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10 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday February 23, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com Schools and Hydro plugging into program By Tim Whitnell SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Halton's two major school boards have a plan to take some of the shock out of their escalating electricity bills. Armed with the promise of $90,000 in funding for the next three years from the region's four electrical utilities, the Halton public and Catholic boards are embark- ing on a venture to educate staff and students about energy consumption. The Conservation Education and Demand Management Program is a three-year partnership coordinated by the Halton Learning Foundation --the fundraising body of the Halton District School Board -- involving the Halton public and Catholic school boards and the four HOPEDALE MONTESSORI SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE · Ages 18 months - 6 years · We offer snacks, lunches, before and after school programs · Limited spaces available · 5 day, 3 day & 1/2 day programs also available · A team of qualified, trained staff, to nurture Strong emph as and educate your child placed on read is ing, · A Montessori Program enhanced with many writing and creative activities, a music program mathematics and french program LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER FOR MORE INFORMATION REGARDING ENROLLMENT PLEASE CALL (905) 847-1165 BRIGHT LIGHTS: David Collie, president and CEO of Burlington Hydro, shows Ron Ballentine, co-ordinator of Science and Technology and Environmental Education, the new, high-energy efficient fluorescent lighting at Alexander Elementary School at the launch of the new electricity conservation program. FINAL CLEARANCE SALE European Engineering Combined With Traditional Workmanship "Building on the Brightest Ideas Around Glass" 905.849.0266 Gas Fireplace Repair and Installations We Service & Carry Parts for the following when we arrive at your door: Insta-Flame, Valor, Napoleon, Regency, Majestic, Heat-N-Glow, Heatolator, Selkirk, Vermont Casting, Osburn & Many Other Brands % LIMITED TIME OFFER. V I S I T W W W. F R E E D M A N S H O E S . C O M NOW OPEN OAKVILLE PL ACE Problem Solving since 1982 Experience is the difference! E-MAIL: scott@gasfix.ca 240 Leighland Ave. Telephone: 905-842-3418 905-845-0701 local distribution companies (LDCs) that provide electricity to the region -- Burlington Hydro, Halton Hills Hydro, Milton Hydro and Oakville Hydro Energy Services. The goal is to develop and implement strategies that result in significant reductions in electricity consumption within Halton's schools. Using a combination of existing Ontario EcoSchools resources and modified and new resources, the program will provide information and training to enable school staff to identify and carry out actions that are intended to produce savings both financially and environmentally. Halton public board business superintendent Steven Parfeniuk said they have budgeted $3 million for the board's electrical costs during the current school year. The forecast was to consume 49,100 megawatts (49 billion, 100 million watts) of power during 2006-07. "Our across-the-board costs for electricity are going up 5-10 per cent per year," noted Parfeniuk. He said spikes in electricity costs have been tempered somewhat by the board's membership in a power-buying consortium of 46 Ontario school boards. Parfeniuk said he didn't know enough about the new board-wide program to speculate on anticipated savings but said the game plan is simple. "The number one thing we can all do to save energy is turn the lights off." If you're energy-conscious at home -- "Take that attitude to your workplace," he said. One aspect of the new energy conservation program is a `Haltonized' guide being distributed to the project's stakeholders, said Ron Ballentine, the Halton public board's co-ordinator of science and technology, and environmental education. The guide contains provincial research statistics and Halton public board figures for 2005-06 concerning electrical usage, primarily via computer monitors and general lighting. Websites, posters and stickers are also part of the training and information being made available to school staff. "Everything we do environmentally we do it together," Ballentine said of the two Halton school boards. He said the boards will have equitable access to the multi-year funding from the local utilities. "It depends on the need each year, (but) we have identified what to work on first. Building (environmental control) automation systems aren't new but the modifications and additions to the equipment, the new software or techniques, are." Burlington's newest elementary school, Alexander's P.S. on Sutton Drive, was the site of the program's recent launch. Representatives of the region's four hydro distributors took part in an interactive session, a workshop and a school tour. Alexander's is one of the new generation of schools, with savings expected See Not page 16