Electricity

How Will Canada’s Coal-Fired Electricity Phase Out Affect Consumers?

parkpower · 21 November 2016 · Leave a Comment Consumer Info, Electricity, Interesting

Canada’s coal-fired electricity phase out plan, announced Nov 21, 2016, will of course have effects on consumers. Will Canadian citizens and businesses be able to handle the increased utility costs? Yes.

I would like to give consumers on Canadian (an in particular Albertan) electricity markets some context about our costs for electricity. Canada as a whole offers consumers some of the lowest electricity rates in the world.

The graph below shows 2015 average prices (in $US cents/kWh) of various nations around the world. source

Canada offered the 3rd lowest rates of the group sampled and at 7.23 cents/kWh was more than 50% lower than the top 2 nations. Alberta in the meantime has been experiencing market prices for electricity even lower than that. Throughout 2015 Park Power’s Floating Rate offering was in the 4-5 cents/kWh range.

In 2016 Alberta’s wholesale electricity has been trading at consistently record low prices which has reflected in our Floating Rates.

Now that you have some context, hopefully you will see that the phase out of coal-fired electricity in Canada, and Alberta, will not be a crippling provision placed on our economy. In all likelihood, in a few years electricity prices will return to where they were a few years ago. Yes more expensive than they are now but loads cheaper than the rest of the world.

I believe that Canada’s marketplace will be able to handle any increased costs associated with a price on carbon and a coal-fired electricity phase out and will benefit from the reduction in emissions that will come along with both.

In the meantime consumers can get off their old rate plans and take advantage of the savings offered by Park Power

Preparing Your Home for Alberta Winters

parkpower · 7 October 2016 · Leave a Comment Consumer Info, Electricity, Interesting

Here are some great tips for preparing your home for Alberta winters.

We found them at Energy Saver, U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) consumer resource on saving energy and using renewable energy technologies at home.

Follow these tips to put in some work now to reduce your energy bills over the winter months.

1. CLEAN OUT THE GUTTERS

All the leaves and grime that you neglected while you were out swimming, hiking, or riding your bicycle this summer have built up in your gutters. If left full of debris, clogged gutters and drains can form ice dams that prevent your drainage systems from working properly. This can lead to water seeping into your home, which—as seen in the Conquering Moisture blog—can lead to all sorts of issues and extra energy costs. Save yourself the hassle of repairing a leak by simply cleaning your gutters and drains now. When you do, run water through the gutters to check for mis-alignments that could also cause water damage.

2. KEEP THE OUTSIDE AIR OUT AND THE INSIDE AIR IN

It is hugely important for your energy savings to ensure there are no air leaks in your home. Warm air will escape out of any cracks and can make your heating system work harder and cost you more to heat your home. Use caulk to seal cracks and openings between stationary house components like a door frame and weatherstripping to seal components that move like an operable window.

3. SHOW SOME TLC TO YOUR FURNACE

Your furnace may be a distant memory since you last powered it on, but before the cold weather descends and you must reluctantly switch it on, give it some TLC. Clean your furnace annually each autumn. Sediment build-up can cause your system to work less efficiently or potentially become a fire-hazard. Cleaning your system and getting it inspected will reduce the risks.

During the winter try to change your filter regularly; a dirty filter will decrease air flow and energy-efficiency. And if your furnace is ready to be replaced, buy an energy-efficient model. It will save you money and energy each month!

4. GET YOUR DUCTS IN A ROW

Your ducts are often times out of sight, out of mind, tucked away in the attic or basement, but a home with central heating can lose about 20% of the air that moves through the duct system. Make sure your ducts are in order by properly sealing and insulating them. Tightly sealed and insulated ducts can potentially reduce your annual energy bills by $120 or more!

5. LIGHT THE WAY

The fall and winter months mean less daylight. I know we are all keen on saving energy, but we don’t want any falls while you carry in your groceries. Luckily, you can still use your outdoor lights without wasting money and energy. Because outdoor lights are typically left on for long periods of time, buying ENERGY SAVER products and bulbs to light your outdoor pathways or porches can save a lot of energy. ENERGY STAR even makes CFL and LED flood lights that can withstand snow and rain. As an extra energy-saving effort, look for ENERGY STAR products that come with automatic daylight shut-off and motion sensors. And be sure to decorate with LED holiday lights to reduce the cost of decorating your home for the winter holidays.

Cold weather is just around the corner, and even if it is still nothing but sunlight and warm days in your neighborhood, preparing for fall and winter now can save you money and a headache when the cold air descends.

In part one, we talked about five ways to prepare your home for winter: cleaning gutters, air-sealing, checking furnaces, sealing ducts, and outdoor lighting. If you missed it, take a look here, but there is still more to learn before cold weather is here!

6. WINDOWS, WINDOWS, WINDOWS

Your windows do more than provide a view of trees with yellow leaves or snow-covered yards. They also provide a barrier to the cold. Windows with low-e coating reduce heat loss and even reflect back part of the room’s heat. Installing storm windows can also reduce heat loss through windows by approximately 10%-20%.

Using drapes and blinds helps reduce heat loss through windows. However, windows with direct sunlight may benefit from having the blinds up during the daylight hours, as sunlight can help heat the space.

7. SPRUCE UP THE FIREPLACE

First consider replacing your inefficient wood-burning fireplace with a more efficient wood stove or gas insert. It can turn your fireplace from a pretty–but high–maintenance–feature into a viable way to heat your home. Converting your fireplace will not only save you on monthly heating costs, it could even put money back in your pocket.
If you aren’t interested in updating your fireplace, try adding glass doors with a heat-air exchange system, and make sure your fireplace is cleaned and your flue damper properly sealed. You should also try to keep the fireplace damper closed unless you have a fire burning.

