Update Re: ecoENERGY Registration Closure and Post-Retrofit Evaluation Extension

Posted: February 1, 2012

From – British Columbia Live Smart BC January 30, 2012

The LiveSmart BC Efficiency Incentive program will remain open to new participants until March 31, 2013. The federal ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes program is closed to new registrations as of January 28th, having reached its goal of 250,000 registered homeowners. This will give all federally registered homeowners the opportunity to apply for and receive a federal grant for their eligible retrofit upgrades. Participants that have a registration number but have not yet had an energy assessment are still able to book an energy assessment.

British Columbians that have not already accessed incentives from either the LiveSmart BC Efficiency Incentive program or the federal ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes program are still eligible to access the existing LiveSmart BC incentives. The first step to access LiveSmart BC incentives is to book a home energy efficiency evaluation by a certified energy advisor. No federal registration number is required to book an energy efficiency evaluation for homeowners who are only accessing the LiveSmart BC incentives.

To help ensure that federal ecoENERGY program participants have the opportunity to complete their required post-retrofit evaluation and apply for a grant, the deadline to complete a post-retrofit evaluation has been extended to June 30, 2012. To be eligible for these federal ecoENERGY incentives, all upgrades must still be completed by March 31, 2012. Upgrades completed after March 31, 2012 remain eligible for LiveSmart BC incentives.

LiveSmart BC program participants must have their follow-up assessment within 18 months of their pre-retrofit assessment or before March 31, 2013, whichever comes first. Program participants can only have one follow-up evaluation. If a homeowner chooses to have a follow-up evaluation before June 30, 2012 to be eligible for the federal ecoENERGY incentives, that evaluation will be also be for the LiveSmart BC program. Participants will not be able to do further work later and access additional incentives from the LiveSmart BC program.

Important dates for participants to consider:

April 1, 2011 - Provincial LiveSmart BC program launch – Participants that have not already accessed incentives from the provincial LiveSmart BC or federal ecoENERGY programs can have a pre-retrofit evaluation as the first step to becoming eligible for renewed LiveSmart BC program incentives.

June 6, 2011 – Products and equipment purchased and installed on or after this date are eligible for ecoENERGY incentives (only for homes that have had a pre-retrofit evaluation performed since April 2007 and have a valid registration number * ).

January 28, 2012 – Registrations closed for participation in the federal ecoENERGY program.

March 31, 2012 – Deadline to purchase and install eligible products and equipment to access the federal ecoENERGY incentives.

June 30, 2012 - Deadline to have a follow-up evaluation to assess upgrades for the federal ecoENERGY program. **

March 31, 2013 – Deadline to have a follow-up evaluation to assess upgrades for the LiveSmart BC program. **

* NOTE: A pre-retrofit evaluation conducted between April 1, 2007 and April 1, 2011 is sufficient for federal ecoENERGY eligibility. The LiveSmart BC program requires homes to have a pre-retrofit evaluation after April 1, 2011 to qualify for the provincial program.

** NOTE: Program participants can only have one follow-up evaluation. If a homeowner chooses to have a follow-up evaluation before June 30, 2012 to be eligible for the federal ecoENERGY incentives, that evaluation will be also be for the LiveSmart BC program.

For questions on the ecoENERGY program please call 1-877-953-4545 or visit www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/retrofit/dates

For questions on the LiveSmart BC program please call 1-866-430-8765 or visit www.livesmartbc.ca/rebates

Penticton Named a Top 10 International Travel Destination For 2012

Posted: January 6, 2012

PENTICTON, BC – Facebook users think Penticton is one of the 10 best places in the world to visit, according to an article in the Huffington Post.

The article’s writers analyzed the travel buzz in over 200 million comments, status updates, check-ins and more from the social networking site and from that data selected the top 10 must visit international tourism destinations for 2012.

“This is a huge coup for Penticton & Wine Country,” says Eric Sorensen, chair of the Penticton Business Development Group, which oversees operation of Penticton & Wine Country Tourism. “The timing of the article couldn’t be more appropriate as we move into a new year and the organization begins setting its priorities for 2012.”

