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PUC waits to hear details of slashed energy conservation programs

Ford government believes its new electricity bill will save as much as $442 million
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The Sault's PUC Distribution Inc. is awaiting specifics after Ontario Energy Minister Greg Rickford announced deep cuts to provincial energy conservation programs late last week.

In a news release announcing his government's Fixing the Hydro Mess Act, 2019, Rickford disclosed that "local distribution companies will no longer receive up to $150 million in bonus payments for achieving targets, payments that did nothing to help low-income families or seniors lower their monthly electricity bills."

In addition to the planned incentive cancellations, Rickford's Friday announcement said remaining conservation programs will be taken away from local utilities, transferred instead to the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) to avoid unnecessary duplication.

"There isn’t much we can say about that announcement," Giordan Zin, PUC's manager of customer engagement and corporate communications, told SooToday.

"We didn’t have any advance notice, and we are still in the process of trying to digest it fully."

The Ford government believes the new electricity bill will save as much as $442 million by refocussing and uploading programs to the IESO.

Energy conservation programs likely to be eliminated include:

  • business refrigeration incentive: provides businesses incentives for the direct installation of product refrigeration equipment upgrades
  • audit funding program: provides funding for a portion of the cost of a facility energy audit
  • high performance new construction: provides design assistance and incentives for building owners and planners who design and implement energy efficient equipment within their new space
  • existing building commissioning: provides incentives for improving the efficiency of the chilled water system, including, audit, purchase and installation of equipment
  • monitoring and targeting: provides incentives to purchase and install a monitoring and targeting system operational incentives
  • instant discounts: provides point-of-purchase incentives at participating retailers for qualifying energy-efficient products including LED light bulbs, light fixtures and power bars
  • heating and cooling incentive: provides rebates for purchasing and installing new qualifying energy-efficient heating and cooling equipment (central air conditioners and furnaces), including smart thermostats and air sourced heat pump/system
  • residential new construction: provides incentives to improve energy performance and install energy efficient products in new builds

Remaining conservation programs to be transferred away from local distribution companies to the IESO include lighting upgrades for small businesses; retrofitting of inefficient lighting, motors and variable-frequency drives; targeted programs for on-reserve First Nation communities and free home energy assessments and installation of savings measures for income-eligible customers.

"Local distribution companies have made a vital contribution to delivering savings to all customers across Ontario, including families, small businesses, farmers, medium and large businesses," said Teresa Sarkesian, president and chief executive officer of the Electricity Distributors Association,

"The unfortunate elimination of programs and incentives dismisses the proven success local distribution companies have had in delivering conservation in Ontario communities," Sarkesian said.

"According to the IESO, the body that manages Ontario's power grid, local hydro utilities have saved over 5.8 billion kilowatt hours, enough to power more than 640,000 homes for a full year. Moreover, Ontario local distribution companies have achieved these results at the lowest cost on record, well below previous centrally delivered programs and well below any other neighbouring jurisdiction."

"Both the PUC and the provincial government are trying to reduce electricity rates," Zin told SooToday.

"PUC has taken a different approach, and we are trying to add value through initiatives like the Smart Grid and our battery storage initiative," he said.

"The provincial government cuts to the conservation programs will have some impact on our commercial customers, but we hope the initiatives we have in place will make up for it."

For example, Zin said PUC's battery storage project will be the largest of its kind in Canada.

"This project has the potential to make Sault Ste. Marie the most competitive business environment in Ontario, while at the same time significantly reducing our carbon footprint," he said.

Further specifics about the conservation program changes and projected savings are expected to be released by the IESO.

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David Helwig

About the Author: David Helwig

David Helwig's journalism career spans seven decades beginning in the 1960s. His work has been recognized with national and international awards.
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