District Energy System

The District Energy System was constructed for Cheakamus Crossing when the neighbourhood was built for the 2010 Winter Games as the Whistler Athlete’s Village. Ninety per cent of the homes in the neighbourhood are restricted to the Whistler workforce through the Whistler Housing Authority. There are just over 500 dwelling units occupied and connected to the District Energy System. The Resort Municipality of Whistler operates and maintains the District Energy System plant located at the Whistler Wastewater Treatment Plant, as well as piping in public areas.

An energy study conducted on the efficiency of the District Energy System concluded it reduced greenhouse gases for the neighbourhood by 95 per cent as opposed to individual homes heated by natural gas. This is the equivalent to taking 350 gasoline-powered passenger cars off the road for a year or avoiding five tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions for a typical townhouse dwelling of 136 square metres.

Latest status

Update from December 4, 2019

In August 2019, the Whistler 2020 Development Corporation (WDC) offered an updated Home Heating Repair and Maintenance Program for owners of the 174 WDC-constructed townhouses connected to the Cheakamus Crossing District Energy System. The original program was offered in September 2018, and then modified in 2019 based on feedback from homeowners.

To qualify for the updated Home Heating Repair and Maintenance Program and receive payment of $5,000 per property, registered owners of at least 75 per cent of the units (a reduction from 100 per cent) in each strata development were required to sign a release form by November 1. This release form indemnifies the WDC and the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) from future claims regarding the owners’ home heating systems.

Home Heating Repair and Maintenance Program payments

The threshold of having the owners of at least 75 per cent of the units per strata corporation sign release forms was met by all five of the strata corporations: The Heights, The Rise, The Terrace, Whitewater and Riverbend.

The Resort Municipality of Whistler approved a loan of $870,000 to the WDC for the program on November 19. Following this, the WDC verified all of the release forms.

A cheque of $5,000 per property was mailed directly to the owners, who signed the release form. Cheques should be received by the first or second week of December.

If you have any questions, please contact your strata council or the WDC Board by email at wdc@whistler.ca.

Update from November 6, 2019

The November 1, 2019 deadline has now passed for homeowners of the 174 Whistler 2020 Development Corporation (WDC)-constructed townhomes connected to the Cheakamus Crossing District Energy System (DES) to submit release forms for the updated Home Heating Repair and Maintenance Program.

The threshold—of having the owners of at least 75 per cent of the units per strata corporation sign release forms—was met by all five of the strata corporations: The Heights, The Rise, The Terrace, Whitewater and Riverbend.

Funding and payment
The estimated cost for this program is $870,000, and the Resort Municipality of Whistler plans to loan those funds to the WDC.

Whistler Council will consider final approval of this loan on November 19, 2019.

Once the WDC loan has been approved by Council, the WDC will verify each application and mail $5,000 per property directly to those owners, who have signed the release form.

Update from August 20, 2019

The Whistler 2020 Development Corporation (WDC) is offering an updated Home Heating Repair and Maintenance Program for owners of the 174 WDC-constructed townhouses connected to the Cheakamus Crossing District Energy System.

A program to provide funding for heating system repair and maintenance was offered by the WDC in 2018. This program has recently been updated based on feedback from homeowners.

To qualify for the updated Home Heating Repair and Maintenance Program registered owners of at least 75 per cent of the units (a reduction from 100 per cent) in a strata development must sign the Release Form that indemnifies the WDC and the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) from future claims regarding the owner's home heating system.

The end date for the program is November 1, 2019, after which no further claims for this program will be considered.

To participate in the program:

Review and complete the Release Form
Ensure that all owners on title for your property sign the release form.
Submit your completed form to your strata council and ensure that they submit the form to the WDC by 4:30 p.m. on November 1, 2019.

Your strata council will collect and provide completed forms to the WDC.

Once 75 per cent of the homeowners in your strata complex have signed the release form, and eligibility has been verified by the WDC, a cheque of $5,000 per property will be issued to the property owners, who have signed the release form.

If you have any questions, please contact your strata council or the WDC Board by email at wdc@whistler.ca.

Update from November 1, 2018

As directed by Council, RMOW staff have met with the strata presidents and the associated property management companies for the five strata corporations that represent the homes constructed by the Whistler2020 Development Corporation.