Penticton was selected as the only Canadian city on the list. The article pointed out that with Penticton’s “beautiful beaches, a burgeoning wine industry and outdoor activities galore, it’s quickly becoming a year-round vacation hot spot.”

“We are so lucky to have these amazing natural assets – it’s one of the main reasons most of us live here,” says Sorensen. “Now the world knows about them too and we look forward to welcoming them in 2012.”

Sorensen added that the recognition is due to the efforts of the staff at Penticton & Wine Country Tourism. “Kudos to our hardworking team,” he said, pointing to the awards Tourism Penticton received at the end of 2011 for their marketing campaign and sport tourism efforts. “This is just another nod to their success.”

The Huffington Post is an online newspaper that receives more than 28 million unique readers every month.

The article can be viewed here.

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For an interview, contact:

JESSIE CAMPBELL, BAC-PR
Tourism Marketing Manager | Penticton & Wine Country Tourism
P:250.276.2162 | C: 250.486.5755
E: ** SPAM PROTECTION: JavaScript Required to see email address - If you have questions email: info @ imaginepenticton.ca (just delete the spaces). **

Economic Development News

Posted: November 4, 2011

In order to attract new business ventures into Penticton the community must be Investment ready.  Investment readiness means capitalizing on our community’s resources – its land, people, unique characteristics and planning system – and communicating these strengths effectively. Typically investors request information on:

• existing infrastructure, plans for development, and projected capital allocations
• regulatory and environmental compliance requirements
• competitive transportation opportunities and alternatives
• “ready-to-go”, pre-screened, serviced and adequately zoned sites
• human resources, and workforce development delivery system
• ready access to key suppliers and support services

As an organization Penticton Economic Development Services provides the support mechanism to assist investors in making informed decisions. The bottom line is that there is one number that has to make sense on the balance sheet and that is the return on investment (ROI).

Our community profile is Penticton’s calling card. It provides potential investors with insight into the quality of life enjoyed by the people who live and work in our community. Over the course of the past few years our organization has developed a comprehensive community profile that combines data with qualitative and quantitative information and presents a compelling set of arguments for locating in Penticton.  A key note here is comprehensive and while we provide a wide variety of information we also have to tailor our site location packages to the needs of the investor.  These one offs form the basis of many decisions that attracts investment and promotes our community in the best light.

Over the course of the past few years we have become more sophisticated in developing these tools and working with the Planning staff at City Hall we have assisted planning in simplifying things to expedite process and procedure to meet the needs of investors.  We have been innovative in introducing new programs that have been noticed in the development community locally and provincially and this is why we are seeing an upsurge of interest and development.

The Planning staff at the City of Penticton should be congratulated for taking the necessary steps to review and make things simpler for developers but more work is required.  This group is proactive and is improving the investment climate in our community. Economic Development does not happen by chance and working collectively we will attract new opportunities to our community. Collectively means that we all have a role in promoting our community from our local business to our citizens to the professionals that all have the best interests of the community in mind.

Investors want simple, easy to understand planning documents that are clearly understood and these documents must be flexible so that they can support our clients to develop projects that contribute to our local economy. We are on the right track but it should be noted that development itself is a long-term process the work that you are now seeing on the ground today began two years ago. While 2011 was a slow year in construction 2012 is starting to look very positive especially in commercial construction. This means jobs and tax dollars to support the services we all enjoy and the infrastructure investment made in our community in the past few years.

Watch for more information on Penticton Economic Development Services and check out our website www.imaginepenticton.ca for more local business announcements.

David Arsenault MBA is Penticton’s Economic Development Officer and a former college professor with Okanagan College. If you have good news stories related to business in Penticton contact 250-493-3323 or email ** SPAM PROTECTION: JavaScript Required to see email address - If you have questions email: info @ imaginepenticton.ca (just delete the spaces). **