Conservation for public agencies
Learn how and why government public agencies report their energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.
Overview
Ontario public agencies must report their annual energy use and greenhouse gas emissions to the Ministry of Energy each year by July 1. This is set out in the energy reporting regulation for broader public sector (BPS) organizations.
Energy usage can represent one of the largest operating costs for public agencies. Energy reporting and conservation planning will help public agencies:
- better manage their energy use and costs
- identify best practices and energy-saving opportunities
- find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- evaluate results by comparing similar facilities across the province
- provide a benchmark to set goals
- measure improvement over time
Public agencies that need to report
More than 700 public agencies are required to submit a report, including:
- municipalities
- municipal service boards
- universities
- colleges
- school boards
- hospitals
What to provide in your report
To report your public agency’s energy use, you will need to provide:
- Your property information. This will produce accurate energy use data.
- Your usage data. You need to report usage data for all forms of energy consumed by properties in your public agency (for example, electricity, propane, natural gas, diesel, fuel oil) for the reporting year (January 1 to December 31).
We publish the information that public agencies submit on the Open Data Catalogue.
Deadlines
Public agencies need to report energy usage data every year by July 1.
Reporting schedule for 2023 and 2024
While we phase in the program, the reporting schedule for 2023 and 2024 will be the following:
- in 2023, report your 2021 energy data
- in 2024, report your 2022 and 2023 energy data
Reporting schedule beginning in 2025
Starting in 2025, report your energy data for the previous calendar year. For example, in 2025 you will report your 2024 data.
How to report
- Log in or register for an account on the Portfolio Manager website.
- Enter your information and the data for all your properties.
- Submit your report on Portfolio Manager. Follow the instructions on the reporting page and save the confirmation email for your records.
Read the Guide to Submitting Data Through Portfolio Manager for Ontario’s Broader Public Sector to learn how to enter and submit your data.
Conservation and demand management plan
Public agencies required to report their energy use must also develop five-year energy conservation and demand management plans. These plans must be publicly available on their websites and in hard copy at their head office.
The plans must include:
- conservation goals and objectives
- proposed conservation measures
- cost and savings estimates
- a description of renewable energy generation facilities, including the amount of energy generated annually
Agencies must update the plans every five years, beginning in 2019.
Contact
If you have a question, email BPS Support at BPSsupport@ontario.ca