Podcasts about ieso

What does Ontario's new 12-year Save on Energy framework mean for homeowners, businesses, and the future of energy in Canada? Learn how the program supports smarter grid planning and energy use, lowers emissions, improves affordability, and helps Ontarians make the switch to cleaner technologies. Tam Wagner from the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) joins thinkenergy to explain why conservation is a critical tool in Canada's transition to clean energy. Listen to episode 158 today.   Related links   ●     Tam Wagner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tam-wagner-p-eng-268828b1/ ●     Save on Energy framework and programs: https://saveonenergy.ca/  ●     Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) : https://www.ieso.ca/ ●     Trevor Freeman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevor-freeman-p-eng-cem-leed-ap-8b612114/ ●     Hydro Ottawa: https://hydroottawa.com/en    To subscribe using Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinkenergy/id1465129405   To subscribe using Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7wFz7rdR8Gq3f2WOafjxpl   To subscribe on Libsyn: http://thinkenergy.libsyn.com/ --- Subscribe so you don't miss a video: https://www.youtube.com/user/hydroottawalimited   Follow along on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hydroottawa Stay in the know on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HydroOttawa Keep up with the posts on X: https://twitter.com/thinkenergypod   Transcript: Trevor Freeman  00:00  Welcome to thinkenergy, a podcast that dives into the fast, changing world of energy through conversations with industry leaders, innovators and people on the front lines of the energy transition. Join me, Trevor Freeman, as I explore the traditional, unconventional and up and coming facets of the energy industry. If you have any thoughts, feedback or ideas for topics we should cover, please reach out to us at thinkenergy@hydroottawa.com. Hi everyone. Welcome back. Energy is finite. Now don't worry. You didn't stumble into a podcast about theoretical physics. And while yes, that concept, that statement, could launch us into a discussion about the ever-expanding universe, about how we're all made up of the remnants of exploding stars, or how ultimately, all of our collective species' history, including the history of the planet, is but the tiniest fraction of a fraction of a blink of an eye in the grand scale of the cosmos. That's not what we're talking about today. But if you want to talk about that, give me a shout. I'd love to. know today we're talking about much more zoomed in practical look at what that statement means. So, the amount of electricity available to us as consumers who need that electricity to charge our devices, to operate our homes and our businesses, and increasingly, to heat our spaces and to power our vehicles, is limited. In the past, that electricity has been limited by the inputs by the fossil fuels that we need to burn in order to generate that electricity. But increasingly, as we transition to more and more renewable sources who you know, seemingly are infinite, you know, there's a whole lot of sunlight out there. Our limits are more economical and practical. We are expanding the grid. We're adding capacity, adding more generation, transmission, distribution, but those things also come with a cost, so we can't just do it in perpetuity, and we can't do it at the speed maybe necessary for some of the new uses that we're looking for. In light of all that, it does make sense for us to ensure that we are being as efficient as possible with the energy that we do need to use. Enter conservation or demand side management, the intentional effort to reduce wasted energy and to maximize efficiency, while also managing when we use energy so as to spread out the load, to minimize large peaks of demand, which are harder to manage than a more even demand profile. In Ontario, our system operator, the Independent Electricity System Operator, or IESO. Sometimes I'll refer to that as ISO has managed provincial conservation programs for the last two decades. Conservation is and has been a foundational element in grid planning and in our supply mix. That has been the case for a number of years now, and will continue to be the case. Recently, in January of this year, January 2025 the ISO unveiled its ambitious new save on energy framework, a comprehensive 12-year plan designed to empower both residential and commercial customers in Ontario to take control of their energy consumption. This initiative arrives at a really critical juncture, recognizing the pivotal role of energy efficiency and maintaining a reliable and affordable electricity system, something we talk about all the time on the show, amidst a projected surge in demand driven by economic growth and the energy transition towards electrification, something else we talk about all the time on the show. I hope by now you're seeing that all these things come together, and the topics that we talk about are usually related to each other. Backed by significant provincial investment and a strong commitment to collaborate across the sector. And this includes ongoing collaboration with Enbridge and a new role for the local distribution companies like Hydro Ottawa, this new framework really introduces a suite of new and expanded programs