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Oakville Formally Appoints Its Municipal Energy Conservation Officer - Environmental Communication Options/Huff Strategy

Oakville Formally Appoints Its Municipal Energy Conservation Officer

Feb 25th, 2008 3:56 AM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Ontario’s CECO Sees Key 2007 Recommendation Being Fulfilled For First Time: Oakville Formally Appoints Its Municipal Energy Conservation Officer OAKVILLE, Ontario, February 23, 2008 - Ontario’s Chief Energy Conservation Officer (CECO) Peter Love is seeing a key recommendation from his 2007 annual report fulfilled today when Suzanne Austin, a policy analyst with the Town of Oakville, is officially proclaimed its first Municipal Energy Conservation Officer (MECO). In his annual report released last November, Love called for the appointment of MECOs throughout the province to serve as local champions for energy conservation. Austin becomes the first individual formally designated a MECO since that recommendation appeared; the report identifies four municipalities that already have similar positions: Toronto, Hamilton, Markham and Peel Region. Since making his recommendation, the Chief Energy Conservation Officer has held two teleconference sessions with a “MECO Working Group” including representation from across the province. During these teleconferences and through active networking, he has been encouraging further appointments throughout Ontario to better enable the province to achieve its goal of saving 1,350 MW by 2010 and 6,300 MW by 2025. “Having a Municipal Energy Conservation Officer who champions conservation at the local level is essential for any community that wants to benefit from saving energy and saving money for its residents; I commend Oakville for demonstrating through Suzanne’s appointment that energy conservation is a priority,” says Love, who is serving as Ontario’s first Chief Energy Conservation Officer. “I plan to continue to urge every municipality in Ontario to appoint a MECO, so that we can get everyone in the province to think, believe and act on energy conservation,” he adds. Love first publicly called for the appointment of MECOs across Ontario at the annual general meeting of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) last August. He included a formal recommendation in his annual report, stating that: “A strong local champion will be pivotal in engaging communities and individuals in Ontario’s conservation efforts….Institutionalizing a defined role for energy conservation at the municipal level could play an integral role in achieving the province’s conservation goals.” Appointments are voluntary on the part of the communities that make them and are not mandated by the Chief Energy Conservation Officer. Municipalities interested in getting more information about the MECO concept should visit the MECO section of the Conservation Bureau website (www.conservationbureau.on.ca). Communities that wish to register the names of their formal appointees or that want express their interest in becoming involved in the initiative on some level should contact the Chief Energy Conservation Officer at: CECO@conservationbureau.on.ca . The Chief Energy Conservation Officer and Conservation Bureau are part of the Ontario Power Authority (OPA), which was established to plan Ontario’s new power system, to acquire new sources of power, and to promote a culture of conservation throughout the province. -30- Media Contact Ontario Power Authority: 416-969-6307 / Toll Free: 1-800-797-9604