Join the Power Pledge 2010 Community Challenge

The City of Burlington was one of many communities taking part in the Power Pledge Community Challenge. The challenge took place until August 11, 2010.

What is the Power Pledge Community Challenge?
The Rewards
Why should I participate?
When and where will the results be announced?
How do I participate in the Pledge Drive?
What is the City doing on August 11?
What can you do at work or home on August 11?
What can you do at work or home on any day? 
Results - How did the City of Burlington do in the competition?
For more information about energy conservation programs


What is the Power Pledge Community Challenge?

The Power Pledge is a community competition for contributing to the fight against climate change by using electricity more efficiently and reducing plug in loads. The competition consists of two mutually exclusive challenges:

• Highest per capita Power Pledges in a community until August 11, 2010 (Participation Category)
• Highest percentage drop in electricity consumption in a community on challenge day August 11, 2010 between 8 am – 8 pm (Mega Watt Reduction Category)

The Power Pledge campaign is developed by the Ontario Power Authority and co-sponsored by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Canada. In the past the Power Pledge was called Count Me In! Community Challenge. The name change was affected to better reflect the nature of the competition. The campaign organizers are determined to stick with “The Power Pledge” name for a number of years in the future. Top

The Rewards

Each individual pledger would receive 20 Air Miles reward miles and an additional 10 Air Miles donated to a participating charity of choice (WWF Canada, Special Olympics Canada and Kids Help Phone).

Furthermore, the community winning the highest per capita pledges in its size challenge shall win a $ 10,000 renewable energy award which would go towards a local green energy project.

The community achieving the highest percentage drop in electricity competition on August 11 shall win the prestigious Woodstock cup (named honour of the community that started this annual competition several years ago). Top

Why should I participate?

Most of our energy is currently produced using fossil fuels which contributes to smog and climate change. Conserving energy reduces greenhouse gases emitted from the fossil fuel burning generating stations. There are simple actions people can take every day to conserve energy and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and in many cases these changes will also save them money. Top

When and where would the results be announced?

Results will be announced at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario Annual Conference in Windsor Aug 16, 2010. Top

How do I participate in the pledge drive?

Participating is easy and there are 20 AIR MILES to be won!!

• Type powerpledge.ca/burlington
• Click on the appropriate ‘Goals’ sections.
• Go to the bottom of the page and click on ‘Pledge Now!’ button.
• Fill in the pledge form. The mandatory fields are your name, postal code, and ‘How did you hear about The Power Pledge?’ **Note the postal code is very important as that is how the community participation rate is being tracked (make sure it’s a Burlington postal code!)**
• Once you register you will be sent a confirmation email which you must reply to. Note: you can also send email invitations to friends, family and coworkers to encourage them to participate. Top

Alternately

• You could drop in at a Power Pledge Booth to take the Power Pledge and speak to a Burlington Hydro representative on site.
• On taking the Power Pledge you are further eligible to pick up your choice of free energy conservation night lights and other available freebies at the Power Pledge Booth.
• Power Pledge Stations have been set up at the following locations and times: Top

What is the City doing on August 11?

City staff are planning similar initiatives as we have carried out in the past on Count Me In! Community Challenge Day and during Earth Hour. Unlike Earth Hour though, the competition on August 11^th runs for 12 hours between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.

A checklist of specific measures for corporate facilities has been created based on previous challenge experiences.

Where possible, we will turn off, unplug or reduce the use of unnecessary equipment. Examples may include:

• Lighting
• Arena refrigeration plants (compressors, condensers, brine pumps, etc.)
• Exhaust fans/air handlers and heaters in viewing stands
• Vending machines
• Raising air conditioner settings
• Any specialty equipment that may be in your facility Top

What can you do at work or home on August 11?

• Sign up for the Power Pledge! and challenge your friends and family to do the same.
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator, where possible.
• Turn off lights and electronic equipment when not in use.
• If your office is near a window, consider turning the lights off.
• Postpone unnecessary use of electronic equipment to another day.
• Unplug chargers when not in use and don’t leave home equipment on standby for long periods of time.
• Plan an outdoor no cook pot luck with your neighbours. Look for recipes online.
• Instead of watching television or playing video games, go outside and play ball or go for a walk or a bicycle ride. Top

What can you do at work or home on any day?