aimed at creating this culture of conservation and facilitating the adoption of cleaner energy technologies. It's really meant to complement the energy transition and make sure we do it in a way that is as efficient and affordable as possible. The ISOs new save on energy framework in Ontario holds significant implications for Canada's broader energy future, aligning with a number of key national trends and objectives. So just because this is an Ontario framework, there's a lot of good information here that applies across Canada's energy sector, and indeed, even beyond Canada's borders. Things like supporting our climate goals and emission reduction targets by encouraging a shift away from fossil fuels for heating and transportation, by making it easier to switch to electric options for those two things, things like recognizing energy efficiency as one of the lowest cost resources to address system needs, and in fact, we'll talk about that in our conversation with our guests here in a few moments. Addressing the need for electricity demand. As Canada pursues electrification across various sectors, so in Ontario, our system operator is forecasting a 75% increase in our demand by 2050 you're seeing similar projected increases across the country and indeed around the world, as economies and energy sectors that have been very reliant on fossil fuels look to switch to more electric options, while at the same time managing those other growth items that we've talked about in the past. Ai data centers being one of the big ones. This framework also looks to promote grid modernization and integration of more renewable energy sources across the grids, so in essence, a greater interprovincial electricity system. And finally, looking to foster economic opportunities by stimulating the clean tech sector driving more demand for those energy efficient technologies and services. So, to help us better understand this new program and the role of conservation in Ontario's grid management, I decided to go right to the source, and I'm joined today by Tam Wagner. Tam is the director of demand side management at the ieso and provides thought leadership for the design and delivery of energy efficiency and demand side management programs. Tam has been with the ISO since 2005 in a number of different roles, and so she is well placed to help us dive into all the details about this new conservation framework. And I'm really excited to talk to her today. As I mentioned a couple times in our chat, I come from a conservation background. That's kind of how I got my start in the utility and so it's great to see how it's evolved over the years. And I'm really excited to dive into this with Tam. Tam Wagner, welcome to the show.   Tam Wagner  06:54 Thanks for having me, Trevor.   Trevor Freeman  06:55 okay, so let's dive right in with a little bit of the basics here. Why is energy efficiency a priority for the province? Why are we even talking about energy efficiency?   Tam Wagner  07:05 So, to get into that, I'm going to take a step back first and talk about what electricity demand is doing in the province of Ontario. So, what we're seeing is it's growing according to the ISO latest demand forecast, the provincial electricity demand is anticipated to grow 75% by 2050 and that just further reinforces the need for us to really invest in everything in order to meet those growing electricity demands, including energy efficiency and demand side resources. At the ISO, we've been delivering energy efficiency and demand side management programs for businesses and residences in Ontario for nearly 20 years, and we've done this through different frameworks and business models. And more specifically, since 2011 we've been delivering our programs through our save on energy grant. With that is, is what we've seen is energy efficiency at three cents per kilowatt hour. It's one of our lowest cost resources to meet what Ontario's energy needs, what we've been able to achieve, and it's really building on this success is, since 2006 Ontario has saved 18.5 terawatt hours of electricity as a result of our programs. So, to put that into context, that's the equivalent of powering 2 million homes for one year. And so, with that is when we think about energy efficiency, it's really a key tool in our toolbox to meet some of the reliability needs, yes, in the past, but also those growing needs going forward.   Trevor Freeman  08:27 And what about the so we talk a lot in the show, obviously, about the energy transition in context of climate change and trying to reduce our emissions. How does energy conservation fit into that? What are some of the environmental benefits of focusing on energy efficiency?   Tam Wagner  08:44 When we think about when Ontarians use electricity the most, and usually it's in the summer period with air conditioning load on, in order to meet those electricity peaks, what we run is is a variety of generators within the province, so nuclear, hydroelectric, but also included in that is our natural gas generators. And oftentimes those natural gas generators are on for those peak periods, like I mentioned, in those summer peak periods. So, by leading into energy efficiency and actually reducing what our summer peaks are, we're relying less on those gas generators, and hopefully being able to run them less as well, because we are flattening what that load is, if we're running those gas generators less, we're able to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that come from those resources.   