Fraser Health is scoring high with our energy-saving, GreenCare efforts.
The Power Smart Excellence Awards
Fraser Health is celebrating being named a Top Ten Power Smart Partner by BC Hydro for creating integrated energy management programs and implementing energy conservation projects. By using less energy, we are reducing the environmental impacts and reducing costs. And that does us all a world of good.
Kudos
Being named a Top Ten Power Smart Partner for an organization that serves more than 1.6 million British Columbians from Burnaby to Boston Bar is no small feat. Add to that the complexities of managing 26,000 staff, 2,500 doctors, 6, 500 volunteers, 12 acute-care hospitals and 7,800 long-term care beds that need to be operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and you can bet the energy bills are high.
Great savings
With the help of BC Hydro’s Power Smart Partner program, Fraser Health has been able to achieve energy savings of over seven gigawatt hours since 2009. To put it simply, that is enough energy to power 640 B.C. homes and savings of almost $440,000.
By implementing more than 28 Power Smart Partner projects, that include lighting, air-handling unit coil cleaning, variable frequency drives and digital control upgrades, Fraser Health has been able to creatively manage energy consumption. Incentive funding from BC Hydro ensured all the projects could be undertaken, but central to Fraser Health’s success is the support from account managers and engineers at BC Hydro. By constantly bringing new ideas to the table, these individuals have ensured Fraser Health continues to be a leader and innovator in reducing energy consumption.
About the Power Smart Partner program
The Power Smart Partner program is dedicated to helping commercial, government and institutional organizations that spend more than $250,000 a year on electricity integrate long-term energy management into their day-to-day operations.
The program includes tools — such as an Energy Study and an Energy Management Assessment — to identify your organization’s energy-saving opportunities; support for a full-time Energy Manager; and financial incentives for implementing energy-efficiency projects.
BC Hydro recognition
Each year, BC Hydro recognizes business customers and retail/industry partners that demonstrate a best-in-class approach to energy management and conservation. The 2012 Power Smart Excellence Awards honour nominees from a range of categories, including Energy Conservation Commitment, Energy Manager, New Construction, New Technology, Conservation Partner, and National and Regional Retailer.
“Over the last few years, energy management has become increasingly important across all business and government sectors and, today, energy efficiency has become the way to do business,” BC Hydro President and CEO Charles Reid said. “The Power Smart Excellence Awards allow BC Hydro to recognize the significant commitment and innovative approaches that our customers take towards conservation.”
