About - Creative Energy

About Us

Who we are

Our History

Our Team

99.99% RELIABILITY SINCE 1968

280 MW of capacity

Over 15 KM of underground piping

215 connected customers exceeding 45M sq. ft. of real estate

Uninterrupted services for over 50 years

Owner and operator of one of North America’s largest district energy systems

From designing and building, to maintaining and operating, creative energy's highly skilled and experienced team of professionals have a client-focused, community-vested approach to projects that deliver outstanding quality and service while providing tangible value for partners, customers and the community.

We are energy developers

Creative Energy owns and operates one of the largest district energy systems in North America. Since 1968, we’ve been delivering outstanding customer service with a 99.99% reliability record; today, our original plant in downtown Vancouver now serves over 215 customers across more than 45 million square feet of connected real estate.

Aiming to bring low-carbon district energy to cities across North America, Creative Energy is currently developing 15 new district energy projects with a range of innovative technologies including ocean-exchange, geo-exchange, biomass, cogeneration/CHP, and microgrids.

Through collaboration and partnerships, Creative Energy designs, builds, owns, operates, and maintains sustainable neighbourhood scale energy systems that support responsible development, business value, and community growth, shaping great cities. Through premier end-to-end service value, we extend the benefits of district energy with rate certainty, quality of service and carbon reduction by utilizing an array of technologies to develop district systems.

Flexible, Scalable Projects

Integrating projects across the value chain to achieve exceptional environmental and economic outcomes.

Maximization of usable building space

Our district energy solutions removes the need for boiler rooms, chiller rooms, cooling towers, and associated shafts within the buildings, allowing building owners to gain full value of their real estate.

Alignment with customers

Providing long term energy security which is at or below market costs, reducing strata reserve funds and operating costs by removing thermal generation assets from within buildings.

Decarbonization of the Built Environment

By leveraging the economies of scales of a district system, we can implement low-carbon technical solutions that are not economical at the building scale.

Avoided Thermal Capital

Helping building developers and owners to remove the cost of boilers, chillers, and cooling towers from the building’s construction budget.

Transparent Collaboration

Creating partnerships and engaging stakeholders to ensure success

Unparalleled technical innovation

Enhancing system reliability, resiliency, and efficiency.

Serving Canadian energy needs for over 50 years, Creative Energy’s value proposition is based on a foundation of service reliability, exceptional customer service and continued growth

1968

Vancouver faced huge problems from the pollution and inefficiencies involved in heating buildings using fuel oil and coal. Their solution was Central Heat Distribution, BC’s first district energy company.

Central Heat used highly efficient gas boilers to produce steam that was distributed to individual buildings through a network of underground pipes, converting the Vancouver Press building to a centralized natural gas steam boiler plant.

Significantly improving local air quality through the removal of 600 individual boiler stacks, Central Heat established itself as an integral part of the community.

1970

Creative Energy generates energy for CBC

1977

Vancouver’s landmark Gastown Steam Clock was originally powered by steam from our pipes. To this day, the whistle remains powered by Creative Energy’s steam plant.

1979

Creative Energy generates energy for St. Paul’s Hospital. Patients and staff depend on our system’s reliability

1982

Creative Energy generates energy for Expo Plaza — Site of Expo 86

Creative Energy generates energy for BC Place, an official emergency centre during a seismic event or other disaster; a testament to the resilience of our system.

1995

Creative Energy generates energy for Vancouver Public Library

Creative Energy generates energy for Rogers Arena

2009

Creative Energy generates energy for Woodward’s Building

Creative Energy generates energy for Vancouver Convention Centre

2014

By 2014, Central Heat’s 15 km network of pipes was serving over 210 buildings in Vancouver’s downtown core, providing the lowest cost source of energy in the city.

2016

A new hot-water generation node is created at Main and Keefer

2017

Creative Energy generates energy for Vancouver House

2019

Creative Energy begins construction on Mirvish Village and opens an office in Toronto

2020

Combining 50 years of experience with an unwavering commitment to innovation, Creative Energy is one of the leading low-carbon district energy developers in Canada.

Our Team

With more than 200 years of collective experience in operating and maintaining district energy systems, our team works closely with customers to ensure efficiency and reliability. Creative Energy assembles exceptional teams to deliver world class systems, engaging in innovative partnerships to manage risks and benefits, provide cost certainty and enhance growth opportunities.

Wayne O'Connor
President and CEO

Wayne comes to Creative Energy with over 30 years of industry expertise and leadership spanning multiple Canadian and North American electricity and energy markets. He brings a depth of market, operational and infrastructure knowledge, and an inclusive approach to leading and building high-performance teams. Most recently, Wayne has served as President and Chief Executive Officer ENMAX Corp, leading a team of approximately 2,100 employees operating in Alberta and Maine. Prior to that, Wayne was the CEO of Nova Scotia Power leading a team of 1,700 employees and overseeing a portfolio of generation, transmission and distribution assets valued at over $4 billion. Prior to this role, Wayne held a series of executive leadership positions across Emera Inc. companies, including President and Chief Operating Officer of Emera Energy, Executive Vice President, Operations for Nova Scotia Power, and Executive Vice President, Business Development and Strategy for Emera Inc.

Nathan Reeve
CFO

Nathan Reeve is a senior finance executive with extensive experience in diverse industries ranging from energy and mining to manufacturing and agriculture. Prior to joining Creative Energy in January 2022, he held senior finance positions with Ontario Power Generation, Enerflex and, most recently, at Sherritt where he served as interim CFO. Nathan holds the Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) designation and has a Master of Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario and a Master of Arts in Economics from Cambridge University.

Kieran McConnell
Senior Vice President, Engineering & Innovation

Kieran McConnell is a Professional Engineer with over 20 years of experience in district energy, powers generation, industrial water, and energy management. Acting as an advisor to utility developers across North America, Kieran played a key role in the development of the Southeast False Creek Neighbourhood Energy Utility, including the feasibility, design, construction, operations and expansion of the system. Kieran holds a Bachelor of Engineering from McGill University.

Diego Mandelbaum
Vice President, Development

Diego Mandelbaum is an experienced Mechanical Engineer specializing in district energy, electrification, and low-carbon energy systems. At Creative Energy, he leads the company’s growth and network expansion with a focus on technical excellence, strategic partnerships, and collaborative delivery. He previously served as a managing principal for Stantec, an international engineering and architecture firm. Diego holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of British Columbia.

Lori Parker
Director, Operations

Lori is a Power Engineer who joined Creative Energy (Central Heat) in 2010, initially overseeing the distribution and service team while developing and building customer relationships. Now as the Director of Operations, Lori utilizes 35 years of experience striving for operational excellence. A combined resume of experience in operations, middle and senior management, lend themselves to a unique level of oversight, vision and efficiency in overseeing Creative Energy’s operations and the overall delivery of energy to our customers.

Rob Gorter
Director, Regulatory Affairs and Customer Relations

At Creative Energy, Rob manages our customer relations, new contracts and directs the strategy and regulatory approval of our cost of service, rate design and development projects. He previously served as a senior manager at BC Hydro in Regulatory Affairs and Market Operations. Prior to his work with BC Hydro, Rob was a Senior Economist at the BC Utilities Commission and a consultant in applied resource and environmental economics.

Samson Tam
Director, Development

Samson Tam is a Professional Engineer with an established track record of successful low-carbon energy systems. Previously a consultant, certified passive house designer, and LEED accredited, he now works in partnership with developers and institutional partners to build sustainable, low-carbon district energy systems at Creative Energy. Samson holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Waterloo and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of British Columbia.