From small businesses to giant retailers, businesses are jumping on the energy-efficiency bandwagon - and BC Hydro says it's willing to pump money into company coffers to make this an even brighter idea.

Hydro's product incentive program (PIP) walks participating companies through a step-by-step analysis of their current energy usage, makes suggestions for improved efficiency and then backs it up with product rebate cheques.

Unlike programs offered to residential power users that rebates only the cost of lightbulbs, PIP encourages energy efficiency improvements in a variety of systems including heating, air conditioning and ventilation products, controls and sensors, and lighting products.

Simi Heer, media co-ordinator for BC Hydro's Power Smart programs, says the program was started a couple of years ago and has already completed 350 projects.

Karen Dyer, Business Edge
Hollyburn Group president Paul Sander has utilized the Power Smart program since the 1990s.

The objective of the program is to remove existing products and fixtures and replace them with more energy-efficient models.

And B.C. companies say the rebates - which range from $3 to $25 for individual lamps and fixtures, up to $1,000 for a voltage optimizer commonly used in large warehouse, office or school spaces - are lightening up their own pocketbooks.

"We have cut down store lighting in many areas from 25 to 50 per cent," says Pawan Patil, assistant store manager of the Zellers Lynn Valley operation in North Vancouver.

"We concentrated our attention on areas that don't affect customer comfort or visibility and have changed the bulbs to use more energy-efficient products. I know that participating in this program has brought down energy costs for every single store in the company."

BC Hydro has a long-standing co-operative arrangement with Zellers parent firm Hudson Bay Company, with HBC becoming a Power Smart partner in 2000.

This has translated a company-wide participation in the One-Tonne Challenge - a federal conservation initiative that asks Canadians to reduce their annual greenhouse gas emissions by one tonne - but has also meant some significant changes at the individual store level.

Heer says BC Hydro doesn't have a formal limit set to financial incentives for the year, but it does have a target for energy savings.

"We're hoping the program will save about 20 gigawatt hours of electricity," says Heer, which is the equivalent of 20 billion watts of electricity or enough to power 300,000 to 400,000 average Canadian homes.

She adds BC Hydro does not offer rebates to companies that require a complete redesign of their systems. Companies identify the areas where they are eligible for rebates and then purchase the new energy-efficient technologies from a list of approved retailers.

BC Hydro has developed an e-catalogue on its website that lists more than 8,000 energy-efficient products in more than 90 brands. Customers surfing the site can locate local retailers and product providers to speed up their hunt for energy efficient products.

Hydro also provides businesses with online tools to help calculate potential savings in both energy and incentives.

A small business such as a convenience store that replaced just 15 fluorescent light fixtures with energy-efficient T-8 lamps could expect a savings of $120 in energy costs over the course of a year, and about the same in rebate dollars.

The Power Smart Alliance has become a significant part of the PIP process. The alliance is a group of independent contractors and engineers who can help identify areas that can benefit from improved energy efficiency and are also available to install and maintain energy related systems.

Hollyburn Group, a Canadian-owned and operated national property management company, has been able to implement the PIP in every one of its more than 30 properties in Vancouver. The company has also extended the energy-efficient philosophy to its properties in other provinces.

"We've been utilizing Power Smart ideas since the 1990s," says Paul Sander, president of Hollyburn Group. "But in those days it meant changing all our 100-watt incandescents over to fluorescents. We saved energy, sure, but we had buildings that were under-lit. With this new program, Power Smart now looks more closely at lighting levels, making sure they are both safe and legal.

"This program impressed me because it didn't just front-load with a product or a promise to incent, but instead came with a electrical engineer's consultant report," adds Sander. "If you choose to take advantage of the report, it comes free as a part of the service."

Product lines have changed since the days of the ugly fluorescent tubes. "Power Smart's Marketing has caught up with fashion," Sander says.

"Saving energy doesn't have to be ugly anymore - we've installed some beautiful, really sexy fixtures under the PIP. Our customers are really pleased with the appearance of the product and they're still saving money."

Web Watch www.bchydro.com

(Karen Dyer can be reached at karen@businessedge.ca)