NEW IESO CDM PROGRAM

In April 2022, Ontario Minister of Energy Todd Smith requested the Independent Electricity System Operator’s (IESO) to investigate options for expanded cost-effective energy-efficiency programming in the province. Last week the IESO returned with several recommendations to roll out new and expanded energy-efficiency programs beginning Spring 2023.

The Ontario government has announced their plans to increase funding for the province’s energy-efficiency programs by $342 million to help support the following four new and expanded CDM programs:

  • A new Residential Demand Response Program for homes with existing central air conditioning and smart thermostats to help deliver peak demand reductions. Households who meet the criteria could voluntarily enroll in this program to be paid an incentive in return for the IESO being able to reduce their cooling load on a select number of summer afternoons to reduce peak demand. There are an estimated 600,000 smart thermostats installed in Ontario.
  • Targeted support for greenhouses in Southwest Ontario, including incentives to install LED lighting, non-lighting measures or behind-the-meter distributed energy resources (DER), such as combined solar generation and battery storage.
  • Enhancements to the Save On Energy Retrofit Program for business, municipalities, institutional and industrial consumers to include custom energy-efficiency projects. Examples of potential projects could include chiller and other HVAC upgrades for a local arena, building automation and air handling systems for a hospital, or building envelope upgrades for a local business.
  • Enhancements to the Local Initiatives Program to reduce barriers to participation and to add flexibility for incentives for DER solutions.

Last week, HRAI’s Martin Luymes and Chelsea Goberdhan met with Minister Smith and his team to discuss these new initiatives and other potential programs and supports that would be welcomed by the industry.  The Minister was open to recommendations that would help the province to manage expected demands on the electricity system through investments in efficient technologies.

For more information, contact Chelsea Goberdhan, HRAI GR Specialist for Ontario at 1-800-267-2231 x236, or email cgoberdhan@hrai.ca. 

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