STRATFORD: Festival Hydro an early adopter of major energy conservation program

Sep 20th, 2007 4:05 AM

Media Release - For Immediate Release Ontario Power Authority program will help Stratford save electricity (Stratford, ON, September 19, 2007) Festival Hydro announced today they will assist the industrial, commercial, agriculture and institutional sectors of Stratford, Hensall, Zurich, Seaforth, St Marys, Dashwood, and Brussels conserve electricity, save money and benefit the environment through participation in the Electricity Retrofit Incentive Program (ERIP), a program supported by the Ontario Power Authority. “We are excited to be a part of ERIP,” said Bill Zehr, President of Stratford Hydro who attended the breakfast seminar launch. “By taking advantage of ERIP, Festival Hydro’s commercial and industrial sector can play an important role in using electricity wisely.” This year, both residential and commercial consumers are able to participate in the conservation projects. “These programs represent the largest coordinated effort Ontario has ever made to encourage consumers to use less electricity,” said Paul Shervill, Vice President of the Ontario Power Authority (OPA). “As Ontario moves toward re-building its electricity infrastructure, the conservation initiatives of each business will help maintain and enhance the sustainability of our current power generation and distribution system.” ERIP is for industrial, commercial, agriculture and institutional businesses that are planning on changing their lighting, HVAC systems, motors and over-all electrical arrangements in their commercial or industrial buildings. The program helps to reduce electricity costs and lessen the impact that traditional power generation can have on environment. “Everyone in Ontario needs to be concerned about electricity conservation,” said Peter Love, Ontario’s Chief Energy Conservation Officer. “I am pleased to see the continued expansion of programs that encourage Ontarians to take immediate action and reward them for doing so.” -30- Media Inquiries: Bill Zehr, Festival Hydro Inc., (519) 271-4703, ext 243 Festival Hydro is the local electricity distribution company that serves 19,000 customers in the city of Stratford and the towns of Brussels, Dashwood, Hensall, Seaforth, St. Marys and Zurich. . The objective of the ERIP program is to leverage energy conservation and load management opportunities by offering incentives for sustainable, measurable and verifiable energy retrofits that result in on-peak demand savings and/or annual energy savings (www.electricityretrofitincentiveprogram.com and www.festivalhydro.com). In pursuit of its mandate of ensuring an adequate, long-term supply of electricity for Ontario, the Ontario Power Authority creates and implements conservation and demand management programs, ensures adequate investment in new supply infrastructure, performs long-term electricity system planning, and facilitates the development of a more sustainable and competitive electricity system (www.powerauthority.on.ca).