Electricity > Purchased

You produce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from this activity if your organization uses electricity that’s provided by a utility company. This is a Scope 2 (indirect) emission.

Note: If your building is heated by electric baseboards or an electric air-forced furnace, the emissions from powering those appliances must be included when you report this activity.

Enter information about the electricity you purchased into Climate Smart to calculate the emissions from your inventory period.

On this page:

• Examples of emission sources
• Prepare the data you need
  • Option 1: Actual consumption (most accurate)
  • Option 2: Estimate by size and location (less accurate)
  • Option 3: Estimate by cost (least accurate)
  • Option 4: From a specific emissions factor (rare cases)
• Find your emissions data
• Enter data into your inventory

Examples of emission sources

Not sure if you should report this emission source? You should consider tracking this activity in your inventory if:

• Your organization pays for electricity from a utility provider such as BC Hydro, Hydro One, Direct Energy, etc.

Prepare the data you need

To get your data ready for Climate Smart, choose one of the following options based on the information that’s available to you. This will be the method you use to calculate the GHGsemitted by your organization. 

Remember to collect information for the relevant inventory period.

Option 1: Actual consumption (most accurate)

You’ll get the most accurate results if you enter the actual amount of electricity you purchased during the year. This means you’ll need to know:

• Amount of electricity your organization purchased(kilowatt hours, gigajoules, or British thermal units) 

Option 2: Estimate by size and location (least accurate)

If you don’t know how much electricity you used, you can estimate your average emissions based on: 

• Size of your building or facility (warehouse, plant, etc.) in square meters or square feet

Option 3: Estimate by cost (less accurate) 

If you know how much you paid for electricity from a utility provider, you can use this data to estimate your emissions. You might choose this method if you don’t have utility bills, but you do have:

• Receipts
• Bank or credit card statements
• Financial accounting records (for example, QuickBooks)

Option 4: From a specific emissions factor (rare cases) 

In rare cases, you might need to add data to your inventory from a specific emissions factor. This might be the case if you’re a regulated reporter, meaning the government needs your organization to report specific information from your major sources of emissions.

If this applies to your organization, you’ll need to know: 

• Amount of electricity purchased during the year (gigajoules) 
• Your emission factor (kilogram CO₂e/unit)

Find your emissions data

Not sure where to find the data you need? Try the following suggestions:

Ask your accounting department

Your accounting department might already have the information you need! Ask your team about collecting data for your emissions inventory.

Check your electricity bills

Your electricity bills include important information you need for your inventory, such as:

• Cost
• Location
• Amount of electricity your organization purchased

If your organization has an online account with your energy provider, you might be able to download a spreadsheet with your electricity consumption and cost for each billing period.

Note: Your billing periods might not match the dates you’re measuring – that’s okay! Pick a one-year period that’s closest to your inventory start and end dates to estimate the amount of electricity purchased during your inventory period. 

Enter data into your inventory

When you’re ready to track emissions from this activity, you can start entering the data you’ve collected into Climate Smart. 

Add this activity to your inventory

Before you can enter information about your emissions, you need to add this activity to your inventory. Learn how to add new activities to your inventory.

Add an entry to your inventory

To enter your data into Climate Smart:

1. Choose a calculation method based on the data you have:
   • If you’re entering the exact amount of electricity you purchased, select Actual Consumption and enter your information into Climate Smart.
   • If you need to estimate based on your building size and location, select Estimate by Area and enter your information into Climate Smart.
   • If you need to estimate based on how much you paid for electricity, select Estimate by Cost and enter your information into Climate Smart.
   • If you’re reporting a specific emissions factor, select From a Specific Factor and enter your information into Climate Smart.
2. Enter the start and end dates of the activity you’re measuring. These will usually match the start and end dates of your inventory period. 
3. Enter the total cost of electricity (including taxes) for this entry. If you’re estimating the amount, select the checkbox next to Cost is estimate. Tell us if you paid in Canadian Dollars (CAD) or United States Dollars (USD) from Currency the drop-down list. 
4. Under Description, enter information such as:
   • Utility provider name
   • Utility account number
   • Utility meter
5. In the Note box, enter optional information including any details that might be helpful for you (or your Climate Smart Advisor, if applicable) in the future.  
6. When you’re done, click ADD ENTRY. Your entry will appear in the table below.

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