CAPG - QUEST (Quality Urban Energy Systems of Tomorrow)

Municipalities are responsible for managing the systems that communities depend on, including roads, bridges, water and waste management, and are dependent on reliable delivery and distribution of energy for the functioning of a community. These systems, both municipal and energy distribution systems, are essential, interconnected and must work together to maintain the resilience of a community. More recently, municipalities and utilities (gas, electric, thermal, and water) have begun to explore how to align and integrate their respective processes for adaptation and resilience planning. There remains a critical gap in Canadian based tools and processes to support municipalities and utilities to plan for adaptation using a mutually supportive approach. Municipalities and Utilities Partnering for Community Resilience initiative offer six municipalities and their utilities in two provinces, which have experienced impacts to their energy distribution system as a result of ice storms, flooding or forest fire, to administer a vulnerability assessment and prepare an adaptation strategy. Participating municipalities in the initiative can expect to develop knowledge of local climate risks and hazards, be capable of evaluating and deploying adaptation measures, and know where to target investments to enhance asset management, reduce infrastructure vulnerability, and avoid prolonged negative community economic impacts. The initiative will deploy an interactive mapping exercise that allows municipalities to identify hazards, risks, and vulnerabilities, while simultaneously consider opportunities to both reduce risks and enhance community environmental performance. The exercise will draw on federally endorsed tools, including the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction 10 Essentials for Making Cities Resilient and the Rural Disaster Resilience Portal (JIBC). These tools support municipalities to identify strengths and weaknesses, where to target investments, support asset management, and achieve community wide economic impacts. The initiative will also support municipalities and utilities to collaborate to support the implementation of a vulnerability assessment and adaptation strategy.The team will be collaborating with the following partners in the project by inviting them to take part in the participant (peer to peer) initiative group and webinars:• The Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties (AAMDC). AAMDC is a participant in the QUEST Alberta Municipal Working Group and has offered to circulate the outcomes of the initiative with its members. This will contribute to expand the awareness of the work and opportunities for enhancing collaboration among municipalities and utilities for risk assessments and adaptation strategies. • The Association of Municipal Administrators of New Brunswick (AMANB). AAMDC is a participant in the QUEST New Brunswick Municipal Working Group and has offered to circulate the outcomes of the initiative with its members. This will contribute to expand the awareness of the work and opportunities for enhancing collaboration among municipalities and utilities for risk assessments and adaptation strategies. • Canadian Gas Association (CGA) and Canadian Electricity Association (CEA). CGA and CEA are supporters of QUEST and participate in relevant QUEST Working Groups across Canada. CGA and CEA have offered to circulate the outcomes of the initiative with their members. This will contribute to expand the awareness of the work and opportunities for enhancing collaboration among municipalities and utilities for risk assessments and adaptation strategies.• The appropriate utilities for each participating community will also be invited to participate. For New Brunswick, this will include NB Power and Enbridge Gas. In Alberta, utilities to be invited include Fortis Electric and ATCO Gas for the Town of Okotoks; Federation of Alberta Gas Co-ops and EPCOR for the Town of Devon; and, Fortis Alberta and ATCO Gas for the Town of Cochrane.