Fortis BC recently presented the Village of Keremeos with recognition of the village’s energy saving efforts at the power utility’s 2012 PowerSense awards.
The village recently upgraded the heating system at the village municipal office, replacing an old, energy wasting unit with one sized to fit the building. A supplementary heat pump system, designed to work up to -35 C, was also added.
“It’s made a big difference to our power useage,” admitted Public Works Foreman Jordy Bosscha. He said the village also installed energy efficient lighting, in an attempt to further reduce annual energy consumption in the 100,000 kilowatt range.
Village employees are noticing the upgrades from an improved personal comfort point of view as well. The village offices are more comfortable with the improved heating system.
Keremeos began upgrades to the community’s municipal buildings three years ago, making the efficiency upgrades an annual budget priority. The program continues with similar upgrades underway at Victory Hall, which in addition to a heat pump, will also have on demand hot water systems installed in the hall.
The Okanagan Conservation Leadership winners — 45 organizations and individuals acting as leaders, catalysts, and educators — are:
City of Penticton, Interior Health Authority, Town of Summerland, School District 53 Oliver, Village of Keremeos, Overwaitea Foods, Hudson’s Bay Company, Loblaws, UBC Properties Trust, UBC Okanagan, City of Kelowna, Kelowna Toyota, Sears Canada, Orchard Park Shopping Centre, Delta Grand Hotel, Versatile Fab and Machine, Okanagan Strata Management, Northwood Retirement Resort, Pushor Mitchell Building, Interior Savings Credit Union, Sunstar Ventures.
FortisBC PowerSense Conservation Excellence Awards recognize customers who have shown a commitment to innovation, conservation and sustainability by completing energy efficiency projects that saved more than 100,000 kilowatt hours annually and reduced natural gas use by more than 10 per cent when compared to an equivalent time period in 2011.