The Town of Bashaw council heard about savings at one of the municipality’s large facilities. The report was presented at the Sept. 17 regular meeting of council.

Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Theresa Fuller presented councillors with Nordic Management Building System’s quarterly report on the community centre. The quarterly report analyzed expense savings enjoyed by the town due to increased efficiency from Apr. to June, 2025.

“SavingsTracker uses ambient temperature regression models to minimize effects of weather variations and increase the accuracy of measured savings,” stated Nordic’s report. “Energy savings are measured by comparing the post-implementation consumption vs. the model’s prediction of energy consumption if no change was made.”

Nordic noted the community centre has a gross floor area of 1,253 square meters; it was noted in the report cumulative savings was predicted to be $44,447 but the prorated actual cost was $34,754 with an actual savings of $9,693. “The positive savings from work performed is evident,” stated Nordic’s report.

The report also noted Nordic took into account what the community centre was using for utilities before any improvements were made compared to how it functioned afterwards. “The (energy use index, EUI) score at this facility has been on the decline since kick-off,” added Nordic.

Councillors accepted this report for information.

Electric eye

Councillors read a report from Fortis Alberta regarding next generation advanced metering infrastructure (AMI). “We will install new network equipment and upgrade the electricity meters in your community,” stated the report from Fortis, which noted some of the work was beginning this fall.

“AMI metering technology is becoming the standard throughout North America with a proven record of increasing sustainability, reliability and being a cost-effective choice for consumers.”

Fortis explained the company’s staff would be out in communities installing gateways, routers and streetlight controllers on the company’s poles in many communities along with certain home or business meters; this will lay groundwork for the AMI network.

Once that’s completed, Fortis will begin replacing home and business meters en masse. Fortis noted this second phase is estimated to take into 2029 to complete.

It was noted AMI meters operate radio frequency waves or cellular communication to transmit data automatically from the installed AMI meters. The company stated AMI conversion may benefit consumers through fewer Fortis visits to homes and businesses, improved grid reliability, faster detection of tampering or theft and ability to accommodate future programs that may better manage electricity usage.

Councillors accepted the report as information.