Our small Canadian province of Prince Edward Island imports over $400 million of energy from off-Island every year.  94% of our homes and businesses use oil as a heating source.  We're more dependent on gasoline-powered cars than many other areas.  Add all this together and you get a jurisdiction both unusually exposed to rises in world oil prices and contributing a lot to climate change.

Mike Proud has been working as a provincial public servant for over 20 years on the energy file, most recently as Manager of the Office of Energy Efficiency.  

The office works with homeowners, businesses and institutions to help them reduce energy consumption by providing resources, overseeing grant and loan programs  and providing services, like the energy meter loan program, that help Islanders become more aware of our consumption.

I sat down with Mike at his office in Charlottetown to talk about the energy situation in Prince Edward Island in general and the work his office is carrying out.