For many municipalities and utilities, having a ‘green’ strategy has gone from optional to essential. These strategies include a wide range of tactics aimed at reducing GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions. Here are three of the most popular we’ve observed: Electricity Source Management Utilities can support green initiatives by shifting electricity sources toward renewable energy and purchasing non-regulated renewable assets such as solar, wind, run-of-river, and tidal. For example, EPCOR, the City of Edmonton’s wholly-owned utility, has introduced a Green Power Initiative for all water cycle utilities it owns and operates on the city’s behalf. ¹ Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Utilities are supporting the transition to EV by making charging stations more widely available and promoting the use of electric vehicles in their fleet and among their employees. And, by incentivizing EV owners to charge at night, utilities are able to manage demand. Municip ...

Author: Chris White, President and CEO of ERTH Corporation With over thirty years of experience in the electric power distribution industry, ERTH Corporation’s Infrastructure division proudly maintains, repairs, inspects and installs substations for its own LDC, ERTH Power Corporation, as well as other utilities and private companies across Ontario. Thorough routine substation maintenance inspections are critical to ensure equipment reliability and risk mitigation. Minor issues can quickly become major issues if not identified, closely monitored and repaired in a timely manner. Insufficient inspection and maintenance reports can expose gaps in risk management practices, making utility companies more vulnerable to insurance claims and increased premiums. For these reasons, ERTH takes tremendous pride in performing routine substation inspections in compliance with the Ontario Electrical Safety Code (OESC) and various testing standards such as the NETA standards. Throughout ERTH’s extensiv ...

Words like microgrids, smart homes, solar power and electric vehicles used to be fantasy, but guess what – all of it is happening in Pickering, Ontario. Elexicon Energy recently partnered with Opus One Solutions and Marshall Homes to build a preplanned microgrid for a community of 27 townhomes in Pickering. You may wonder why this is important. Well, it is special because it’s the first preplanned residential community with nested microgrid in the country. This pilot project received funding from Ontario’s Ministry of Energy and Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) under the Smart Grid and IESO Grid Innovation funds. This smart grid community features electric vehicle charging stations, rooftop solar panels, lithium-ion battery energy storage, and an innovative smart metering system for community use. By using Opus One Solutions software platform GridOS® residents are able to monitor their electricity usage and increase or decrease how they use electricity in a more effic ...