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BOMA Toronto’s CDM Program Helps Fight the 3 H’s of Summer - Environmental Communication Options/Huff Strategy

BOMA Toronto’s CDM Program Helps Fight the 3 H’s of Summer

Aug 19th, 2009 9:29 AM

Media Release BOMA Toronto’s CDM Program Helps Fight the 3 H’s of Summer (Toronto, August 19, 2009) After a month of below-the-norm temperatures, the August heat wave seems to be settling in. During this hot, hazy and humid period, many of us are turning up our home air conditioning systems. Commercial properties are no different. Peak electricity has always been a significant issue in the province of Ontario and nowhere more concerning than the downtown core of Toronto. Increases in air conditioning use during hot summer afternoons challenges Ontario’s electricity supply grid. The Building Owners and Managers Association of the Greater Toronto Area’s (BOMA Toronto) Conservation and Demand Management (CDM) Program is aiming to mitigate the problem by providing incentives for electricity conservation projects. The Program receives funding from the Ontario Power Authority (OPA). Projects designed to reduce electricity use in the summer include deep lake water cooling, Heating Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) re-design and chiller retrofits and replacements. BOMA Toronto’s CDM Program is available to commercial properties such as office buildings, retail stores, industrial structures, hotels, private institutions and nursing homes with incentives being paid to property owners/operators and tenants alike. Since March 2007, BOMA Toronto’s CDM Program has leveraged in excess of $71 million of capital projects by property owners, resulting in the reduction in electricity consumption within the City of Toronto (‘416’ exchange) by approximately 26.6 megawatts. This electricity saved could power 23,200 Ontario homes for one year. Over 50 of the 420 projects have included air conditioning systems upgrades, thereby assisting in the reduction of electricity consumption during these hot, hazy and humid days. “No matter what time of the year it is the BOMA Toronto CDM Program gives building owners a chance to retrofit their properties and reduce the load on the Ontario electricity grid.” says R. Wayne Proulx, Director of the BOMA Toronto CDM Program. Property owners and managers such as Bentall, GWL Realty Advisors, The Bank of Nova Scotia, Rogers and Brookfield Properties and tenants like Stikeman Elliott LLP, have all participated in the CDM Program leading to its success and the reduction of electricity consumption within their properties. Although the BOMA Toronto CDM Program funds retrofits in buildings of 25,000 square feet or larger located in the ‘416' telephone exchange area, many building owners and tenants looking at enhancing their real estate and their social responsibility efforts in the ‘905’, ‘519’ and ‘613’ area codes, have already expressed great interest in BOMA’s CDM Program. For further information, please visit www.bomacdm.com, email us at info@bomacdm.com or contact the BOMA CDM Program team at (416) 440-0101.
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The BOMA Toronto CDM Program has been contracted to deliver electricity conservation to the Ontario commercial real estate market as part of the OPA’s larger plan to deliver 6300 megawatts of electricity reduction in Ontario from various sources. The available incentives, which are capped at 40% of the eligible projects costs, are for peak demand, annual consumption or cooling ton reduction, at a rate of $400 per kilowatt, $0.05 per kilowatt hour or $250 per ton (for geothermal space cooling systems), respectively. The Program is designed to maximize participation by the avoidance of both ‘process’ and ‘contractual’ complications and the quick delivery of incentive payments.