Ontario Businesses Join Homeowners in Quest
to Reduce Province’s Peak Electricity Use

OPA Programs Key to Saving Money and Electricity

The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) is making a significant addition to it’s suite of business-focused Demand Response programs as part of its long term planning to address electricity system supply and demand needs.

The new Demand Response program will encourage businesses to be ready to respond to requests to reduce their operations during peak periods—when energy is most expensive and demands on the system are highest. Program rules were posted on the OPA’s website this morning.

The business-focused program, developed in co-operation with the Independent Electricity System Operator following an extensive pilot project in 2006, complements the existing residential peaksaver™ programs, which reduces residential use during the same critical periods. Together, the programs benefit all electricity consumers by enhancing system reliability and reducing the need to build new generation.

“Our primary task in the next few years is to find cost-effective ways to reduce peak demand for electricity,“ says Paul Shervill, OPA Vice President of Conservation and Sector Development. “Through Demand Response initiatives we hope to be able to offset new growth in peak demand for a number of years to come.”

Later in August, the OPA expects to announce preliminary program rules for another Demand Response program.  The new program—called load-shifting—will encourage businesses to shift part of their operations away from peak periods of electricity use.

“We believe these programs—along with others in the works—will create one of the most aggressive Demand Response initiatives in North America,” says Shervill. Similar programs in other heavy power use regions, such as California, have proven to be an effective and flexible alternative to building new generation and transmission capabilities. 

In 2006, the OPA launched the province’s first phase of Demand Response programs by calling on Ontario’s largest industrial and manufacturing companies to voluntarily reduce power use at peak times. The pilot program attracted six participants and yielded some 183 MW of reductions when the system most needed it—enough to power 9,000 Ontario homes.

“Demand Response is comparable to the residential peaksaverTM program, where customers can sign up to have their air conditioners turned off during peak periods,” says OPA Director of DR and Industrial Programs, Sean Brady.  “However, Demand Response for business goes well beyond cutbacks to air conditioning and allows each participating company to examine their operations in detail and make operational choices that suit them.”

“By predictably taking large chunks of demand off the system, we believe that the OPA’s Demand Response programs will become a critical tool for better managing electricity demand in Ontario,” he adds.

Several Ontario companies are “early-adopters” of the OPA’s Demand Response effort:

• Leading Canadian integrated forest products company, Tembec, participated in the 2006 pilot. Tembec used the OPA’s program to not only reduce its demand, but to significantly reduce its overall cost of electricity—a huge benefit in the world’s highly competitive forestry market.
  
  “We’re very excited that the Demand Response program has proven to be a win-win situation for both the Province and Tembec,” says Charles Black, Vice President of Tembec.  “Overall, the program has helped us become a more efficient operation and our Kapuskasing facility has seen an 8% reduction in electricity costs since signing onto the program.”

• Grocery retailer Loblaw Companies got its Demand Response effort going after winning a 2005 contract with the provincial government to reduce energy consumption in 110 of its largest stores by a total of 10 MW, when the system called for the reduction. The OPA now manages the contract.
  
  

  "Through the innovative Demand Response system, Loblaw Companies is proud to assist in ensuring the stability of our province's energy supply," says Elizabeth Margles, Vice President, Public Relations, Loblaw Companies. "Our stores and support offices represent one per cent of the province's total energy demand. It is our responsibility to ensure we do our part in maintaining the integrity of the system for our own business, but also for the homes of the millions of consumers who walk through our doors each week."

• In York Region, Rodan Energy responded to a request for what the industry calls “aggregators”—companies that combine and manage the conservation efforts of a number organizations, greatly increasing the reach and effectiveness of the effort. Aggregators will also play an important role in future OPA Demand Response programs.
  
  

  “Rodan Energy is very proud to help deliver the Demand Response Program to York Region,” says Paul Grod, CEO of Rodan Energy. “To date, we have provided up to 20 MW of demand response resources to York Region and we’re working hard to deliver up to another 25 MW throughout the province of Ontario.”

Ontario Power Authority
In pursuit of its mandate of ensuring an adequate, long-term supply of electricity for Ontario, the OPA creates and implements conservation and demand management programs, ensures adequate investment in new supply infrastructure, performs long-term electricity system planning, and facilitates the development of a more sustainable and competitive electricity system.