Energy Efficiency

Investing in energy efficiency provides companies and organizations with opportunities beyond energy savings. They can optimize and increase productivity, reduce maintenance costs and create safer and more welcoming environments for employees and customers.

In 2024, Ontarians made significant contributions to the province’s conservation efforts by reducing energy use by 19 terawatt-hours (TWh). This is equivalent to powering a city the size of Ottawa for more than two years.

Learn how Listowel Technology Inc. achieved energy savings through the Retrofit Program. With HVAC upgrades to injection molding machine replacements, they saved 2 million kwh of electricity savings and 411 kw in peak demand savings.

Save on Energy Programs for Business and Industry

Save on Energy Business programs are delivered by the IESO and provide support and tools to invest in energy-saving techniques, projects and capabilities. These include:

Instant Discounts Program: Instant, point-of-sale discounts for eligible lighting purchased from participating distributors/dealers are available to existing commercial, agricultural, industrial, institutional, and multi-unit residential buildings and facilities in Ontario.

Existing Building Commissioning Program: Offers up to $150,000 in incentives to building owners to hire qualified commissioning providers to undertake building recommissioning at their facilities, helping them realize energy savings from improved facility operations and maintenance (O&M) business practices. Incentives are available for investigation of optimization opportunities as well as implementation and persistence. Eligible facilities must have a minimum electricity consumption of 750,000 kWh in one year.

Energy Performance Program: Offers commercial, institutional, or industrial facilities in Ontario a multi-year, pay-for-performance model that encourages whole building energy performance Improvements. Eligible facilities must commit to achieve a minimum of five percent electricity savings per facility. Performance incentives are $0.15/kWh of electricity savings for summer peak hours, $0.04/kWh for off-peak electricity savings.

Industrial Energy Efficiency Program: Industrial customers can receive up to $5 million in incentives for large, complex industrial energy-efficiency projects improving their industrial processes and for implementing system optimization projects. Projects must propose minimum electricity savings of 2,000 MWh per year (which must represent a reduction of at least 15 percent of the baseline electricity use of the relevant industrial process.

Strategic Energy Management Program: Provides training and support for the internal teams of participating organizations to improve their energy performance by implementing an integrated system of organizational practices, policies and processes to achieve persistent energy savings. Provided to organizations from industrial, commercial and institutional sectors at no cost where eligibility requirements are met. Two-year cohort-based learning model for small groups of professionals who receive facilitated peer learning opportunities, including coaching, webinars and energy management courses. Eligible organizations must have a minimum electricity consumption of 3,000 MWh in one year. 

Training and Support: Offers Incentives up to 75 percent for a range of industry-leading training courses for energy professionals. to help organizations develop capabilities to identify and implement energy efficiency solutions and enhances knowledge and skills to undertake energy-efficiency actions. Free workshops, webinars, coaching, peer learning, guides and videos are available to participants.

For more information visit SaveonEnergy.ca

Commercial CoolSaver (York Region): Offers eligible commercial customers with rooftop air conditioning, free AC tune-up (worth up to $800) and instant discounts on energy-saving HVAC equipment.

BizEnergySaver (Toronto West Ottawa): Offers equipment improvements to eligible industrial, commercial and institutional, and multi-residential building owners and operators to reduce their energy consumption. Participants receive direct installation and instant rebates of LED upgrades, adaptive lighting controls in areas such as exit stairwells and parking garages, high bay lighting upgrades and controls, variable frequency drives for pump systems, fans and garage exhaust fan control.

Peak Perks for small business program: Save on Energy Peak Perks Program rewards small businesses with an existing smart thermostat for reducing their energy use when demand for electricity in Ontario is high during the summer months. Small businesses who enroll in the program agree to participate in up to 10 brief, time-limited thermostat adjustments on weekdays during periods of peak electricity demand in the summer months. Participants are rewarded with a $75 virtual prepaid MasterCard® on enrollment and an additional $20 virtual prepaid Mastercard® for each subsequent year they stay enrolled starting in 2025.

Expanded Energy Management Program (EEM): Provides support for industrial facilities in Ontario to improve their energy performance with energy savings opportunities in energy practitioners training, energy managers support, energy management systems and strategic energy management. This program is financial supported by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) as part of its Green Industrial Facilities and Manufacturing Program.

Transmission-Connected Customers

Programs are available to help transmission-connected companies invest in innovative process changes and equipment retrofits to reduce electricity and increase competitiveness. Programs include:

• Retrofit
• Expanded Energy Management Program (EEM)
• Industrial Energy Efficiency Program (IEEP)

Demand Response

By participating in demand response, organizations are improving the reliability and flexibility of the electricity grid, while adding capacity and lowering power system costs. Demand response encourages businesses to shift their electricity use from peak hours to off-peak hours to reduce demand on the grid while reducing their energy costs.

Businesses can take advantage of time-of-use rates, shifting non-essential energy consumption to off peak periods when the rate is less. Learn more here.

• Through the IESO’s annual Capacity Auction, large power consumers, as well as aggregators of facilities, can create an additional source of income and help meet provincial system needs.
• By participating in the Industrial Conservation Initiative, companies with an average peak electricity demand greater than one megawatt (MW) can control their Global Adjustment costs by reducing their energy use during the five highest demand peaks in a year.
• By enrolling in Peak Perks, residential or small business electricity customers in Ontario can save with their smart thermostats by participating in brief, time-limited thermostat adjustments during periods of peak electricity demand that can occur on the hottest summer days.