Scott Hayes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter | [email protected]
The municipal energy manager offered his assessment of the energy usage at Municipality of Jasper facilities during the council meeting held on Sept. 13.
鈥淲e're trying to build an energy management plan, and we're trying to follow principles of strategic energy management,鈥� Faraz Khan said.
鈥淏ut then there's the other part of it, which is actually looking at practices and policies. How can we make energy management integrate with the way we function and operate, so it is a part of the way we do business?鈥�
Khan works for both Jasper and Hinton to help the two communities not only determine the energy use in their facilities but manage it and become more energy efficient as well.
One way to increase energy efficiency, he said, is to identify steps that can be taken that will result in quantifiable savings of natural gas or electrical energy use.
The actual assessment was conducted on 12 different management areas in mid-July and was attended by several of the municipality鈥檚 directors as well as the chief administrative officer and the communications manager. It was facilitated by CLEAResult, which offers the technical support for the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre (MCCAC). The municipal energy manager position is, in turn, established by the MCCAC.
Khan looked at energy management practices and discussed ways that they could be improved.
In his report to council, he offered his evaluation of the current state of Jasper鈥檚 energy use, tabulated at 57 per cent. That figure looks at the municipality鈥檚 current status versus its ideal energy management by rating where it currently stands, what targets should be set and what goals ought to be reached by next year.
鈥淭hese goals are not necessarily what we are planning to be at for the long term, but they are realistic and where we want to be a year from now when we look forward,鈥� Khan said.
鈥淎nd then the action items that go along with the report help us reach that goal that we've identified where we want to be.鈥�
That number is actually a median score for participants in the Municipal Energy Manager Program, he said. It demonstrates the municipality鈥檚 strong inclination towards improved energy usage, stating that it is 鈥渆mbracing growth and is motivated to achieve its goals in energy management,鈥� according to his presentation.
There were 21 action items that were recommended by CLEAResult in order for the municipality to bring its rating up to 100 per cent. Opportunities to increase employee engagement were identified as well.
The first item on the plan is to share energy management program progress through key performance indicators with management, employees and council members, all while engaging employees to participate in energy efficiency and sustainability.
That action was slated for the fourth quarter of 2022, followed by promoting success stories and formalizing a recognition process for Jasper鈥檚 energy team members and employees who contribute to energy efficiency improvements in early 2023.
