In the Air - HRAI Industry News

Earlier this year, the Board of Directors of the HVAC Coalition Inc. decided that, after almost 30 years of successfully advocating for HVACR contractors on utility matters in Ontario, the time had come to dissolve the HVAC Coalition Inc. as a separate, stand-alone corporation.  To ensure the ongoing watchdog function of the Coalition continues without interruption, however, the torch has been passed to the leadership of the HRAI Contractors Division.  

The track record of the HVAC Coalition has been impressive.  Starting in the mid-1990s, with the support of HRAI’s manufacturer and wholesaler members, as well as a small group of like-minded associations like ORAC, RHVCA, and CIPH, the Coalition took up the cause of HVAC contractors to defend against inappropriate encroachments into the industry by regulated utilities. 

With an initial focus on the equipment rental and service programs of the two gas utilities in Ontario (Union Gas and Consumers Gas), the Coalition made a compelling case before the Ontario Energy Board for eliminating the ratepayer subsidies that made these programs so successful and so damaging to competitors (and costly for ratepayers). 

The OEB responded by imposing proper cost allocation procedures on the utilities, which led to these “ancillary” businesses (amounting to hundreds of millions in revenue annually) being separated out and eventually sold off, though the process was not without some bumps along the way.  In time, the marketplace in Ontario evolved into a fairer, more competitive environment where contractors could survive and thrive on their merits.  The goal then, as always, was to create a “level playing field” for all competitors in the sector.  Contractors in Ontario, whether they realize it or not, have benefited substantially from the work of the HVAC Coalition.   

Despite its successes, however (or quite possibly because of them) the HVAC Coalition struggled in recent years to secure the necessary industry support funds to provide for its basic operational needs.  The Coalition’s financial model was always to seek financial support from industry only when a pressing issue required action, and hence the success in resolving most of the major utility concerns made it difficult to attract continued support.  There has simply been no sense of urgency in recent years.  For this reason, the HVAC Coalition Board came to the conclusion that its mandate would be better pursued on the more stable platform of HRAI’s Contractors Division. 

In April, HVAC Coalition Chair Peter Messenger (A1 Air Conditioning and Heating) and Coalition co-founder Roger Grochmal (formerly of Atlas Care) wrote to the HRAI Contractors Division Board of Directors with a request to “…assume responsibility for maintaining a ‘watch’ on the activities of utilities across the country, to ensure that the principle of a level playing field for all competitors – a principle that is so important to our shared members – is supported in spirit and in substance, in whatever form the Contractors Board should see fit.”  In making this request, the HVAC Coalition board asked that HRAI “take on the mantle of leadership on issues arising from the inappropriate and potentially anti-competitive activities of utilities.”   

At its meeting on May 24th, the HRAI Contractors Division agreed unanimously to accept the challenge and to take on responsibility for utility matters, not just in Ontario but across the country.  The Board will be establishing a utility action committee of volunteers in the weeks and months to come. 

As it happens, there appears to be a new cause for industry action on the utility front, not only in Ontario but also in some other provinces.  Though the terms of reference for this committee are still in development, the Contractors Division is interested in hearing from members who might have an interest in taking part in industry committee. 

If you have an interest in participating on this committee, please contact Martin Luymes at 1-800-267-2231 ext. 235 or email  mluymes@hrai.ca.