Provincial Investment Helps Municipalities Combat Climate Change

TORONTO - The Ontario Government has committed almost $4 million to support energy management programs and services that are being made available to municipalities through Local Authority Services (LAS). These programs and services provide municipalities affordable access to sophisticated energy management tools, resources and expertise that help fight climate change.

"Ontario's provincial and municipal governments are working to create better opportunities to conserve energy, lower costs and better protect our environment," said Gary McNamara, Chair of LAS.

Through its Municipal Eco-Challenge Fund, the Province is providing approximately $3.95 million to support the development and delivery of programs that enable municipalities to track energy consumption in real time and improve their capacity to manage energy use. In addition, it will allocate funds toward a joint-investment in retrofitting arenas, pools, water treatment plants, town halls, and a number of other municipal facilities.

In total, Ontario municipalities spend approximately $955 million annually on electricity and natural gas. However, many individual municipalities lack the internal resources and expertise needed to apply best practices in energy management. LAS is bridging that gap by providing all Ontario municipalities, large and small, an opportunity to achieve economies of scale with respect to energy management initiatives.

LAS was created in 1992 and is a wholly owned subsidiary company of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO). It works with Ontario municipalities to reduce costs and increase revenue through economies-of-scale and co-operative procurement.