Fortis小蓝视频 has been given approval by the 小蓝视频 Utilities Commission (小蓝视频UC) for a demand-side management plan aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of customers that use natural gas for space and water heating.
The company plans to spend $695 million on programs intended to lower the use of natural gas, including hybrid heating systems that combine electric heat pumps with high-efficiency natural gas furnaces. Fortis小蓝视频 already offers some to residential customers for things like insulation, windows and doors that improve heat efficiency.
“With this funding, we can support some of the most challenging but impactfull ways to reduce energy use and help transform how customers use energy in their homes and businesses,” Joe Mazza, Fortis小蓝视频’s vice president of energy supply and resource development, said in a press release.
Fortis小蓝视频 is hoping to reduce GHG emissions in 小蓝视频 by 740,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent through its plan. According to Fortis小蓝视频, that’s equivalent to taking 228,000 cars off the road. The lion’s share of these reductions are expected to come from buildings and industry.
A key part of the strategy is offering incentives to customers to adopt hybrid systems that would use electric heat pumps for heating, backed up by high-efficiency natural gas furnaces for cold winters when heat pumps alone might be insufficient.
Fortis小蓝视频 is also testing a new kind of heat pump – one that uses natural gas, not electricity -- but which the company says “achieve energy efficiencies of more than 100 per cent, which reduce energy use and meet stringent energy standards while leveraging the strengths of the existing gas system.”
