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City savings earn awards
Christchurch City Council has won top
honours at this year’s EnergyWise Awards for its
energy saving and sustainability efforts, notching
up $12.2 million in savings since 1995. The winners were announced in Auckland
last Thursday evening. Heather Staley, Chief
Executive of the Energy Efficiency and
Conservation Authority (EECA), says the
EnergyWise Award winners are leaders in
sustainable business and show that energy
efficiency saves money. “Christchurch City Council’s huge savings
were achieved with an investment of just
$4.2m. The Council’s energy management
efforts are reflected across the entire
organisation whether it’s swimming pools, art
galleries, libraries, water treatment plants,
street lighting or rental housing.” CCC won the Supreme Award and the
Sustained Achievement Award and Council
Energy Manager Leonid Itskovich was joint
winner of the Outstanding Energy
Management Award. As well, Orion NZ, the
ratepayer-owned energy company, won the
Transpower Energy Supplier Award. Orion cut its peak load by 160MW in 2000-
2001, and slowed the increase in customer
demand from 2.5 per cent to less than 1% a
year. Orion also helped insulate about 5000
Christchurch homes, reducing electricity
demand for heating. “Energy efficiency makes good business
sense,” Ms Stanley says. “A reduction in
energy use is better for the environment. The
projects implemented by this year’s
EnergyWise award finalists have saved
750,000 tonnes of CO2 from being emitted
into the environment.” |