New UBC Report "Who Bears the Load?" An Equity Lens on Residential Load Management and Electricity Rate Design in British Columbia
Clare Mengebier, UBC Sustainability Scholar who worked with Ecotrust Canada, wrote a report that explores and evaluates load management solutions through an equity and accessibility lens to come up with three recommendations for rate revisions that could better incorporate equity considerations.
From the report: Introduction
British Columbia is experiencing significant electricity demand growth, and demand is expected to rise by approximately 50% over the next 15 years.i This growth is being driven by rising industrial demand, through artificial intelligence and industrial electrification, and residential demand, via electric vehicle adoption and home electrification.
Electrification provides important economic, health, and environmental benefits, particularly for energy insecure households. Clean Energy Canada (CEC) estimates that households switching to a heat pump enjoy energy bill savings of up to $849 CAD per year and can reduce heating and cooling emissions by up to 97%.ii Enabling home electrification can have important health and safety benefits such as in-home air quality improvements and safer indoor temperatures.iii These issues are becoming more pressing given the risks of extreme heat. The 2021 heat dome was associated with over 600 heat-related deaths across the province.iv On a climate scale, province-wide electrification of space and water heating could reduce emissions by as much as 3.5
megatons per year, or about 6% of B.C.’s current emissions.ii British Columbia recognizes these broad benefits, setting a target of 100% clean electricity by 2030 through its CleanBC Roadmap. READ MORE
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