News

Ontario’s Energy and Water Reporting and Benchmarking (EWRB), Ont. Reg 506/18 Window Is Now Open for 2024! + City of Toronto By-law 367 requires EWRB reporting to the City database

The 2024 EWRB window for Ontario Regulation 506/18 is open and, for the first time, the City of Toronto requires properties to report, per Toronto By-law Chapter 367. The good news? The extra work is NOT significant.

Reporting and benchmarking building performance is the first step to managing utility costs. It provides large buildings owners an opportunity to review their building’s performance and compare how their buildings performs compared with similar buildings. Using this information can help lower operating costs, improve environmental performance and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. 

See our video below to help understand EWRB:

This new requirement for 2024, under the Toronto By-law Chapter 367, requires buildings exceeding 50,000 sqft to report 2023 Energy and Water usage by Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Buildings over 100,000 sqft must report through a licensed professional. This obligation aligns with the existing requirement under Ontario Regulation 506/18, through which building owners were already required to report energy and water data to the Province of Ontario by July 1st.

The good news is that, as Licensed Professionals, we can complete both at the same time, at no additional cost!

Energy@Work has extensive experience completing over 850 submissions to the Ministry of Energy as a Licensed Professional.


Renewable Energy and Sustainability Report 2024 by REN21

REN21, short for Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, is a global organization that serves as a platform for analyzing renewable energy benefits and potential negative impacts. This network of governments, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, industry associations, and academic institutions have worked together to develop the Sustainability report 2024. 

The report highlights that renewable energy has a smaller environmental impact compared to traditional energy sources, noting that any potential negative effects can be countered with established best practices. It further highlights the significant benefits of renewable energy, including its impact combating climate change, reducing pollution, safeguarding biodiversity, enhancing human health, ensuring access to energy, improving security, and supporting job creation.
 

Nevertheless, as mentioned 30+ times in the report, energy efficiency remains the initial step, with saving energy universally recognized as the most beneficial approach. Transitioning to an energy system based on renewables requires a reduction in total final energy consumption mainly achieved through energy efficiency and the implementation of sufficient measures.

Their goal: “enable decision-makers to make the shift to renewable energy happen – now.”

For more information and to download the full report visit: https://www.ren21.net/renewable-energy-and-sustainability-report-2024/.


Congratulations to Reza for completing the Low Carbon Training for Engineering Professionals!

Congratulations to Reza Shadrokh!

Energy@Work’s Energy Manger successfully completed the Low Carbon Training for Engineering Professionals. This course is part of the Canada Green Building Council’s (CAGBC) Low Carbon Training Program. It is designed to enhance the skills of building professionals, promoting the rapid integration of low-carbon practices. By doing so, the aim is to support emission reductions and support Canada's Climate Action Plan.

Carbon reduction is an essential objective for achieving a sustainable future, but there is a critical need to comprehend the challenges and define real and practical solutions.

Achieving the Low Carbon Training certification is yet another way Reza has proven his dedication to identifying opportunities and implementing effective solutions through the Energy Management Action Plans (E-MAPs) he manages.

Well, done Reza!


2024 BOMA Earth Hour Challenge: Share Your Strategies!

The 11th annual Earth Hour Challenge took place this past weekend, March 22nd to 25th  

The final step for participants is to submit their building interval meter data ahead of the submission deadline on April 5th at 4:00 pm.

Good luck to the participants of the 2024 BOMA Earth Hour Challenge. We look forward to seeing the results achieved!

The Earth Hour Weekend Challenge aims to foster collective efforts between landlords and tenants, encouraging the identification of operational and behavioral strategies to eliminate energy waste over the Earth Hour weekend. The Weekend Challenge’s “Top Reducer” is recognized with the Earth hour award at BOMA Toronto's annual Celebration of Excellence Gala on May 29th, 2024!

Let us know your strategies!

We would love for you to share what strategies you implemented for the 2024 Earth Hour Challenge!

Madison Property management have demonstrated their efforts year-round, keeping their ESG commitment to maintain energy efficiency, sustainability efforts, and actively participating in events like the Earth Hour Challenge.

As showcased in the Sustainability section of their 2023 newsletter, Madison is proud to promote these events in support of their on-going Energy Management Action Plan (E-MAP) program. The value of this process helps them not only towards the main goal of encouraging more sustainable practices but to maintain utility management, find opportunities for improvement and much more!

For more information about the Energy Management Action (E-MAP) results contact: requests@energy-efficiency.com


February’s Global Adjustment Mechanism (GAM)e Cost: $0.64 Billion

In February 2024, GA cost was $0.64 billion. This is a 25% decrease from January 2024 GA of $0.51 billion.

If we compare February 2024 with February 2023, it had a 22% decrease (it was $0.825 billion).

The Class B February rate was $66.32/MWh ($0.066/kWh)

The Average HOEP for February was $43.3/MWh ($0.043/kWh)

With these drastic monthly swings in cost, Energy@Work continues to ask “why?”.

We provide a monthly review of GAM costs, however, the reason for the vast cost fluctuation remains a mistery.

Energy@Work’s services include a “GAM coach”. We maintain the importance of a GAM Strategy for Class A and Class B to win the (GAM)e. Our collective savings have exceeded $10 million, and we look forward to continuing to assist.


Monthly Feature: Join Energy@Work April 25th for the EWRB Webinar: Value of Reporting- City of Toronto Energy and Water By-Law 367”

In December 2023, Toronto City Council approved Municipal Code 367 that includes new reporting requirements for buildings. Toronto’s Energy and Water Reporting By-law requires building owners to report their energy and water use to the city on an annual basis.

Join us on April 25th, 2024, from 12:00 PM to 12:45 PM, for a comprehensive session hosted by the City of Toronto Better Buildings Partnership alongside Energy@Work. We'll be exploring the intricacies of the newly introduced municipal Energy and Water Reporting and Benchmarking (EWRB) requirement. We'll cover vital background details to the comprehensive steps needed to comply to By-law 367. This is your chance to understand the value that EWRB provides and how it is aligned with Provincial reporting!