The township is aiming to reduce municipal consumption of fuel and electricity by an average of 2 per cent per year between now and 2020.
That’s the overall target of a new energy management plan approved by Mapleton council at its June 10 meeting.
The Green Energy Act requires municipalities to report on their energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions annually, and to develop and implement energy conservation and demand management plans starting this year, and reporting every five years.
The plan does not have to be submitted to the ministry for approval but it must be made publicly available.
“We will continue to update and change the plan as necessary to meet the township needs and the province’s requirements,” stated finance director Yufang Du in a report to council.
Du said the policy aims to incorporate energy efficiency into all areas of township activity including organizational and human resources management procedures, procurement practices, financial management, investment decisions, facility operations and maintenance.
“We will develop a purchasing policy to ensure that energy conservation and efficiency is a key factor in any new equipment purchasing and facility updates,” Du stated in her report.
“We will develop corporate-wide policy to engage employees in taking energy saving actions in the workplace.”
Objectives outlined in the plan include:
– implementing energy audits on all municipal facilities in the next five years;
– improving the energy efficiency of facilities by utilizing best practices;
– better analyzing energy costs and seeking savings opportunities; and
– utilizing available funding incentives to improve energy efficiency.
The report notes Mapleton has already made some progress in the area of energy efficiency. Between 2011 and 2013, the township reduced energy consumption by 5.5% and greenhouse gas emissions by 4.8%.
Council approved the energy management plan, and a resolution committing to “allocate the necessary resources to develop and implement a strategic energy management plan that will reduce our energy consumption and its related environmental impact.”
Councillor Mike Downey questioned the financial ramifications of the commitment.
“‘Allocate the necessary resources’ – does that mean we will supply a blank cheque?” he wondered.
“I’m not sure it goes as far as committing dollars. It’s staff time” and other resources, replied Mayor Bruce Whale
Du suggested many of the measures in the plan would result in savings, rather than costs.
“A lot of projects here, in the long run we are saving money,” she pointed out.
CAO Patty Sinnamon said implementing the plans and passing the resolution are provincial requirements.
“That’s the wording that the province gives you,” she said.
“Are they going down the aisle with us spending the money?” asked Downey.
Du pointed out having an energy management plan in place could become a requirement for future provincial funding programs, similar to the asset management plans municipalities were recently required to prepare.
Whale said approving the plan would not compel the township to spend money without council approving future projects individually.
“I think we know the intent. We know that they are going to be reviewed on an ongoing basis … to say that it’s just going to be automatic in the budget, I would say that’s not likely going to happen,” said Whale.
“In each area I think a more detailed report would come back looking at the cost benefit.”
Councillor Jim Curry said, “The bottom line is the government is not going to go through these at all. It’s basically a benchmark for the township to use going forward to monitor themselves …
“What we put in here needs to be accurate, but nobody’s going to hold us to capitalization.”
