Toronto: The Ontario Power Authority has recently completed consultations in advance of its plans for a new industrial power conservation program. The program as currently designed would allow onsite generation up to 20 MW to be treated as part of the customer’s eligible efficiency investment, subject to certain conditions. The “Industrial Transmission Connected Electricity Efficiency Program” is designed “to assist transmission connected companies to fast-track capital investment in major energy efficiency projects.”
The OPA says the five-year program will “provide attractive financial incentives to encourage investment in innovative process changes and equipment retrofits so that the rate of return is competitive with other capital projects. In exchange, companies will contractually commit to delivering specific conservation targets within a set period of time and to maintaining them over the term of the contract.”
The program is described as follows:
• financial incentive covering up to 70% of eligible design, engineering , and installation costs
• potential energy savings as high as 30%
• improved reliability, productivity and product quality.
The program rules stipulate that where generation is involved, the customer can not be a net generator and still qualify for this program. The generation capacity addition must be less than the customer’s load and should not put the customer into a supply situation.
Industrial entities are defined as being either directly connected to the IESO controlled transmission system (a system for conveying electricity at voltages of more than 50 kilovolts and including any structures, equipment or other things used for that purpose) or embedded in the distribution system as a customer of a Local Distribution Company (LDC). Only Transmission Connected industrial entities are eligible for this program at this time. For industrial entities that are not transmission connected, The Green Energy Act calls for LDCs to take a lead role in the delivery of conservation programs to their own customers. The Ontario Power Authority has started discussions with LDCs about developing a program to more effectively meet the needs of distribution-connected industrial customers.
Written comments on the program were accepted until the end of January.
For more information see http://www.powerauthority.on.ca > OPA Initiatives > Industrial Transmission Connected Electricity Efficiency Program.