South Frontenac Council -
Jan 22/09
By Jeff Green
Energy matters dominate
quiet meeting
Meeting for the second
week in a row, South Frontenac Council had very little business to
attend to other than considering an Official Plan amendment and a
road closing application in the public meeting portion of the agenda.
In terms of regular
business, the only issues of consequence were two proposals by the
Chief Building Official, Alan Revill, regarding energy use.
In a report, Revill
proposed that the township join a bulk energy buying co-op called
Local Authority Services (LAS) which is a subsidiary of the
Association of Municipalities of Ontario. Joining LAS would protect
the township from the impacts of changes to energy pricing that are
coming on stream on May 1 of this year.
As of that date, Revill
wrote, “Ontario municipalities will no longer be protected by
energy price regulation and will be subject to hourly pricing based
on time of day consumption.” By contracting with LAS, the township
could see lower bills, and would be able to accurately budget for the
cost of power because the price would be fixed. In order to join the
program the township would be required to have a load profile done by
LAS at a cost of $750.
Chief Administrative
Officer Gord Burns said that he had “signed up to LAS many years
ago with another municipality and each year we ended up saving
money.”
Council considered a
motion to pay for the $750 load profile and sign on for the next
available bulk purchase with LAS.
“I agree with the load
profile but I think we shouldn’t sign up unless the load profile
shows that it is in our interest,” said Councillor Ron Vandewal.
The motion was approved,
with Vandewal casting a dissenting vote.
LED light bulbs –
Revill informed Council, again through a written report, that he
is going ahead with switching to 1 watt LED bulbs from 15 watt
incandescent bulbs in the exit signs at all township buildings,
including fire halls. The up front cost of the LED bulbs is $12, but
the energy savings are significant.
Revill reported that
there is a “payback period of 8 months” on the $12 purchase of
the bulbs, “so the savings in the first year will be modest.”
The LED bulbs are
projected to last 11.4 years, but that timeframe has not been tested.
Even if the bulbs only last 5.5 years, the energy savings for the 16
bulbs in the Sydenham office alone would be over $1,400.
Not bad for an investment
of $192.
