Energy Conservation and Demand Management Plan 2019-2024
The Township of Champlain continues to make all reasonable efforts to improve its energy management plan and program to reduce its impact on the environment as required under the Electricity Act, 1998 and Regulation 507/18 Public Sector Energy Reporting Conservation Demand Management Plans Act.
Staff and Council will ensure that the objectives presented in this plan are achieved and that progress towards those objectives is monitored on an ongoing basis. Staff and Council will update the plan as required under the above Act and regulation or any subsequent legislation.
On this page
- Vision
- Achievements and Goals
- Organizational Understanding
- Strategic Planning
- Ressources
- Project Execution
- Review
- Programs and Projects
Vision
The Township of Champlain's will continue with its vision of becoming an environmentally sustainable community. To this end, it is looking to reduce its total energy consumption and mitigating costs through the wise use of energy, while maintaining an efficient and effective level of service to the public. Wherever possible, the Township will endeavor to increase the awareness and understanding of energy management within the Corporation.
Policy
The Township of Champlain will endeavor to incorporate energy efficiency into all areas of our activities including our organizational and human resources management procedures, procurement practices, financial management and investment decisions, and facility operations and maintenance. As a major component of the operating costs of municipal facilities and equipment, energy costs are factored into the lifecycle cost analysis and asset management analyses and policies of the municipality.
Achievements, Goals and Objectives
Overall Target
The key to a successful long-term conservation vision is a strong Energy Policy with measurable and achievable targets. This policy calls for targeted energy reductions in energy usable by the Township owned facilities and operations on a continuous basis. Success will be measured by comparing consumption on a year-to-year basis. It is important to note that we must consider growth when calculating consumption.
| Achievements |
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Since this plan was first developed, the Township has completed several energy reduction objectives. An energy audit of all of our facilities identified several areas where energy consumption could be reduced.
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| Goals |
As part of its ongoing commitment to its Energy Conservation and Demand Management Plan, the Township of Champlain has set the following as objectives for the near future:
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Objectives |
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In order to achieve our goals, the Township of Champlain has set the following continuing objectives:
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Organizational Understanding
| Our Municipal Energy Needs |
| The Township of Champlain requires reliable, low-cost, sustainable energy sources delivered to the most efficient facilities and energy consuming technology as possible. |
| Stakeholders Needs |
| Council, the CAO and senior management must clearly communicate the corporate vision to staff and residents as well as acquire the skills and knowledge required to implement energy management practices and measures. |
Municipal Energy Situation
Our assessment of organizational capacity for energy management with respect to energy policy indicates the following issues:
- Energy use and costs continue to increase and are forecast to further increase;
- Occasional efforts are made to raise general staff awareness concerning energy;
- Additional municipal responsibilities and services have had an important impact on existing facilities’ energy consumption;
- The need to be vigilant in our ongoing search for energy saving solutions that match our various operational requirements.
How We Manage Energy Today
The management of the Township of Champlain’s energy is a combination of energy data management, energy supply management and energy use management.
Our municipal energy is supplied via a number of providers: Electricity is supplied by Hydro One and natural gas by Enbridge Gas on an as need basis and is priced at the standard rates offered by the provider.
Summary of Current Energy Consumption, Cost and GHGs
The Township’s current energy usage is detailed in our latest Energy Consumption and Green House Gas Emissions Report for 2017. Our energy usage is updated once a year in the Energy Planning Tool (EPT) and reported annually to the Ministry of Energy.
Strategic Planning
As an integral component of the management structure, the Energy Conservation and Demand Management Plan will be coordinated with:
- The municipality’s budget planning process;
- The purchasing policy;
- The policy development process as a whole.
Resources Planning
Energy Leader
The CAO, in concert with the department heads assumes the overall leadership and responsibility for corporate energy management. Conceptualization of all projects will include energy savings as a leading requirement.
Internal Resources
The Township of Champlain will develop criteria for determining whether internal resources can be utilized for the implementation of energy projects.
Energy Training
The Township of Champlain will do its best to develop and deliver energy training for all relevant staff and Council members. The training will focus on the energy use and conservation opportunities associated with employees’ job functions and will be utilized whenever possible.
Project Execution
Municipal Level
Since all employees use energy in the course of their work day, all staff will share the responsibility of being aware of their energy use and will work towards a culture of conservation. Awareness of energy conservation issues and new initiatives will be passed on to staff via training, seminars and webinars. This will allow staff to see the results of their efforts and encourage them to bring forward any energy conservation ideas.
