Residential Energy Efficiency and the Role of Public Participation

Abstract

Albertans are currently engaged in a policy debate on approaches to curtail their energy usage through the adoption of energy conservation strategies. Currently in Alberta there are significant energy savings to be captured, stemming from the proper application of energy efficiency technologies. While energy efficiency savings are primarily to be made in the industrial sector, significant and untapped potential energy savings exist in the residential sector. Tapping these energy savings presents a unique challenge for public policy creators, as in order to successfully bring about energy savings in the residential sector a high degree of public engagement is necessary. This high degree of public engagement is necessary due to the problems present in creating a public policy that aims to affect many different users in many different residential situations. In such a realm cookie cutter public policies will fail to target all residential users effectively. As such it should be the policy makers' objective to determine the most effective policy in light of its ability to create engagement within the residential sectors, as engagement of the residential sector will lead to numerous policy benefits including higher compliance rates and cost savings. It is through this public engagement, brought about through public participation in the policy development and implementation process, that households will be empowered to capture the maximum potential benefits of energy efficiency technologies currently present in our market.