Energy Manager Profiles

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Paul Seo, BC Hydro Program Manager

An energy industry veteran with nearly two decades of experience, Paul handles the behavioural and education portfolio. After starting with BC Hydro in 1989, Paul left to pursue consulting and also worked with Terasen Gas before returning to BC Hydro. Married to wife Lynn, Paul squeezes in some quality TV time (hockey, basketball and reality TV) when he's not coaching, working the concession at his 8-year-old son Joshua's soccer and baseball games, or driving 6-year-old daughter Jordan to dance, gymnastics and swimming.

Questions & answers

In a nutshell, what's your job all about?

"Energy conservation is broken up into three categories; capital investments, behavioural and operational. My portfolio is made up of behavioural initiatives, which includes resources, training, planning and cultural change for organizations to become more aware of energy conservation."

How have you helped change conservation culture in businesses?

"Since I started with BC Hydro, roughly 25 organizations have gone through the Energy Management Assessment (EMA). It's a diagnostic session with senior management to get a better understanding of the organization's energy management practices and procedures. At each session, I learn more about the industry and I see organizations learn more about themselves."

Rumour has it you're quite the fisherman. Any tales to tell?

"My family and I went to Manning Park last year for a week; we stayed in a cabin, and had a blast. The highlight was fishing with the Spongebob Squarepants fishing rod. The lowlight was constantly going into the freezing cold lake to untangle the fishing line when it got stuck. And at the end of the day, we did not catch a single fish. My son did eventually catch a baseball cap and we have the picture nicely framed in my den!"

OK. So you're not the World's Greatest Fisher. Other than your job, what are you really good at?

"I love being a father to my kids.To pass along all the lessons learned from my parents to my kids is a wonderful experience. Anybody that has kids of their own can truly appreciate the fun, frustrations and other dynamic emotions of being a father."

Guilty pleasure

Few of us are flawless conservationists. Tell us about your dark side.

"Whenever my wife 'asks' me to help out in the garden, I bring out a fan if it is a hot day. Apparently, there is an unwritten rule about being uncomfortable when you garden, as my wife had a good laugh. I'll keep the fan oscillating the whole time I'm outside."

Energy saver

What have you done to conserve energy?

• "When we moved into our house, the first thing we did was buy a programmable thermostat."
• "We unplugged many of the appliances to reduce phantom load."
• "We encourage our kids to turn off the lights when they are not in use."
• "I incorporated the Energy Star features on my computers."
• "We installed motion sensors for our outside lights."
• "Replaced incandescent lights in high usage areas with CFLs."
• "Lowered the temperature on our hot water tank."