Asset Level
In order to sustain a corporate culture of conservation, staff must be engaged in an effective awareness and education program. The first step in the continuation of our energy management program will be by conducting regular cost/consumption audits of the various energy products used by the municipality. Staff is then encouraged to seek out energy conservation opportunities.
Another important component of our energy management program is ongoing facilities maintenance and renovations. Any major maintenance program or renovation project will be required to take into account any possible energy conservation programs, technologies and best practices.
As the use of renewable energy measures can help reduce overall corporate greenhouse gas emissions, the investment for these types of measures can be significantly greater than conservation initiatives and therefore, should be considered on a case-by-case basis through a cost and environmental benefits analysis. It is acknowledged that the use of technologies such as wind, solar and geothermal can show community leadership and help raise awareness of the benefits of utilizing renewable energy. To this end, Township management will put forward to Council, for approval, any suitable renewable energy program or technologies as they become known
Energy Plan Review
As part of any energy management strategy, continuous monitoring, verification, and reporting is an essential tool to track consumption and dollar savings and/or avoidance as the result of implemented initiatives. The Township of Champlain staff will develop an annual progress report with the energy consumption data and will report to Council any progress that is achieved. Our annual Energy Planning Tool (EPT) report to the Province will be our overall tool for energy awareness.
Evaluation Progress
Energy Consumption
The Township of Champlain will review and evaluate its energy plan, as necessary, on an annual basis as based on the Energy Consumption Reports submitted to the Ministry of Energy as required under the Electricity Act and Regulation 507/18.
Green House Gas Emissions
Governments at all levels are moving to address emissions of greenhouse gasses (GHGs), in light of scientific evidence on how human activities are affecting the world’s climate. For more information on this science, see http://www.ipcc.ch/ .
The combustion of fossil fuels in buildings is a major source of GHG emissions that fall under local government influence. Municipalities can lower emissions by improving energy efficiency of buildings and using more renewable energy.
The Township of Champlain is committed to both objectives through the development and implementation of this Energy Conservation and Demand Management Plan (CDM). On an ongoing basis, we will continue to track and report on GHGs as part of our regular reporting on energy consumption and will evaluate progress in this area against our overall reduction target.
Programs, Processes and Projects
Programs
| Add energy awareness to head of department meetings |
| Contact: CAO
Due Date: August 2019 Energy Reports are distributed to head of department on an annual basis for review and comment. |
| Employee engagement |
| Contact: CAO
Due Date: Ongoing Provide staff with training and documentation required to adopt good practices that will result in the optimization of facility energy usage. This will be done by identifying the areas where employees could lower the energy usage and result in energy savings. We will also encourage employees to submit ideas for projects that will reduce the corporate and personal energy consumption. Programmable thermostats were installed and as an example lower temperatures substantially in off hours and weekends. |
| Appliance & Electronic Usage |
| Contact: CAO
Due Date: Ongoing Appliances & electronics are often left on in our offices because staff feels their individual impact is not important, however, when totaled across the municipality, the impact can run in the hundreds of dollars per year for our municipality. All appliances and electronics devices such as printers, calculators, etc. are now all turned off at night and on weekends. |
Projects
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Use of programmable thermostats |
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Contact: CAO Status: Complete The Township has installed programmable thermostats in several locations which will allow for adequate set-points to be maintained depending upon whether the space is occupied or not. The Township of Champlain will also be setting back temperatures by 0.5 degree Celsius, which should generate a net saving of about 1% saving for heating each building. |
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Replace lighting |
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Contact: CAO Status: Complete All existing lighting has been replaced with LED bulbs or energy efficient fluorescent strips and ballast. |
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Replace six pumps at pumping stations |
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Contact: Director of Public Works Status: Ongoing Replace six pumps at pumping stations with variable speed motors and add time of day usage timers to the system. |
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LED lighting at arena |
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Contact: Director of Parks and Recreation Status: To be done in 2022 Replace all existing lighting over the ice surface at the arena with LED lighting |
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Inflow & Infiltration Study |
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Contact: Director of Public Works Status: Ongoing Complete the Inflow & Infiltration Study of the sewer system with the goal of reducing the amount of rainwater getting into the sewers and eliminating incidents where water bypasses the treatment plant during heavy storms. Solving these issues will significantly reduce the amount of water that needs treatment and therefore reduce the amount of electricity consumed. |
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Window Replacement |
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Contact: Director of Public Works Status: Ongoing Replace all windows at Town Hall for energy efficient units |
Other projects will be added as the Township looks into the different areas where energy savings can occur.
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