Dear Editor,
I recently read a letter in your newspaper from a person who had a negative experience with our Residential No-Charge Energy Savings Program. We strive to provide an excellent experience for all Albertans who participate in our programs, and it seems in this case, we fell short. For that I apologize. However, we truly do value feedback we receive on our performance, and we continually work to improve our programs and the experience of the people we serve based on what we hear.
The Albertans who have been hired as installers for our programs have become great ambassadors and educators on energy efficiency – and we are proud of the customer satisfaction score for our installers: an average of 4.93/5. There are 250 Albertans working full time on the Residential No-Charge Energy Savings program as installers, schedulers and call centre operators. This summer we introduced a dedicated outbound calling team working evenings and weekends to schedule upcoming installations, with a dedicated call back number so program participants receive quick attention when they need it.
In addition to the Residential No-Charge Energy Savings Program, we offer three other programs, which together are projected to create 1,300 new private-sector jobs in Alberta’s growing energy efficiency sector. Since we began offering energy efficiency programs in March, Albertans all across the province have embraced energy efficiency, with over 150,000 households enrolling in our Residential No-Charge Energy Savings Program alone – that’s over 12 per cent of all Alberta single family households. This level of interest from Albertans exceeded all expectations for participation, money and energy saved, and greenhouse gas emission reductions.
The 150,000 enrollments will equate to Albertans saving nearly 1 million gigajoules of energy annually, and a reduction of more than 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. That’s the equivalent of taking 10,000 cars off Alberta roads, or enough energy for 5,300 homes for a year. Participating Albertans will also have saved almost four million cubic meters of water: enough to fill 1,600 Olympic swimming pools. Without a doubt, our programs are making an impact.
We’re a brand new provincial agency, and as we continue to ramp up operations we will offer new and different programs for Albertans to participate in to save energy and money. We encourage people to visit our website to stay up to date on current program offerings, and we’re excited to continue to help Albertans incorporate energy efficiency in their homes, businesses and lives.
Sincerely,
Darlene Crowell
Energy Efficiency Alberta