Trevor Freeman  09:28 Yeah, and just for our listeners, kind of drawing on my background of previously working in energy conservation, all the things that really drive toward wanting to reduce electricity consumption, sort of the highest cost times the highest emission times. They all kind of coincide. So, when you're focusing on that energy efficiency, focusing on reducing your consumption or your demand, it has that added benefit of reducing your cost and reducing your emissions, and all of the above. So really, a lot of things coming together to make. Energy Efficiency makes sense for the customer as well as the utilities and the system operator, of course. Okay, so Tam, you said a couple of things in that answer that I want to dive into a little bit more detail. So the first one is that energy efficiency has been around for a long time. You know, you said, 20 years we've been doing energy conservation in one form or another in the province of Ontario. So, what's different about this latest framework that's just been launched? How has that evolved? What's different moving forward?   Tam Wagner  10:29 Now, you're going to get me really excited to talk about this. If we reflect back on on the past, what we've had is is really time bound frameworks. Our frameworks have been anywhere from two years to five years with this new framework that we were starting in is it's a 12-year framework, so over a decade long. The other piece is the funding commitment, and so it's a 12-year framework with a $10.9 billion commitment. So, it's billion with a B. So, we're talking both from a scope and a scale perspective, significant additional investments and time commitment with the new framework. One of the recommendations that the ISO made in our midterm review report, and so this was published in 2022 and the at the midpoint of our previous framework was our recommendation was to move away from these time bound frameworks and better leverage demand side, manage, management and energy efficiency as a resource to respond to evolving system market and customer needs. So, as you noted, Trevor, there is, is the one of the things I also say too, is, is the superpower of energy efficiency is, is it really operates at that intersection point between the electricity grid needs, but also what customer needs are, being able to respond to customer needs will allow us to provide electricity savings to address those energy system needs, and with this new framework, it does exactly that. So not only is the framework a 12-year commitment, a feature of the framework is that it's enduring. So, what do I mean by it being enduring is that within that 12 year period, there's a commitment that at the six year mark, we'll do a midterm review? We'll reflect on what's working, some of the successes of the program, of the framework, but then also, what are the opportunities to enhance it? How a system needs evolved over that time? How have customer needs evolved over that time? And provide recommendations? Going forward with those recommendations, there's an opportunity for the government to then also recommit to the framework and enhance it or extend it out another six years, so that we have another 12-year framework. So, the key element of this is that the framework actually never hits its end point. It just continues to re up itself or extend itself with the with the support and commitment from government. The other piece that I'd highlight too are from a customer perspective is, is, with this framework, there's a there's something for everyone in it. When we look at the electricity system and past frameworks, it really carved out specific customer classes that our programs could serve. With this it captures businesses, whether it be small business, commercial, institutional or industrial or industrial organizations, but it also has call outs for the residential sector as well as customers that have historically been underserved or vulnerable customer segments, including income qualifier First Nations communities. So really a broad scope in not only timing and funding commitment, but also the customers that we can serve with this framework   Trevor Freeman  13:21 That's fantastic, again, lots of good stuff in there. I really like the idea of creating a more enduring model that has more predictability a longer time frame. And the benefits of that are fantastic. It gives our customers predictability. They know these programs are going to be around, and they can plan their projects ahead of time. Instead of scrambling to Hey, we got to get this done in the next 12 months or two years, or whatever the case may be, it lets you know service providers, or those folks that are out there supporting energy efficiency measures build this into their business plans and really spend the time to educate customers. And then, speaking from the utility perspective, this is also great to have that predictability. We can talk to our customers about it. We can say, look, this is the reality here. This is the program that'll be in place for a long time. So I think that's fantastic that we've got that sort of enduring model. Now.   