YORK REGION, ON, Mar 31, 2006 -- Canada NewsWire

Six of Ontario's largest local electricity distribution companies, cooperatively delivering energy conservation programs under the powerWISE(R) name, today filed their 2005 Conservation and Demand Management (CDM) progress reports with the Ontario Energy Board (OEB). Collectively, in 2005 the powerWISE utilities invested $19.4 million in conservation and demand management initiatives and delivered over 110.6 million kilowatt hours of electricity savings through their CDM programs.

"We are thrilled with the progress that we made in our first year of planning and implementing energy conservation programs across our respective service territories," said Brian Bentz, President and CEO of PowerStream Inc. speaking on behalf of the powerWISE utilities. "The savings that we delivered in the first year of our three year plan are significant - enough to power over 12,250 Ontario homes, or the equivalent of supplying the power needs of almost 18% of the homes in the Town of Markham. We believe that this is a very significant step in helping the Ontario government reach its goal of developing a conservation culture in the province."

powerWISE is delivering over $75 million in comprehensive electricity conservation programs over a three-year period. In 2005, several CDM programs were introduced to customers including mass market retail initiatives, incentive based programs for business customers, old appliance reclamation programs and community education events, to name but a few.

In 2006, the powerWISE members will continue to work with other organizations to deliver conservation programs and incentives to customers. These groups include municipalities, local electricity distribution utilities, the Electricity Distributors Association (EDA), the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) and the Ontario Government.

powerWISE members Enersource Hydro Mississauga, Horizon Utilities Corporation, Hydro Ottawa Limited, PowerStream Inc., Toronto Hydro-Electric Limited and Veridian Connections are fully committed to the goal of reducing electricity demand and creating a culture of conservation in Ontario. The powerWISE alliance serves 1.7 million Ontario customers or 40% of the province.

For further detail on the conservation initiatives undertaken by the powerWISE members, and to learn how to conserve energy and save money visit www.powerwise.ca.

SOURCE: powerWISE

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