Conservation and Efficiency

1
Conservation and Efficiency

• Poli 404D Week 9

2
Agenda

• conservation and efficiency problem
  characteristics
• development trends
• policy regime
• actors
• institutions
• ideas
• BCs Energy Plan -
• todays debate question Can conservation and
  efficiency be relied upon to produce half of new
  energy requirements?

3
(No Transcript)
4
Scope

• utilities
• gas
• electricity
• transportation

5
Definitions

• Conservation using less energy

6
Definitions

• Efficiency ratio of outputs (or service) to
  energy inputs
• same service, less energy

7
Definitions

• Demand-side management programs delivered by
  utilities to increase conservation and efficiency
  (reduce level or change pattern of consumption)

8
(No Transcript)
9
(No Transcript)
10
Conservation and Efficiency Technology
Characteristics

• abundance
• energy density
• cost per unit energy
• portability
• reliability
• process technology
• ease of use

• geographic distribution
• ownership
• familiarity, embeddedness
• public acceptability
• environmental effects
• safety

11
policy challenge

• requires co-ordination among diverse actors
• benefits of energy efficiency are generally
  dispersed over individuals and time, but costs
  can be more concentrated
• short term bias in spending
• information barriers technology, cost

12
Policy Regime Institutions

• Cabinet government centralized rule centred on
  the premier
• more diffusion of responsibility of
  responsibility
• federal government regulatory authority over
  efficiency of many products (autos, appliances)
• provincial responsibility for utilities, building
  codes, etc
• municipal

13
Policy Regime Actors - Producers

• BC Hydro
• Terasen Gas (95 of BC gas supplies)
• Are producers like this biased against
  conservation and efficiency?
• Even if in most instances it is optimal for
  society as a whole to invest in energy
  efficiency, it is not optimal to do so from the
  point of view of the energy services provider
  (Pembina DSM report)

14
Policy Regime Actors - Consumers

• Industrial
• Commercial
• Residential
• builders and architects

15
Policy Regime Actors Government of BC

• Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources
  develops policy
• BC Utilities Commission sets rates
• BC Hydro develops and delivers DSM programs

16
Policy Regime ActorsFederal Government

• Natural Resources Canada Office of Energy
  Efficiency
• Transport Canada auto efficiency rules

17
Policy Regime ActorsIndustry

• Canadian Energy Efficiency Alliance

18
Policy Regime ActorsEnvironmental Groups

• strongly supportive of CE as best way to reduce
  environmental impact of energy use
• Canadian Renewable Energy Alliance

19
Policy Regime Ideas

• Energy security self sufficiency
• energy gap

20
Current Policy - Instruments

• voluntarism
• power smart
• regulation
• building codes
• minimum efficiency standards
• required labelling
• incentives
• subsidies
• tax credits

21
Current Policy BC Energy Plan

• acquire 50 per cent of BC Hydros incremental
  resource needs through conservation by 2020
• MEPR work with key players to ensure that
  initiatives are coordinated
• requirement that utilities pursue cost-effective
  DSM
• equal to or lower in cost than supply side
  resources
• explore new rate structures
• implement energy efficiency standards for
  buildings
• integrated environmental design for new
  government bulidings
• Throne speech requirement for smart metering

22
(No Transcript)
23
(No Transcript)
24
Policy Evaluation is it sustainable?

• Debate
• cultural bias towards increasing supply
• controversy over how much c and e can be expected
  to accomplish