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Energy Conservation Regulation
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Energy Conservation and Demand Management Plans Regulation (O.Reg. 397/11)

On January 1st, 2012 the Energy Conservation and Demand Management Plans Regulation (O.Reg. 397/11) came into effect. It requires that public agencies develop energy conservation and demand management (CDM) plans by July 1, 2014. A year prior to the CDM plan deadline, public agencies are required to prepare and publish a summary of their 2011 energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by July 1, 2013.

IESC is professionally equipped to support affected organizations in fulfilling all of their requirements regarding this regulation. IESC guides the organization to develop a robust CDM plan and maintains its reporting requirements through effective monitoring. IESC has adopted the stance that the regulation can lead to significant organizational benefits which justify its initial and ongoing investment.

Who will be affected?

The following public agencies will be required to fulfill the regulation:

  1. Municipality
  2. Municipal Service Board
  3. Post-Secondary Educational Institution
  4. School board
  5. Public Hospital

The following table indicates the operations designated for each public agency as part of the regulation.
Municipality 1. Administrative offices and related facilities, including municipal council chambers.
2. Public libraries
3. Cultural facilities, indoor recreational facilities and community centres, including art galleries, performing arts facilities, auditoriums, indoor sports arenas, indoor ice rinks, indoor swimming pools, gyms and indoor courts for playing tennis, basketball or other sports
4. Ambulance stations and associated offices and facilities
5. Fire stations and associated offices and facilities
6. Police stations and associated offices and facilities
7. Storage facilities where equipment or vehicles are maintained, repaired or stored
8. Buildings or facilities related to the treatment or pumping of water or sewage
9. Parking garages
Municipal service board 1. Buildings or facilities related to the treatment or pumping of water or sewage
Post-secondary educational institution 1. Administrative offices and related facilities
2. Classrooms and related facilities
3. Laboratories
4. Student residences that have more than three storeys or a building area of more than 600 square meters
5. Student recreational facilities and athletic facilities
6. Libraries
7. Parking garages
School board 1.Schools
2. Administrative offices and related facilities
3. Parking garages
Public hospital 1. Facilities used for hospital purposes
2. Administrative offices and related facilities

What will public agencies need to do?

The regulation requires that public agencies prepare and implement energy conservation and demand management plans comprised of two parts.

  1. Annual energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions reporting
  2. 5-year conservation and demand management plan

1) Energy and GHG Emissions Report

By July 1st, 2013, public agencies will need to report their 2011 energy and greenhouse gas emissions for the designated operations. These are operations which need to be heated and/or cooled which are owned or leased by the public agency. These are applicable if the public agency receives the energy invoices and are responsible for paying them. For multi-use facilities the public agency has to make a reasonable effort to allocate energy use.

The base year report must be submitted to the Ministry of Energy. In addition, the report must also be updated annually and be made available to the public.

2) Conservation and Demand Management Plan

By July 1st, 2014, public agencies will need to have prepared a five year conservation plan which outlines energy conservation and demand management measures. The conservation plan must include:

  • Goals and objectives for managing, conserving and reducing energy consumption
  • Costs and estimated savings for proposed measures;
  • Description of renewable energy generation;
  • Plans approved by the agency's senior management; and
  • May include information on non-designated agency operations.

This plan must be published and made available to the public in printed form at its head office. The regulation also requires that this plan be updated every five years and must additionally include:

  • Current and proposed energy conservation and demand measures;
  • Revised forecast of the expected results of the current and proposed measures;
  • Results achieved in the previous plan; and
  • Description of proposed changes that could aid the public agency to reach any of its targets or forecasts.