A new initiative aimed at reducing energy use in Ontario’s health care sector has launched.

The HealthCare Energy Leaders Ontario (HELO) initiative is deploying account managers to eligible Ontario health care facilities to provide on-site energy reduction assistance.

The program is funded by the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) as part of a province-wide program that provides resources to electricity consumers through sector-based organizations. It is a partnership between the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care, the Ontario Chapter of the Canadian Healthcare Engineering Society and ICF Marbek.

“The opportunity for conservation and demand management within the hospital sector is vast,” says the Coalition’s executive director, Linda Varangu. “We feel that our goal is in perfect alignment with the OPA’s: to have health care facilities realize energy savings as soon as possible, and assist in inciting a change in business culture from one of consumption to that of conservation and demand management.”

The project team consulted with health care stakeholders and energy management colleagues in Ontario over a five month period to create the initiative.

Electricity makes up about 30 per cent of energy used in the sector, but the high price of electricity demands more than half of a typical energy budget. Natural gas and other heating fuels make up the remainder. ICF Marbek suggests that hospitals in Ontario’s 14 Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) could reduce electricity consumption by about eight per cent. Use of natural gas could achieve even higher savings.

“Every dollar and every kilowatt counts for Ontario’s hospitals that are always seeking new and innovative opportunities to become more efficient, improve their operations and reduce operating costs,” says Anthony Dale, president and CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association. “This approach extends to minimizing their environmental footprint.”