Manitoba Hydro was recently awarded Canada’s 2015 ENERGY STAR® Market Transformation Award for its fall 2014 Power Smart* residential light emitting diode (LED) lighting program. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) presents the award annually to recognize the best energy efficiency promotional campaign of the year, selected from numerous campaigns delivered throughout the provinces. Winners must have demonstrated excellence in promoting the most energy-efficient product, technology or service available on the market in this country.
“I’m delighted NRCan recognized the creativity and value of the LED lighting campaign,” said Scott Thomson, President and CEO. “This is one of our many Power Smart programs that encourage customers to reduce their energy consumption.”
Launched in the fall of 2014 in partnership with local retailers, the program’s goals were to encourage customers to purchase ENERGY STAR-certified LED bulbs and to educate them about the benefits of LED lighting. Customers received an instant 50 per cent off rebate when they purchased bulbs from participating retailers. Manitoba Hydro heavily promoted the campaign – 25 Light Years in Every Bulb – and nearly 200,000 LED bulbs were purchased during the one month promotion.
“As community builders, partnering with Manitoba Hydro was a natural fit for McMunn & Yates Building Supplies,” said Suzett Mediros, manager of marketing for McMunn & Yates. “Minimizing our impact on the environment with energy efficient products available for sale on our shelves is important to us and our communities. Our partnership with Manitoba Hydro has increased sales in our lighting department and helped McMunn & Yates reach more communities with the increased exposure.”
As a result of the success of the 2014 program, Manitoba Hydro launched a second campaign in spring 2015 that included 11 participating retailers across the province. Close to 50,000 households participated in the two campaigns, saving customers more than $1.8 million a year on their electricity bills.
“LEDs are the most energy efficient lighting technology on the market, using 80 per cent less energy than incandescent lights,” said Lloyd Kuczek, Vice-President, Customer Care & Energy Conservation for Manitoba Hydro. “Our goal with these programs is to help residential customers learn more about energy efficient technologies so they can adopt them in their own homes and reduce their energy bill. We’d like to thank our retail partners for their support in helping us promote the LED lighting campaign.”
This is Manitoba Hydro’s fourth ENERGY STAR award.
*Manitoba Hydro is a licensee of the Official Mark and Trademark.
