

@ Efficient Compressed Alr —
This program is designed to
reduce the amount of energy

wasted in industrial compressed ..

air systems by providing tests to
measure leaks and show poten-
tial savings. Twenty-eight plants
surveyed in 1988-89 will expand

to 140 in the next year.

While all the above programs
address the objectives of Power

‘Smart, a broader range of

strategic options is possible. For
example, options such as gov-
ernment legislation, — building
code changes, purchasing stan-
dards and electric efficiency con- -
ditions for.connection. of new °
load may be used to meet the ob-
jectives of the project. oe

The Power Smart portfolio is.
‘‘tiving’’, in the sense that new
programs will be added and
others may be dropped as the
project progresses.

The latest statistics from B.C.
Hydro indicates that the Skeena
Coastal area (boundary just east
of Houston) has the best energy
saving in all of B.C. Staveley
credits this to- ‘our people”,
employees of B.C. Hydro,
residential, commercial and in- ©
dustrial customers alike.

“Power Smart is good for ,
everyone,”’ he concludes... .