01.03.10 | A Day in the Life of Bob Elton
Way back sometime last decade (like Nov. 2009) I won something called “A Day in the Life of Bob Elton.” How, you ask? Well, my name was pulled out of a hat at the annual Chasing Sustainability Conference put on by the awesome people on UBC’s Commerce Undergraduate Society Sustainability Committee. The prize was a day shadowing the (now-former) CEO of BC Hydro. (For a media report on the terms of his departure, check out this Vancouver Sun article.)
On Dec. 9, 2009, I got a glimpse into the workings of the organization that powers 95% of BC population – and provides incredible support for goBEYOND. I’ll take you through it blow by blow.
8:15 am – Field & Plant Employees Quarterly Safety Call: More interesting than it sounds. I walked into a room filled with half the executive team, reps from the unions, and a half-dozen others seated around a couple phones. On the line were nearly 100 employees from across the province. The topic was safety, and these quarterly meetings provide a forum for people on the ground to raise concerns directly to top levels of the organization. I was impressed by the openness this demonstrated, and serious concerns were definitely raised. Bob chaired.
9:45 am – Human Resources Leadership Team Community Event: Bob gave a farewell speech to the HR team. He talked of vision, values, and his time as CEO. Bob is an adept speaker, and it was a pleasure to hear him talk. He received a glowing introduction, a gift of a talking stick, and a standing ovation. It was clear that there was genuine affection and respect for Bob, an impression I also got from others throughout the day.
11:00 am – Tour of Powerex Trade Floor: Wholly-owned BC Hydro subsidiary which trades natural gas and environmental products and markets Hydro’s surplus electricity. Brian Moghadam, Business Development Manager, was my guide. It was actually less of a tour than an economics lecture, one far more interesting than any class. Brian was quite candid about the market imperfections that fuel Powerex’s profits. He also had some strong predictions the future of North America’s energy market. There will never be another coal-fired power plant built in Canada or the US. Shale gas will keep natural gas competitive for the next century, even with ambitious carbon pricing. Interesting stuff, especially since it comes from a participant in the industry. The trading floor was a sea of massive computer monitors and big screen TVs set to BNN. It never closes.
12:00 pm – Lunch with Dana Hardy: Senior Business Strategy Adviser, Customer Care and Conservation plus a veggie burger at the Keg. Dana works with PowerSmart in Hydro’s demand-side management efforts. Although the program’s most visible efforts target residential users (“join team PowerSmart!”) the bulk of load reductions actually come from Hydro’s work with commerce and industry. Hydro subsidizes the financing for energy efficiency upgrades or, in some cases, pays for them entirely. I can’t remember all of the initiatives she told me about, but that’s what the internets is for. In general, Dana described Hydro’s current demand-side initiatives as picking “the low-hanging fruit.”
1:00 pm – Meeting with Patrice Rother: Environment Strategy Manager responsible for BC Hydro’s Climate Change strategy and policy direction. I was given an informal presentation of adaptation and mitigation efforts underway at Hydro. From what I could gather, Patrice is not extensively involved in the acquisition of power. I also got a chance to talk about goBEYOND.
2:00 pm – Tour of Cathedral Square Substation: Did you know there’s a substation under downtown Vancouver? Neither did I, until John Walker showed me around.
3:00 pm – Debrief on the day with Bob: I got a quick chat with Bob as we walked to his next meeting.
3:30 pm – Immigrant Employment Council Board Meeting: Bob chairs this board, and is staying on this year.
5:30 pm – Walk back to the office with Bob: We talked of leadership and his time as CEO. He told me that he didn’t know what he’d be doing next, but that we was feeling positive about his future and had few regrets about tenure.
My day was organized Andrea Travers, and thanks go out to her for organizing an excellent snap shot of the utility.
There was plenty more this day than I could put in this post, and I’d be happy to answer questions at ubc@campusclimatenetwork.org.
Now, I’ve got to continue preparations for another amazing year of climate at here at UBC.
Happy New Year!
Posted by spencer@ubc under Uncategorized
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