As Ontario’s energy needs increase, innovation in technologies and processes are one way to help to unlock sustainable and reliable electricity supply that contributes to the province’s energy future.  

The IESO’s Grid Innovation Fund and Ontario Energy Board’s (OEB) Innovation Sandbox are working with local electricity distributors and technology companies to help communities and businesses explore their potential to accelerate the adoption of local energy projects so that communities can play an increasing role in providing for their own energy needs. Learn more in the video below.

(L to R)  John Avdoulos, President and CEO of Essex Power Corporation; Suriya Panditi, Head of Enel X North America; Minister of Energy Todd Smith; Susanna Zagar, President of OEB; Lesley Gallinger, President and CEO of IESO; Carla Y. Nell, VP of Corporate Relations, Stakeholder Engagement and Innovation; Anthony Haines, President and CEO of Toronto Hydro; Imran Noorani, Chief Strategy Officer, Peak Power; Janet Taylor, Oshawa Power

Four new projects will connect various types of distributed energy resources (DERs) such as solar power, battery storage and the ability of consumers to reduce electricity use when needed. These types of projects have  the potential to help fuel economic growth, and defer the need for more costly electricity infrastructure investments while providing savings to electricity consumers. 

They are:

• Ontario Businesses Supporting Grid Needs – This project will demonstrate a streamlined approach to participate, measure, and verify the capability of a group of resources from 11 different businesses across the province to either reduce their electricity use and/or leverage on-site batteries to meet real-time energy needs of the grid.
• A Local Electricity Market for Windsor-Essex – Designing and implementing a real-time, local electricity market for Essex Powerlines customers who can supply electricity or reduce electricity use on demand to provide services to the local and/or provincial grid. This will help meet growing local and provincial electricity needs in the Leamington area.
• A Local Demand Response Project to Provide Local and Provincial Capacity – Determining how a local distribution company can run a demand response program in Toronto to meet local needs while also providing capacity to the provincial grid from the same resources. This project will explore coordination activities between local and provincial grids and quantify customer benefits.
• A Campus Demonstration of Energy Resources – Demonstrating the capabilities of a group of various energy resources on the Ontario Tech University campus to provide local and provincial grid services. 

Local energy supplies such as solar panels, energy storage and electric vehicles can supply or reduce electricity use when needed to enhance local and provincial reliability, reduce costs, and reduce emissions. 

Since its inception in 2005, the IESO's Grid Innovation Fund has supported more than 260 projects, taking innovative ideas from the sector that can enhance reliability, sustainability and resiliency of the provincial electricity system. A third-party analysis of 27 past innovation projects showed that if those technologies were adopted more widely across the province, they could reduce system and customer costs by half a billion dollars.