8. REVERSE YOUR FAN

In the summertime a fan is a wonderful way to keep cool, but your fan can also help circulate warm air in the winter. When you reverse the direction of your fan, the fan will push warm air downward and recirculate it through the room. To ensure your fan is spinning in the correct direction, set it so the blades are spinning clockwise when you look up.

9. PREP YOUR LAWN FOR HIBERNATION

Landscaping can save you energy if properly cared for and planned. Windbreaks can help block the cold winter wind and keep your home warmer. A wall or fence, evergreen trees and shrubs planted on the north, west, and east sides of your home can be most effective in creating a windbreak and reducing heating costs.

To ensure heavy snowfall doesn’t snap branches that could provide wonderful cooling shade in the summer months, shake snow-laden tree branches with a mop or broom to relieve some of the weight.

10. IT’S GREAT TO INSULATE

Insulation is another important way to prepare your home for fall and winter. In winter, heat in your home will try to flow directly from all heated living spaces to adjacent unheated attics, garages, basements, and even to the outdoors. Heat flow can also move indirectly through interior ceilings, walls, and floors — wherever there is a difference in temperature.

This means that your heating system has to work harder if your home isn’t properly insulated, costing you money and wasting energy. Properly insulating your home will decrease heat flow by providing an effective resistance to the flow of heat.

So to keep your home warm and toasty, make sure you are using the proper insulation and have insulated in the proper places.

Park Power partners up with Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS)

parkpower · 6 September 2016 · Leave a Comment Community Building, Consumer Info, Electricity, Interesting

Park Power is proud to announce our latest addition to our Community Partner roster, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) Northern Alberta who have been positive and effective nature advocates in Alberta since 1968.

As a collaborative organization, CPAWS works with government, forestry and oil industry representatives, and communities to find conservation solutions for Alberta’s wilderness and wildlife. They also advocate for the creation of parks and protected areas in Alberta so that both current and future generations of Albertans can enjoy the nature-based outdoor activities the we love.

As a Community Partner with Park Power, CPAWS Northern Alberta will get 10% of Park Power’s profits for each customer who chooses CPAWS as their Partner of Choice when signing up for one of our awesome electricity and natural gas plans. These customers also have the option of adding a top-up donation onto to their monthly power bill which will be donated, along with Park Power’s profit sharing donation, to our Community Partners on an annual basis.

Our Community Partner Program is a favourite aspects of our business model. Through it, we are able to integrate our corporate giving automatically into our billing software and offer the same easy giving option to our customers which makes supporting awesome local charities a breeze.

Park Power is A Better Choice for your electricity and natural gas than all those big traditional utility companies. By offering lower rates, superior Alberta based customer service, and sharing our profits with great Alberta charities we give our residential and commercial customers the satisfaction of saving money on their utility costs while supporting a local business that puts their growth towards good in the community.

Fort McMurray Fire Red Cross Relief Efforts from Park Power

parkpower · 8 May 2016 · Leave a Comment Community Building, Consumer Info, Electricity, Interesting

The impact of the recent wildfire on the people from Fort McMurray is devastating. We all know of someone connected in one way or another in the Wood Buffalo area, or watch on TV the hardships that so many families facing as they try to escape the wildfires. Park Power is providing an easy way for Albertan utility consumers to support the Fort McMurray Fire Red Cross Relief Efforts.

We are a small private company, retailing electricity, green energy and natural gas in Alberta as part of a network of boutique retailers. Within our network there are slightly over a thousand customers in Fort McMurray. Friday morning at 1 am our customer service centre received the first of probably many more emails or calls that we are sure will be similar to this one that came in; “I must cancel service with you because of a sad loss of a house in Fort McMurray fire. Please guide me through this process.”

While the customer service team has been working hard to look after the affected customers, the development team has been updating our Application Form to set up Red Cross as a recipient for our donations.

One of the best ways to help people in Fort McMurray is by donating to the Red Cross.

That can be done by text or a phone call. People can also donate by visiting their offices, or donating money online on the Red Cross website. Canada’s Federal Government will match all private donations made to the Red Cross to help the thousands of people who have been displaced by the wildfires.

Park Power has pledged to donate to the Red Cross Fort McMurray Fire Relief Efforts, 10% of our 2016 total income on the electricity consumed by customers of Park Power who choose the Canadian Red Cross as their Community Partner.

Additionally, through our Community Partner Program, Park Power has implemented an easy way for our customers to make a donation to the Red Cross through their monthly electricity bill. As our customer you can just add an optional top up; $5, $10, or what ever you can afford to your monthly invoice.

100% of all money collected will be donated to the Red Cross. There are zero admin fees associated with the donation and every penny raised will be donated on yours and Park Power’s behalf to the Red Cross. The Fort McMurray Red Cross Fire Relief customer top up program has been set up and will run to the end of 2016. If you want to opt in or out at any time you are totally free to do so but really this is a very simple and easy way to make a difference towards the recovery of Fort McMurray.

Please consider your fellow Albertans who have had their lives dramatically effected by this fire and support the Red Cross however you can.

We think we have a pretty good formula here – Provide an easy platform for Albertans to support the Fort McMurray Fire relief efforts while saving them money on their electricity and natural gas bills.

Show some #ALBERTASTRONG love with Park Power.

Win This Rayne Misfortune Longboard

parkpower · 7 April 2016 · Leave a Comment Community Building, Consumer Info, Electricity, Interesting, Solar Power

How Will Canada’s Coal-Fired Electricity Phase Out Affect Consumers?