Saving Water, Energy and Money - Annual Report 2015

Water Conservation

Water conservation extends the life of municipal infrastructure, allows for population growth, and reduces the cost of treating and pumping water and sewage. Our water conservation programs empower families and businesses to save money, reduce the environmental impact of utility services, and protect their homes from flooding.

2015 Achievements

Water Conservation 2015 — In 2015, we funded projects that save 33,626 cubic metres of treated sewer and water volumes (enough to supply 168 average residential customers). Since 2011, customers saved 373,784 treated water and sewage volume (that supplies 1869 average residential customers for a year). We invested $93,512 in commercial incentives towards $472,000 in local conservation projects yielding 26,107 cubic metres of annual water savings. That's enough to supply 130 average residential customers with water and sewer services for five years.

2015 Rain Barrel Program

Did you know that your plants prefer rain water? Rain barrels help protect the environment by reducing treated water used for plants and lawns, and diverting storm water from the sewer system. They help conserve energy because less water and wastewater needs to be treated and pumped.

In its tenth year, our rain barrel program continues to be popular with our community. Watch our video to learn more.

Program results:

Rain Barrels in 2015 — Delivered 650 rain barrels to customers, that's 9400 since 2006. This saves 19,780 cubic metres of water (since 2006), supplying 100 average residential customers.

Water Conservation Garden

Featuring native, water smart plants and sustainable gardening tips, this beautiful space provides public education on how to use less treated water on lawns and gardens during summer peak consumption times, while you’re enjoying a beautiful, low maintenance garden. Here's what we did in 2015:

We’d love to see you at our award-winning water-wise garden! Watch this video to learn the three simple steps to water smart gardening that can help you save water, time and money. Then, join us in the summer months for a free tour of the conservation garden and children’s activities, weekdays at 10:30 AM.

Electricity Conservation

Conservation is the cleanest and least costly way to increase electricity system capacity, while empowering customers to manage their electricity use and save money. It can extend the useful life of existing infrastructure and reduce the environmental impact of electricity distribution. By helping customers access grants and incentives for conservation investments from provincial saveONenergy programs, Utilities Kingston actively invests in making local businesses more competitive and local homes more affordable to live in.

Utilities Kingston’s conservation team and our customers have helped Kingston Hydro become one of only five Ontario electricity distribution companies to exceed its Ontario Energy Board mandated 2014 electricity consumption and demand targets.
In 2015, we filed our final report towards the Conservation and Demand Management Strategy for 2011-2014
We’re pleased that our 2015-2020 conservation plan was approved by the Independent Electricity System Operator in late 2015, and look forward to serving our customers with new ways to save water, energy and money.

CDM Results - 2011-2014 — In 2015 we filed 2011-2014 results for conservation and demand management, We were one of five Ontario utilities to exceed 2014 energy and demand targets. We achieved 124% of energy savings targets - enough to power 5,714 households for a year. We achieved 113% of our demand reduction target - enough to supply 7% of summer peak. We thank our customers for investing in energy conservation.

Personalized, Powerful, Insights

Over the winter and spring of 2015, we piloted Powerful Insights, using smart meter data to provide customers with personalized, mailed reports about their household energy consumption. Reports included targeted conservation advice and coupons, specific to the household’s energy behaviours.

Electricity customers, look for your personalized Powerful Insights in the mail in 2016! In 2015 we:

Powerful Insights in 2015 — Provided 9,000 customers with Powerful Insight Reports. These customers used 2% less energy than a control group who did not receive reports. This saved energy to power 100 average residential customers for a year.

Proud to be Part of the Community

A rewarding part of our job is providing one-on-one assistance to help customers save water, energy and money. When someone calls with concerns about the amount of their utility bill, we counsel them on ways to reduce their utility consumption and save money.

For our commercial and multi-residential customers, we offer free, on-site energy and water conservation walk-throughs, in addition to free, one-on-one phone consultations or online help. Personal interactions are the best way for us to learn how we can help. We’re especially proud to combine electricity, water, and gas conservation consultations in one visit or one phone call to deliver better customer service and cost-effectiveness.

Here's how our conservation team engaged our community over the past year:

Conservation Outreach in 2015 — 5500 customers use MyUtilities to better understand their utility use. Over 2000 customers received one-on-one conservation advice from an expert. We attended 24 community events, providing tools and advice to save water and energy. At these events, we delivered 2500 water and energy conservation kits, 320 children's educational activity books, 1800 informational fridge magnets, 10000 saveONenergy coupons, 300 reusable water bottles, 3200 water-saving shower timers and 3100 conservation tote bags.

For one-on-one assistance to help save water, energy and money, contact our experts at 613-546-0000, and say ‘conservation’.