Nine municipalities designate Municipal Energy Champions

2-minute read

Thank you to every municipality that applied to the Municipal Energy Champions program. The second cohort of the Municipal Energy Champions includes nine new municipalities.

The Municipal Energy Champions program supports small municipalities by providing free capacity-building support for developing, managing, and implementing energy management initiatives.

Participating in this program helps municipalities:

• understand the importance of energy use and management,
• better track and manage municipal energy consumption,
• move forward in the energy planning process,
• see financing options to offset the costs of energy projects,
• learn how to identify opportunities for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects,
• develop an approach for energy management initiatives.

Last January, the Action Centre delivered a pilot of the Municipal Energy Champions Program to six municipalities.

Building on the pilot’s success, the program is now being offered to nine municipalities:

1. Village of Champion
2. Town of Innisfail
3. Kneehill County
4. Village of Linden
5. Village of Longview
6. Municipal District of Peace No. 135
7. Town of Rocky Mountain House
8. Town of Slave Lake
9. Town of Westlock

Over the next six months, participating communities will receive education, technical support, and coaching to position staff as a local Municipal Energy Champion.

The program steps include:

1. Baseline assessment.
2. Energy management basics learning activity.
3. Municipal energy information collection.
4. Develop an energy profile and trend analysis.
5. Understand energy consumption in buildings.
6. Presentation on findings.
7. Implementation planning and continuing success learning activity.

These energy champions will add long-lasting capacity and identify opportunities for energy consumption reductions and cost savings for their municipality.