Toronto Hydro goes door-to-door to encourage businesses to conserve

Customers say they're annoyed by electricity wasters

TORONTO, Aug. 15, 2013 /CNW/ - According to a survey^* commissioned by Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited ("Toronto Hydro"), 90 per cent of Torontonians are annoyed by people wasting electricity. Further, 88 per cent find businesses that leave their doors open with the AC blasting exasperating.   In response, Toronto Hydro teams have been visiting storefront businesses to encourage them to shut the door on wasted electricity - as well, the teams will provide information on all the conservation programs available to help them save money.

Many businesses claim that an open door entices overheated customers into stores.  But blasting cool air onto the street irritates people and only wastes money and electricity.

A business with an open door:

• Wastes approximately 3,850 kilowatt hours of electricity;
• Pays about $500 more for electricity this summer, or approximately $125 per month;
• Releases more than 610 kg of unnecessary carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

"Keep the Cool in T.O." CONTEST

Businesses in the downtown core are already receiving packages in the mail that includes information on conservation programs and a window decal that needs to be placed on the front door.

Customers inside who see this decal can tweet pictures and addresses of businesses featuring the decal with the hashtag #KeepTheCool. Every tweet is entered to win an iPad* and every picture goes on the online map at KeepTheCoolTO.com.

Business customers interested in learning more about their electricity consumption or conservation programs tailored to fit their operations can visit www.torontohydro.com/business.

Our World. Our City. Our Responsibility. See what we are doing to be safe, reliable and sustainable at torontohydro.com/responsibility

Twitter - twitter.com/torontohydro
Facebook - facebook.com/torontohydro
YouTube - youtube.com/torontohydro

*About the poll:
From July24th to July 26th, 2013, an online survey was conducted among 1000 Canadian adults that live in the city of Toronto, and who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to age and gender to ensure a representative sample. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

* No purchase necessary. Contest closes September 16/13 at 11:59 pm EST. Full contest rules available at KeepTheCoolTO.com. Open to customers of Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited (18 years or older). One contest entry per customer. One (1) prize consisting of an iPad (ARV: $599) available to be won. Odds depend on number of eligible entries. Skill testing question required. *iPad is a trademark of Apple Inc.

SOURCE: Toronto Hydro Corporation

Tanya Bruckmueller, Toronto Hydro-Electric System
[email protected]
W: 416-542-2621
C: 416-903-0440