Utility customers

About your service

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  Rates

  How rates are set

  False Creek Neighbourhood Energy Utility rates are set annually by City Council.

  To ensure fair and appropriate rates, all changes to rates are reviewed by an independent expert panel.

  ​How rates compare

  The utility provides an all-in thermal energy service. This means that customers do not need to own, operate, maintain, or replace any in-building heating equipment such as boilers, furnaces, or heat-pumps.

  The False Creek Neighbourhood Energy Utility is cost-competitive with traditional utilities. 

  Review utility rates

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  Utility benefits

  Environmental benefits

  The False Creek Neighbourhood Energy Utility reduces greenhouse gas emissions by over 60% compared to conventional energy sources.

  Waste heat recycled from sewage supplies approximately 70% of the annual energy demand.

  Stable energy rates

  The use of a local energy source – sewage – and a system that can adapt to future clean energy technologies stabilizes energy costs compared to more volatile fossil fuel prices.

  Reliability

  The False Creek Neighbourhood Energy Utility has been providing heat and hot water since 2010.

  In that time, it has provided reliable heating and hot water services to customer buildings, with no significant service interruptions.

  Peace of mind

  The NEU’s centralized thermal energy generation system and each building’s energy transfer station are professionally operated and managed by qualified City staff.

  This eliminates the need for individual building owners or strata councils to operate, plan, and budget for maintenance and replacement of complex heat generation equipment.

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  Your building

  

  1. Utility distribution line

  Hot water from the False Creek Neighbourhood Energy Utility enters your building and passes through two heat exchanges. The heat exchangers transfer heat to the building's domestic hot water line and building heating loop.

  This heat transfer process cools down the utility water, which is returned to the False Creek Energy Centre to be reheated. 

  2. Energy transfer

  Each building connected to the False Creek Neighbourhood Energy Utility has an energy transfer station consisting of two heat transfers.

  Replacing conventional fossil fuel boilers, the energy transfer station uses heat exchangers to transfer energy from the utility distribution line to produce your heating and hot water.  

  3. Your building

  Domestic hot water

  Cold potable water enters your building from the City's drinking water system. This cold water is heated in the energy transfer station's domestic hot water heat exchanger. This produces your hot water at a safe and usable temperature.

  Building heating loop

  Your building has a recirculating heating loop. Like domestic hot water, the heating loop runs through an energy transfer station heat exchanger and is then piped to provide heat to each suite.

  The cooled building heating loop water then returns to the energy transfer station to be heated again and recirculated throughout the building.

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  Understanding your bill

  

  Legend

  A	Account number	Your account number.
  B	Invoice due date	Pay by this day.
  C	Billing period	All transactions between the two dates listed here are included on this bill.
  D	Folio number	Your folio number.
  E	Meter reading	Date of the latest meter reading.
  F	Meter registered serial number	A unique identifier for the device(s) recording readings.
  G	Current reading	Current meter reading.
  H	Previous reading	Previous meter reading.
  I	Measured consumption	Current reading less previous reading.
  J	Activity or transaction date	Date of activity or transaction.
  K	Charge per kilowatt	Charge per kilowatt of heat energy per hour (cost of metered consumption recorded by meter ‘A’).
  L	Levy for peak energy demand	The fixed cost based on floor area of building.
  M	Consumption credit	Credit of energy returned by the building to the system (credit for metered consumption recorded by meter ‘B’)
  N	Amount due after due date	Total amount due after due date.
  O	Penalty	5% penalty automatically applied (loss of ‘discount’) if bill not paid by due date. By-law approved rates are marked up 5% to automatically reflect the penalty incurred if payment for the net billed amount is not received by the due date.
  P	Net cost of services	Amount due if paid by the due date.