Tam Wagner  14:19 Trevor, I feel like he's been a fly on the ISO walls that we as we've been talking about, the new framework, because those are exactly all the things that we've highlighted. The other piece I would add, too, is, from a workforce perspective, is being able to build capacity in all of our respective organizations, to be able to support the the increased need and demand for for energy efficiencies, whether it be from a contractor or skilled trade perspective. So giving us the time to invest in people as well?   Trevor Freeman  14:51 Yeah, yeah, that's another great point. And our listeners, you know, who knows what their background is, but everybody probably has some experience in you. A plan is great on paper and a program is great on paper, and when you actually implement it, there's a lot of lessons to be learned and iterations and tweaks, and having the runway to learn those lessons and make those tweaks and adjust as you know time goes on and the context change, I think, is another really great benefit of this program, and having that long timeframe to have that flexibility and have the room to maneuver, which is fantastic. So I agree. Okay, so the next thing that you mentioned a little bit ago, that I want to dive into is just the sheer magnitude of additional demand that is coming, and that's not going to be anything new to listeners. We talk about that a lot of you know all the different drivers that are pushing up demand from electrification as a result of the climate crisis, growing demand in AI data centers, et cetera, et cetera. You mentioned the projection of a 75% increase by 2050, so let's talk about the role that energy efficiency in particular will play in helping address that growth and the growing demand that's coming and making sure that we can meet that demand in an affordable way. What's the role of energy efficiency in that?   Tam Wagner  16:19 I think what I'd say is, is the challenge that that puts out to energy efficiency is our forecast. Our latest forecast indicates that 75% growth by 2050 I say the challenge that's put out to energy efficiency is, how do we make it less than 75% so with energy efficiency, what it helps to do is, is it helps to mitigate the pace of that growth by using electricity more efficiently. It's a tool in the ISOs reliability toolbox, and so it's a resource that we will directly incorporate into our planning assumptions and indicate, and basically from the from the get go, say, if we can get this savings and electricity from energy efficiency, those are megawatts that we don't have to go out and procure traditional resources or or defers the timing in which we may need to procure those additional resources, so whether that those resources be supply side generators or transmission or distribution line infrastructure, so really, being able to avoid or defer some of those infrastructure costs. The other piece too about energy efficiency, and back to that point around that intersection point between system need and customer need is our programs. By participating in our programs, you're directly getting dollars right into your pockets. So through our incentives and our rebates, those are dollars that we will provide straight to the customers and participating in our program. So that's the upfront benefit from an affordability perspective, but then from a longer term perspective is it helps customers be able to better manage their energy and usage, and being able to better manage your energy and use you can also better manage what your energy bills are. So, Trevor, you had mentioned around, okay, what are some of those peaking times, and what are the higher costs often attributed to those peaking times is through demand side management and energy efficiency. You can not only shave that peak by using less electricity. The other piece that we're really leaning into, and I keep referring to, demand side management, is, how can you control how you how you use that electricity? One of the things that we've done recently for residential consumers is through our P perks program and through something as simple as a smart thermostat, is being able to actually provide electricity systems to the system savings to the grid through small adjustments on the smart thermostat that you have at home can make really big impact from a grid. Need perspective, but then also impact what your usage is, and shifting some of your use at home into those lower priced hours, when we think of it, the time of use rates.   Trevor Freeman  18:46 Yeah, really, when it comes down to it, every kilowatt hour saved, or, you know, kilowatt avoided, is something that doesn't have to pass through a transmission line or a distribution line. It doesn't have to go through a transformer, and we don't need to generate that somewhere. And so there's obviously savings there. You mentioned a little bit earlier in a previous answer, that stat around, you know, three cents per kilowatt hour. How does that stack up? Or how does that compare to other generation or transmission assets, like when it comes to cost and reliability? Compare energy efficiency to more traditional assets.   