The strata presidents and property managers are now in the process of developing guidelines for how the funds will be utilized by each strata, and the RMOW has provided them with a Release and Indemnity Agreement that each owner will need to sign. For more information on this initiative please contact your strata president.

Update from September 19, 2018

During a closed meeting, Council discussed the District Energy System-connected home heating systems associated with the Whistler Development Corporation-constructed homes in Cheakamus Crossing.

Further to steps already taken to provide these property owners with ongoing information, maintenance support and options, Council recognizes that some residents are still having issues with their in-home systems and are seeking further information, guidance and assistance.

Council resolved the following on September 18, 2018.

That Council transfer $870,000 to Whistler2020 Development Corporation (“WDC”) for funding of repairs and maintenance of the home heating systems in the 174 homes constructed by WDC.
That Council require that these funds be distributed to the five strata corporations in proportion to number of units in each strata as follows: The Heights $135,000; The Rise $300,000; Riverbend $100,000; The Terrace $135,000; Whitewater $200,000.
That Council require the strata corporations of the five WDC constructed strata properties to develop guidelines, in collaboration with property management companies and RMOW staff, that will determine how the funds can be accessed. To receive the funds, each strata corporation will need to bring forward fund administration guidelines as well as a release from each homeowner in their strata that indemnifies the WDC and the RMOW from future liability with respect to the home heating systems.
That Council require the guidelines for funding to include, among other things, how the funds will be prioritized, a maximum amount per property, annual reporting on expenditures, and assurances that work will be carried out by qualified professionals.

Details of the program will be communicated to homeowners through their quarterly DES billing package in Fall 2018 and posted on the Cheakamus Crossing and RMOW websites.

Council supports amended District Energy System recommendations

Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) Council has supported and amended recommendations for the Cheakamus Crossing District Energy System (DES) following a comprehensive report and presentation by the Whistler 2020 Development Corporation (WDC) and senior RMOW staff.

The amended resolutions supported by Council were to:

Direct WDC to extend Phase 2 of the DES Upgrade and Maintenance Program to a final end date of May 1, 2018;
Request WDC to facilitate a discussion of bulk pricing for annual maintenance of the home heating systems in the 174 townhomes constructed by WDC; and
Direct staff to create a process that would conditionally allow owners of the 174 townhomes constructed by WDC the option to disconnect from the DES, if they are still dissatisfied with the operation of their home heating systems.

Find out more about disconnection inquiries.

Download the Forensic Audit Report

The Forensic Audit Report was provided by WDC and the Cheakamus Crossing Volunteer Committee.

Guides for homeowners

Homeowner Quick Reference Guide – A quick reference guide to help residents experiencing technical difficulties.
Technical Service Guide – A detailed handbook identifying components in the residential DES system with a recommended routine maintenance schedule for this equipment.

Energy Efficiency Study

The Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) has conducted a study to look at energy efficiency in the District Energy System. We selected six volunteer homes and collected data for a six month period (from January 1 to June 30, 2016).

This study replaces a cancelled BC Hydro study intended to examine district energy systems across various BC jurisdictions. The purpose of the study was to determine how these systems perform relative to an electric boiler system and to standard electric baseboards.

The study involved the installation of monitoring equipment on the heating systems in six Cheakamus Crossing townhomes to collect information on how energy is consumed for space heating and domestic hot water. Results were reported back to Council on January 24, 2017.

Home Information Packages

Whistler Development Corporation (WDC) retained the services of Conasys Home Information Systems to provide homeowners in Cheakamus Crossing with unit-specific guides.

Access the customized home owner information package at homeinformationpackages.com.

Fees and charges

The RMOW collects annual user fees for the District Energy System on a quarterly basis. Residents of the Cheakamus Crossing neighbourhood can expect to receive their bills shortly after the end of each quarter on April 1, July 1, September 1 and December 31.

User fees are collected in accordance with the Cheakamus Crossing District Energy System Fee Bylaw.

Reports

Resources

Qualified Service Providers

When servicing your home heating system, you can select any service provider of your choice. However you would be wise to select a contractor with related experience in Hydronic heating systems. The following list should not be considered complete nor all inclusive, however Whistler Development Corporation (WDC) prequalified the following service providers.

Energy1Scott Miller
energy1design@gmail.com604 655-4323
705 West 15th Street
North Vancouver, B.C.

Haakon Ind.
Simon Miller
simon.haakon@gmail.com
604-315-3695