BreconRidge expands focus on electronics to include electricity conservation and receives recognition from Hydro Ottawa

Ottawa, September 22, 2008 - Headquartered in Ottawa, BreconRidge is a world-class provider of design engineering and manufacturing services for electronics products, and now they are proving themselves as a local leader in electricity conservation. Hydro Ottawa is recognizing BreconRidge’s innovative energy reduction programs with September’s Companies for Conservation award.

“As an electronics company that extends its corporate responsibility to the electricity grid itself, BreconRidge is showing real conservation leadership”, says Rosemarie Leclair, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Hydro Ottawa Group of Companies. “Hydro Ottawa is proud to recognize their connection to conservation.”

As a result of informational campaigns and conservation initiatives launched at the beginning of 2007 at its Kanata facility, BreconRidge decreased total energy consumption by four percent after only five months. By the end of the year, conservation initiatives allowed for approximately 252,000 kilowatt-hours of yearly electricity savings – enough to power 28 homes for a full year.

The facility, located on Palladium Drive, was built in 2001 and included several state-of-the-art energy management components, including variable speed motors in the heating, cooling and ventilation system. Working to build on this foundation, BreconRidge signed up for Hydro Ottawa’s powerWISE® Business Incentive Program in 2006. A number of lighting upgrades were completed under this program, leading to 337,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity savings in 2006.

In 2007, BreconRidge raised the bar, undertaking an energy audit and further lighting upgrades at the facility, leading to an additional 252,000 kilowatt hours of electricity savings per year.

BreconRidge has also made conscious efforts to promote power conservation among employees, through advertisements and publications on the company intranet, and on information boards throughout the facility.

“Large companies are increasingly accountable for their energy habits and consumption”, said Trevor Clark, Environmental Management Coordinator at the Kanata facility. “BreconRidge is focused on continuous improvement, and this facility’s energy reduction programs are helping our company answer the call to conserve power.”

By the end of 2008 BreconRidge will replace one of their water boilers with a more energy efficient model. This will provide 20% saving on gas consumption, 25% reduction in green gas emissions, and saving of 56,000 kWh during the summer months. Potential projects for the future include photometric lighting controls, additional room occupancy sensors, and the introduction of LED lighting. BreconRidge has also recently begun to focus on developing a comprehensive “Emergency Energy Reduction Plan”, allowing the facility to strategically decrease its consumption during extremely high energy-demand periods, without decreasing the company’s production and manufacturing capabilities.

‘Companies for Conservation’ is an initiative to celebrate the exciting and innovative conservation projects being undertaken by commercial electricity users in Ottawa. The program, which started in October 2007, recognizes one local company or organization for their conservation leadership every month. These companies are making a difference by embodying a true culture of conservation.

Electricity consumers both large and small can learn more about saving electricity, and the programs that can help them do so, by visiting either www.hydroottawa.com or www.powerWISE.ca.