Rethinking Energy Conservation in Ontario – Results:Education Sector Conservation Benchmarking
| In November, 2010, the ECO released volume 2 of its Annual Report on the progress of activities in Ontario to reduce or make more efficient use of electricity, natural gas, propane, oil and transportation fuels. Click here for more information on this report, including videos and communications materials. | |||||
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With nearly 5,000 school buildings across the province occupying 280 million square feet, the energy bill for Ontario’s elementary and secondary schools for the 2008/2009 academic year (September 2008 to August 2009) was $372 million. The potential for energy conservation is considerable.
The Ministry of Education’s Energy Conservation Initiative, which started in 2008, launched several projects intended to reduce energy consumption by focusing on building management capacity in the education sector. A key project is the ministry’s creation of a Utility Consumption Database (UCD) that will collect and track data for electricity and natural gas use in all schools and board buildings across the province. Starting in August 2009, the UCD is being rolled out over a two-year period.
The ministry intends to analyze the data to identify high- and low-performing facilities, determine a provincial energy use benchmark for the sector based on a common reporting methodology and work with the sector to identify best practices in setting school board conservation targets. The responsibility for setting targets resides with each school board. A notional target of a 10 per cent reduction in energy use in the education sector over five years was considered in 2008. According to the ministry, that target is no longer relevant due to the lack of energy consumption data available. Data from the UCD will help determine any future targets set.
To support school boards in building management capacity, the ministry is also conducting operational reviews for all district school boards. The reviews cover all areas of school board operations, including energy management. One of the leading practices identified by the reviews was for boards to develop a multi-year energy management plan that incorporates measures to be implemented and the tools to monitor and manage the plan. Once operational reviews are completed for all school boards, the ministry plans to issue a final report outlining the key findings and progress made in adopting best practices.
The government has also introduced the Energy Efficient Schools Funding initiative, providing school boards with $550 million in funds over two years. Funding is available for investments in operational efficiency (e.g., energy audits, lighting systems), replacement of major building components (e.g., heating and cooling systems), and renovations and retrofits to replace energy inefficient portables or improve underutilized schools. The ministry intends to examine the energy impact of these investments on conservation by tracking results through the UCD.
Results
The Utility Consumption Database is at an early stage of implementation and is in the process of being rolled out to all school boards. Once the database is established, the ministry expects energy consumption benchmarks for school boards to be developed by the 2011/2012 school year. School boards will be responsible for developing energy management plans, setting energy conservation targets and reporting conservation savings. The ECO will monitor the development of the Energy Conservation Initiative, including the progress on benchmarking and target setting in the education sector, for inclusion in future reports.
Issues and ECO Comment
The ECO commends the Ministry of Education for the steps it has taken towards improving the energy efficiency of Ontario’s schools. In particular, the ECO is encouraged to see that the ministry is tracking baseline data and energy consumption for all schools through the Utility Consumption Database from which meaningful targets can then be set.
In response to an information request made by the ECO, the ministry indicated that there is limited and controlled access to the UCD. The ECO believes that Ontario residents should have unrestricted ability to view the performance of school boards and schools. The ECO believes that the ministry should make the database publicly accessible, and urges the ministry to provide annual reports on energy efficiency in schools.
