THE FUTURE OF ENERGY
OUR CHANGING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE POWER GRID
After a century of slow evolution, Ontario’s electricity grid is modernizing faster than ever — and consumers are helping lead the charge
The electricity system in Ontario has come a long way since 2003, when there wasn’t always sufficient supply and fingers were crossed for a cool summer. Ontario now finds itself in a position of strength, with adequate generation and transmission to supply demand for at least the next 18 months, according to the Independent Electricity System Operator’s (IESO) latest 18-Month Outlook.
What changed? There has been nothing less than a transformation taking place. For the past decade or so, there has been a sustained focus on investing in the system — first to make it more reliable and resilient, and in recent years to offset the retirement of coal-fired generation. In addition, technological advances are leading to new possibilities through energy management tools, solar panels and energy storage.
Ontario currently has a robust system and a clean, diverse supply mix. The renewable energy fleet, including wind generation, continues to grow and is well integrated into the system. So now that Ontario is on a firm footing, attention can be turned to finding efficiencies and looking for new ways to meet future needs.
Conservation and demand management provide clean, costeffective alternatives to generation. The province has set an ambitious conservation goal to meet future electricity growth by reducing energy consumption primarily through energy efficiency. The IESO is implementing a new Conservation First Framework with local utilities, which will include new and innovative programs for consumers. Conservation is the first resource considered in planning the power system, and new possibilities are emerging every day. Companies across Ontario, including local utilities, continue to pursue inventive ways to engage consumers and incent conservation. Things have come a long way from simply asking people to turn off their lights when they leave the room.
Conservation is a key part of the electricity system now and in the future because when customers conserve electricity, it benefits just about everyone. Businesses can improve their productivity, customers can better manage their costs, new generation facilities can be avoided or deferred, and greenhouse gas emissions are reduced.
When consumers intentionally reduce their electricity consumption during a peak period or shift it to an off-peak period, it is called demand response. This takes consumer-level participation a step further than conservation. Essentially demand response offers customers the chance to become active players in the operation of the electricity
The electricity system is changing in ways that were not envisioned even a decade ago.
grid, providing new tools to the system operator. This can be a costeffective alternative to new supply. By the year 2025, Ontario’s LongTerm Energy Plan aims to place demand response in a position to reduce peak demand by 10 per cent. The first steps, already underway, are for the IESO to transition previous programs into marketbased programs, pilot new types of demand response to address system needs, and finalize design details for an auction for demand response, which will seek out the lowest-cost providers.
How else can the value of the system be enhanced? One way is through the use of data. The IESO is responsible for Ontario’s Meter Data Management and Repository, which manages the processing of smart metering data for Ontario’s 4.8 million residential and small commercial customers. A project is currently underway to explore how to enhance the value of this data while continuing to safeguard the privacy of consumers. There is significant potential value in this data for the design of conservation and demand response programs, system planning, the development of third-party products and services, policy development, academic research and innovation.
The electricity system is changing in ways that were not envisioned even a decade ago. Smaller-scale generation projects that are connected to local distribution systems are on the rise. Ontario currently has more than 1,500 megawatts of distribution-connected solar power, and more than 2,000 megawatts is expected by 2017. That’s about the same size as the generating units at Niagara Falls. This trend will likely last as solar panels continue to drop in price and consumers increasingly show an interest in opportunities to self-generate.
There is also growing investment in energy storage technologies, resulting in more viable products that can complement solar. A small but increasing amount of storage is already operating on Ontario’s grid, providing services usually obtained from generators. And as electric vehicles rise in popularity, their batteries could be used to let electricity flow from the car to the power lines and back again.
For an electricity grid that evolved slowly over the past century without much change, we are now witnessing changes that will collectively transform and modernize the system. Consumers in many ways are leading the charge. Their relationship with electricity is changing – people used to flip on the light switch without a second thought. Now consumers generate electricity for the grid, can reduce demand on demand, strategically conserve energy using consumption data, can adjust the thermostat from their phone or tablet and, most importantly, are participating more in decisions that affect the electricity grid that serves them. This collaboration between the industry and stakeholders is key to finding the best solutions for the future.