• Use Energy Star rated appliances and equipment where possible.
• Become laundry smart. Wash full loads of laundry in cold water and dry clothes outdoors.
• Use the smallest appliance to complete a task.
• Get a home energy audit and act on the results.
• Get rid of the old energy guzzling fridge/freezer through the Great Refrigerator Roundup program (if you qualify, your fridge/freezer will be picked up free of charge).
• Make you heating and cooling equipment work more efficiently. Properly program your thermostat. Sign up for the peaksaver^TM program and be rewarded with $25.
• Use ceiling fans instead of air conditioners.
• Turn off lights and electronic equipment when not in use.
• Fight phantom load – unplug home electronics that draw on power even when they are turned off.
• Install energy efficient lighting.
• Consider what else can be done within your home and workplace to encourage behaviour change to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Top 

Results - How did the City of Burlington do in the competition?

The Power Pledge Community Challenge was supported by almost 90 Ontario communities representing 82 percent of Ontarians.  The Power Pledge Community Challenge is one element of a five-month conservation awareness campaign organized by the Ontario Power Authority and sponsored by World Wildlife Canada.  The Power Pledge competition consisted of two mutually exclusive challenges:

1. Highest per capita Power Pledges in a community till August 11, 2010 (Participation Category)
2. Highest percentage drop in electricity consumption in a community on Challenge day August 11, 2010 (Megawatt Reduction Category).

Participation Category Results:

Municipalities were divided in four categories by population size for the competition. 
(1) <10,000
(2) 10,000 to 75,000
(3) >75,000 (City of Burlington)
(4) Regions

Burlington came in third in its category, behind Whitby and Thunder Bay, on a per capita basis. 

Further, Halton Region stood first in the Regions Category with 7045 pledges.  Burlington contributed more than 2650 of those 7045 pledges.

Halton Region includes Oakville, Milton, Halton Hills and Burlington. (Top)

Megawatt Reduction Category Results:

Burlington was amongst the Top Ranked Communities able to reduce its electricity consumption by 1.1% on the community challenge day August 11. 

Halton Hills reduced its electricity consumption by 1.9% and was higher in the Top Ranked Communities list.

Communities mentioned in the Other Participating Communities list included:

1. Whitby
2. Thunder Bay
3. Oakville
4. Milton (Top)

For more information about energy conservation programs:

• Check out Burlington Hydro’s website www.burlingtonhydro.com. If you don’t live in Burlington, look up your local utility online.

• A list of programs and subsidies to encourage energy conservation are listed on the city’s website under Living in Burlington (Environment).

For more information on the City of Burlington and the Power Pledge Challenge, please call Shahid Naeem, Coordinator - Project Management – Energy at 905-335-7600 ext. 7354 or e-mail naeems@burlington.ca. Top

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Earlier challenges

Interest in energy conservation peaked in August 2003 following a blackout that affected 50 million people in Ontario and the northeastern states. To mark the second anniversary, the Woodstock Environmental Advisory Committee and Woodstock Hydro challenged the City of Woodstock to participate in a Voluntary Blackout Day on Sunday, August 14, 2005. The result was a 4% reduction in energy usage and almost a 5% reduction in peak demand for the day.

Woodstock City Council extended a friendly challenge to all municipalities in the Province of Ontario to join Woodstock and surpass a reduction of 4% electricity consumption within their respective communities on Sunday, August 13, 2006. The City of Burlington accepted the challenge. Former Mayor MacIsaac chose to participate on Monday, August 14, 2006 to provide an opportunity for businesses to participate.

On Monday, August 14, 2006, Burlington residents and employers were also encouraged to follow basic conservation tips including increasing air conditioning settings, using ceiling fans, closing drapes and blinds, turning off unnecessary lights, using a microwave oven instead of the stove, washing clothes in cold water, installing compact fluorescent lights, filling dishwashers and washing machines to capacity, etc.

On September 15, 2006, the Ontario Conservation Bureau's Chief Conservation Officer announced the winners at a ceremony in Woodstock and recognized and thanked all municipalities and those customers who so eagerly embraced this challenge. The City of Windsor won the challenge by reducing their energy usage by 4.4%. Burlington achieved a reduction of 1.2%. It should be noted however that Burlington was the only municipality to run the challenge on a Monday to allow industries and businesses to participate while in full operation. All other municipalities participated on a Sunday.

The City of Burlington was one of many communities taking part in the Count Me In! Community Challenge in 2009. The Count Me In! Community Challenge was comprised of two challenges: the highest per capita participation in the Count Me In! pledge drive until 8 p.m. on August 14^th; and the highest percentage drop in electricity consumption on August 14^th (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.). 

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