Tam Wagner  19:24 The simple answer is, it's lower. So when one of the principles we take when we when we pursue our energy efficiency programs is we talk about it being cost effective. And what that really means is that when we compare it to other traditional infrastructure, so long as the cost of providing those energy efficiency programs, so cost from an administration perspective and delivering the programs, but also including the incentives, the rebates that we provide to customers, so long as that all in cost is less than the cost of traditional infrastructure, whether it be generation or transmission, we'll pursue it. So that's really. Where I'd say just simply, is the energy efficiency programs that we deliver are all cost effective, and so they're all a lower cost than the traditional resources that we employ.   Trevor Freeman  20:11 That working. I can speak from experience, working at the utility, and like I said previously, being in conservation, I have gotten the question in the past, why is the utility or the utility sector, spending money to get us to not use electricity? Isn't that counterproductive? And you just gave the answer right there. It's so much cheaper to do that than to try and build new generation, build new assets. It's the cheapest way to achieve that capacity, to get that capacity that we need on the grid, which, again, we talk about here all the time. So great answer. Let's get into the numbers a little bit. So you mentioned sort of previous savings that we've achieved here in the province of Ontario. And I think you said, if I'm not mistaken, since 2005 we have saved essentially the equivalent of, you know, taking 2 million homes off the grid. I hope that's the right stat. Then the targets that we've got here for this program are pretty ambitious, and so for our listeners, by the end of 2027 so that's really only two and a bit years from now, two and a half, the target for the program is to achieve 900 megawatts of demand reduction and 4.6 terawatts of energy savings. Now, for those of you who are not kind of nerdy engineers like myself, like Tam, sorry, Tam, to throw you in that bucket, that's about the same as taking a half a million homes off the grid. So we've done 2 million homes already, and the last 20 years. In the next two and a half years, we're trying to hit a quarter of that tell me a little bit about the ambition of this program.   Tam Wagner  21:53 Definitely ambitious, if I think that's really great context, and even if I take the context even more recently, when our last framework was a four-year framework. So, from 2021, to 2025, our targets there were 725, megawatts of peak demand savings and 3.8 terawatt hours of energy savings, which were aggressive then. So, we're continuing to be more aggressive on our savings. And what I'd say with that is, that what we're seeing is, is we're seeing a very engaged customer base. Ontarians are very engaged and want to do their part, and especially if their part actually doesn't require a lot of work on, on the Ontarians behalf. And so, what we're really wanting to do is, is tap into that and say, if you, if you want to do your part here, we'll give you a space for you to do your part, whether it be at home, as a as a homeowner, or in your businesses and looking at it from a larger scale perspective, really, what we want to lean into is that all hands-on deck approach. So, recognizing that this is the lowest cost resource to meet our growing needs is, let's start there first. Let's optimize. Let's get everything we can out of energy efficiency and that lowest cost resource before we go up the stack to say, Okay, if it's not an acknew, we've got to spend on something that's a little bit more expensive. But let's first try to exhaust that lowest cost resource first. And one of the things that we also recognize in doing that is, I feel like I talked a lot about the ISO, but definitely the recognition that the ISO is, is that we can't do it all ourselves, is that these growing needs are going to impact everyone, both from a end user or consumer perspective, but also businesses and organizations and utilities that you touched on before Trevor. So as we are faced with the same challenge when it comes to growing electricity needs, how do we work together to address that? And very much a I'm very much a supporter of the saying we're so much greater than the sum of our parts, and being able to work together to achieve those growing needs will be a key part in meeting those very aggressive targets.   Trevor Freeman  24:05 Yeah, so perfect segue into the next thing I want to talk about, which is the role of the different players in the sector. And so just as a refresher for everybody, the Independent Electricity System Operator is the system operator in Ontario who kind of oversees the electricity grid for the province of Ontario. We have a transmission entity who kind of gets the high voltage electricity around the province to the place it needs to be. And then there are distribution entities, and that's who hydro is, who I work for. So Tam, let's talk about the role of that local distribution company, that kind of last line before the customer when it comes to implementing this new framework.   