Toronto, May 28, 2007—In a supplement to his 2006 Annual Report, Peter Love, Ontario’s Chief Energy Conservation Officer today reports that Ontarians are well on their way to achieving the province’s short-term conservation target of reducing peak electricity demand by 1,350 megawatts (MW) by the end of 2007.

Love reports that programs, delivered through to the end of 2006 by the provincial government, the Chief Energy Conservation Officer, the Ontario Power Authority and local distribution companies, have achieved peak energy savings of 1,080 MW.

“I’m pleased with the results to date—this is a good start to using a precious resource wisely, saving money, and helping the environment,” said Love. “But we have a long way to go and we have a long hot summer ahead of us. Watch for a variety of summer conservation programs: The Great Refrigerator Roundup, a residential & small commercial demand response program called peaksaver, Summer Savings and Every Kilowatt Counts—they are your tickets to conserving electricity.”

Highlights from the Supplement:

• Ontario’s electricity consumers have reduced peak demand by approximately 1,080 megawatts to the end of 2006, including 350 megawatts of naturally occurring conservation. 
• The five Ontario Power Authority-coordinated conservation programs delivered in 2006 resulted in annual savings of 378 million kilowatt-hours and a reduction in the summer peak demand of approximately 110 megawatts. 
• Ontario’s local distribution companies reported achieving substantial electricity savings, including approximately 140 megawatts of peak-demand reduction and lifetime savings of 3.5 billion kilowatt-hours.
• Amendments to the Ontario Building Code, announced in June 2006, increased energy-efficiency requirements and will save Ontario an estimated 550 megawatts of electricity over the next eight years. 
• The Ozone Depleting Substances regulation, passed in 2006, will phase out remaining uses of chlorofluorocarbons in large refrigeration and air conditioning equipment and chillers, which could save between 50 and 175 megawatts of electricity.