Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform the House about some of the steps that have been taken by the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation to further improve our energy management.
The Housing Corporation has taken a proactive approach to energy efficiency in its construction projects for many years. Additionally, the corporation has benefited greatly from the historically low rates of utility consumption by public housing tenants as compared to residents of private rental accommodations. Both efforts have lessened the impact of increased fuel and energy prices on the corporation and its clients and have helped to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for the Northwest Territories. These benefits will be further realized through the continued education and awareness of our clients regarding energy consumption.
Specific corporation efforts in this area are too numerous to list in this statement; however, there are some that I would like to highlight today. Local housing organizations have made a concerted effort to make use of energy-efficient appliances, fluorescent lighting and other measures intended to further reduce energy costs. In partnership with the Arctic Energy Alliance, the corporation has held energy conservation workshops in communities and conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the use of low consumption bathroom fixtures to replace the older, high volume units used in public housing units.
The corporation has also acted independently to further improve its energy efficiency. As an example, in 2004-05 the corporation installed four solar water pre-heaters for public housing units to determine cost effectiveness. The corporation also meets regularly with industry leaders with the goal of finding technologies that can further reduce energy use in our public housing units. One such meeting resulted in an initiative currently underway to field test high efficiency heating systems. These systems will be installed and evaluated in Hay River, Norman Wells and Inuvik.
Mr. Speaker, there are many other energy management initiatives that the corporation has implemented in recent years. I extend an invitation to all Members to contact me should they wish to discuss these initiatives in greater detail. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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