FortisBC recognizes two Kootenay customers’ commitment to conservation

Castlegar's Canadian Tire and Grand Forks' Boundary School District 51 achieve FortisBC's Conservation Excellence Award

The PowerSense Conservation Excellence Award trophies: well deserved. — Photo courtesy FortisBC

Every year, FortisBC like to acknowledge customers that are doing great things to conserve energy and become sustainable.

In 2011, it gave out 14 PowerSense Conservation Excellence Awards to those who have shown a commitment to innovation, conservation and sustainability by completing energy-efficiency projects that save over 100,000 kWhs annually.

One such customer is Boundary School District 51 in Grand Forks, British Columbia. The district did a complete lighting retrofit to two of its elementary schools.

West Boundary Elementary in Rock Creek and John A. Hutton Elementary in Grand Forks replaced their old fluorescent T12s with energy-efficient T8s with 28W lamps and high-efficiency ballasts.

Their total energy savings? 118, 300 kW/h.

Another recipient of a FortisBC PowerSense Conservation Excellence Award was the Canadian Tire in Castlegar, B.C.

The company also did a complete lighting retrofit at its store, company representatives say this has proven beneficial to both staff and customers.

They installed fluorescent T8s and new electronic ballasts to replace the old metal halide dome lamps and old ballasts. The retrofit was completed throughout the store, including 46,000 square feet of retail space, 25,000 square feet of warehouse and 12,000 square feet in the automotive bay area. Motors in ceiling fans were also replaced with energy-efficient models.

Canadian Tire's total savings per year? More than 212,000 kW/hours a year, or enough to power 16 homes.

Altogether, the 14 recipients of these awards have collectively saved in excess of four gigawatt hours of electricity, or enough to power close to 330 homes for one year.