PowerStream Exceeds Electricity Conservation Target by Over 21 Percent
Utility's Strong Relationship With Customers and Innovative Program Marketing Drives Results
MarketWired.com
Nov. 4, 2015
PowerStream customers conserved a total of 496.34 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity between 2011 and 2014, helping the utility to exceed the cumulative energy savings target for its service territory, set out by the Ontario Energy Board (OEB), by over 21 percent.
Strong relationships with customers, award winning progressive marketing campaigns and a locally-designed program for small business customers resulted in increased customer participation, which contributed to the success of the company's conservation programs over the last four years.
Business customers responded positively to the financial incentives and energy savings afforded by provincial programs such as Retrofit and Small Business Lighting. PowerStream also offered its own Business Refrigeration Incentives program for small business customers. Residential customers participated in the Fridge & Freezer Pickup, peaksaver PLUS®, saveONenergy Coupons and Heating & Cooling programs.
Leveraging its expertise, PowerStream also forged a successful conservation and demand management (CDM) delivery partnership with Collus PowerStream, a utility that serves customers in the Town of Collingwood and surrounding areas.
In addition to this achievement, PowerStream was highly involved as an active stakeholder in the development of the Province's new Conservation First framework for 2015-2020. Subsequently, PowerStream became the first Ontario electric utility to submit a six-year CDM plan and sign a corresponding agreement with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO).
QUOTES
- "The extraordinary results we achieved are a testament to why we continue to be recognized as an Ontario leader in the delivery of energy conversation programs to customers," explained Maurizio Bevilacqua, PowerStream Board Chair and Mayor of the City of Vaughan. "We look forward to achieving even greater success in delivering conservation programs under the Province's new six-year framework."
- "We are proud to have exceeded our energy savings target as set out by the Ontario Energy Board. We used innovative and ultimately award-winning marketing campaigns to promote a comprehensive suite of programs to our customers," said Brian Bentz, PowerStream's President and CEO. "By incorporating research and customer insights, we created marketing campaigns that not only set us apart from other utilities, but also enabled us to promote energy efficiency to our customers in a simple and engaging way."
BACKGROUND
- On September 16, 2010, the OEB issued a conservation and demand management (CDM) Code for Electricity Distributors. The Code set out the obligations and requirements with which Ontario electric utilities were to comply in relation to the CDM targets set out in their licenses. PowerStream's target was to achieve 95.57 MW of demand savings and 407.34 million kWh of cumulative energy savings over the period of January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2014.
- PowerStream's "Smart Kids" campaign was an example of a unique and customer-appealing marketing campaign, which featured the company's residential conservation programs. The campaign earned PowerStream recognition from the Association of Energy Services Professionals' (AESP) and was presented with the 'Energy Award for Marketing and Communications -- Residential'.
ABOUT POWERSTREAM
PowerStream is a community-owned energy company that provides power and related services to more than 375,000 customers residing or owning a business in communities located immediately north of Toronto and in Central Ontario. It is jointly owned by the Cities of Barrie, Markham and Vaughan.
