The Alberta Government will be dismantling Energy Efficiency Alberta (EEA) and rolling existing programs into Emissions Reduction Alberta (Commercial and Industrial) and MCCAC (Clean Energy Improvement Program financing) as of September 30th. Further details are in the press release for the Alberta Government (1) and EEA’s blog (2) below.
While this is very disappointing as Alberta is once again the only jurisdiction in North America without jurisdiction-wide energy efficiency programs and initiatives, we are glad that ERA and MCCAC will still play a role along with other efforts in Alberta’s large cities.
Broad, sustainably funded energy efficiency offers solutions that align with the Alberta government’s objectives.
To provide a truly market-based solution that reduces red tape, energy efficiency should be integrated into the utility system to provide self-funded initiatives based on pursuing all cost-effective energy efficiency. This will also assure a continued mechanism to do the research, policy, sector building, training etc required for Alberta to achieve the economic and environmental benefits of energy efficiency.
Energy efficiency is about more than emissions reductions; it’s a potential new economic driver for Alberta, boosts competitiveness and saves costs. In 2018-2019 EE initiatives (3) generated over $850M in economic growth while delivering $600M+ in operating expense savings for utility consumers.
For every $1 of sustained investment in energy efficiency initiatives, private investment and bill savings have the potential to boost GDP by up to 7 times (4) the actual cost of initiatives. Sustained programming (4) could deliver up to 5,900 new local jobs across oil and gas, construction, equipment installation and consumer purchasing markets and $2.3 Billion in annual GDP.
Further, without a mechanism to deliver province-wide energy efficiency initiatives, Alberta could lose out on federal economic recovery funds currently being contemplated in clean technology, energy efficiency and climate action.
Send a one-click letter to your government representatives today to tell them how important energy efficiency is for your business, community and home. There is a general EE Recovery letter (5), or sign on through the Heating, Air Conditioning and Cooling Institute of Canada with their trade EE Recovery letter (6).
Resources
(1) Government of Alberta – Press Release:
https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=7258571EBA8F3-B003-10F6-C3E1ACD268D94EF5
(2) Energy Efficiency Alliance – Press Release:
https://efficiencyalberta.ca/about/blog/transition-of-energy-efficiency-alberta
(3) Energy Efficiency Alberta – Annual Report:
https://efficiencyalberta.ca/annual-report
(4) Efficiency Canada – GDP | Sustained Programming:
https://www.efficiencycanada.org/less-is-more/
(5) Efficiency Canada – EE Recovery Letter:
https://www.efficiencycanada.org/ee-recovery/
(6) Heating, Air Conditioning and Cooling Institute of Canada – EE Recovery Letter:
https://www.hrai.ca/covid19-recovery
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