Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited (“Toronto Hydro”) has set off a wave of competition within the city limits. The aim is to drive energy conservation through civic pride in a race between Toronto’s 44 wards to achieve the most participation in conservation-related programs this spring and summer.

The utility is stimulating Torontonians’ civic mindedness with a new campaign dubbed Count Me In Toronto. Residents across the city can log onto www.countmeintoronto.ca. Just by registering, ‘points’ will be applied to their specific ward and they will be automatically entered into a draw for one of five MacBooks.

Actions taken from May 18 to September 6 will qualify for the Count Me In Toronto challenge. The winning ward will receive an environmentally sustainable retrofit to a public building within its civic boundaries.

At the outset of Count Me In Toronto, based on Toronto Hydro’s previous electricity-saving programs, the top five wards included: Ward 30 (Toronto-Danforth) in first place, followed by Ward 40 (Scarborough Agincourt), Ward 1 (Etobicoke North), Ward 13 (Parkdale-High Park) and Ward 29 (Toronto-Danforth).

Based on data gathered at the close of week one of Count Me In Toronto (May 18 – 24), the new top five ward ranking is: Ward 44 (Scarborough East) in first place, followed by Ward 41 (Scarborough – Rouge River), Ward 42 (Scarborough – Rouge River), Ward 3 (Etobicoke Centre) and Ward 24 (Willowdale).

To help spur Torontonians into further action, Toronto Hydro is now encouraging residents to take advantage of the Keep Cool program. In partnership with the Clean Air Foundation, Keep Cool is returning for its fifth year on June 6. Torontonians who bring in their old, inefficient air conditioners to The Home Depot to be responsibly recycled, will receive a $25 Home Depot gift card. New in 2009, Keep Cool will also reward Torontonians with a $10 gift card to those who bring in an old, inefficient dehumidifier. The program will run in Toronto-area The Home Depots for the first three weekends in June.

FACTS

• According to a recent Leger Marketing survey commissioned by Toronto Hydro, 87 per cent of Torontonians would like to see more energy conservation activities in their ward, and yet only 31 per cent of respondents could identify the ward in which they live. To find out which ward they live in or find out where their ward stands, Toronto residents can visit www.countmeintoronto.ca.
• There are currently over one million older room or window air conditioning units in Ontario homes. Each one of these units generates 1.3 tonnes of carbon dioxide yearly contributing an estimated total of well over one million tonnes of carbon dioxide to the environment, a significant contributor to climate change. These older units are also often rusty or eroding which means they could also be emitting harmful refrigerants into the air we breathe.
• Older air conditioning units are significantly less efficient than newer models. In fact, an older unit uses between 30 and 70 per cent more energy than a newer, efficient ENERGY STAR model. By switching to one of these newer models, consumers can cut their monthly cooling expenses in half. Similarly, depending on the size and capacity, older dehumidifiers use between 10 and 23 percent more energy to remove the same amount of moisture as new ENERGY STAR dehumidifiers.
• Due to the inefficiency of older models, the demand on electricity production in the summer time increases dramatically. In turn, the use of fossil fuels soars to produce energy in Ontario increasing the emission of smog precursors including nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and pesticides.

The Count Me In Toronto website has been designed in a fun and user-friendly format. Customers will be able to learn about all the ways to earn points such as:

• signing up for the peaksaver® program;
• taking part in the Great Refrigerator Roundup program;
• returning old room air conditioners and dehumidifiers; and
• installing other energy-saving devices like power bars with timers.