Tam Wagner  24:50 So, I, what I would say is, is that we very explicitly call out collaboration in this framework. So, we talk about, yes, well, the local distribution companies. So specifically, we also talk about our natural gas distributors as well as the federal government in our potential collaboration efforts. So, we'll focus in on the local distribution company side of it. We recognize that as the province wide needs are growing, from a bottom up perspective, the distribution needs are growing in each of the distribution territories as well, and so especially when some of those needs are coincident with each other, there's opportunities for us to really as opposed to us each doing our own thing in order to address our own relative challenges. Is why not work together to come up with a solution that'll address both of our challenges at the same time, and a big goal of that, yes, meeting those system needs, but having that customer focus in mind and saying, looking at it to say, how can we best enhance the customer experience? And if we've got a really strong customer journey and something that really speaks to customers, more customers will participate in our programs, and we'll address our system needs. I don't want to say it as a as a byproduct or as a result, but it starts first with the customer. For the ISO, we recognize, you noted, we're a system operator. We're operating at that 10,000-foot level when it comes to electricity grid, we've had great success in recognizing the value of energy efficiency and demand side management and addressing our bulk system. Addressing our bulk system needs in working with local distribution companies, we want to also be able to support and be able to really move the conversation around how energy efficiency and demand side management can also help address those distribution system needs as well. And what that is we also recognize the strength that LDCs bring to the table when it comes to your customers and the relationship that you have with customers. So what we've been working in, and we've already been working collaboratively with local distribution companies across the province, we're really taking a an approach in two main areas when it comes to that collaboration. So first off, leading into that customer the customer relationship that local distribution companies have working with the utilities to further support the province wide programs that are delivered under the save on energy brand and enhancing the customer journey, customer experience to those really focusing on marketing and business development activities to increase the participation in our province wide programs. So that's the first area of focus that we have with our collaboration. The second area, and leading into the piece around the distribution system needs those utilities may be faced with, is, how do we work together to support some local programming, where from an as a system operator working at that 10,000-foot level, those look that local programming will also yield benefits to the bulk system. And recognizing that there may be gaps and some of the programs that we deliver today, or there may be needs very unique to a geographical area, is how do we work with the utilities to hone in on those provide those opportunities to implement different programs that complement our province wide programs potentially foster further innovation in that regards, and help address those distribution system needs while still providing benefits to the bulk system or the grid level as well. So really focusing in on those two areas. So first of all, enhancing the province wide programs, but then also zooming down a bit and looking to say, how do we work together to be able to provide funding for local programs to help address distribution system needs that the grid level will also benefit with?   Trevor Freeman  28:37 Yeah, that's great to hear. And you answered my next question already, so that's fantastic, which was around the level of knowledge and understanding that the local utilities bring to the mix of specifically what's happening with our customers on the ground in specific areas, and being able to, like you said, build or design unique aspects of the incentive program that are really targeted at a specific need in an area. So for example, if we have a part of our distribution system that's particularly constrained, we may want to target programming in that area to achieve faster results, bigger results, whatever the case may be, or if there's a particular load type or load profile that we want to tackle in an area we can sort of work with, with the ISO, to design a program that's really going to target that need and benefit the distribution and the bulk system at the same time. So great to see that that's part of the mix.   Tam Wagner  29:39 Absolutely, I think the two other things, if I can add to that, is really focusing in on what the customer needs are. And to your point, Trevor around if there are different load types or different customer uses, and then a local distribution company's territory is this, how do we how do we tap into the. And learn about it, that it might be ahead of where the broader Ontario customer base is at, and so that can really foster that innovation, and then maybe spur on potential province wide programs in the future. The other thing I'd notice is that Ontario right now, we're summer peaking, and as I mentioned, our significant electricity load comes from air conditioning. And I think the stat is about a third of our load in the summer is actually attributed to air conditioning load when we do our planning outlooks. So, our annual planning outlook is 20 years out. Is what we're starting to see, is in the early 2030s Ontario becomes dual peaking. What that means is that we still have that summer peak, but we're starting to see the winter peak increase as well, recognizing that we've got over I think over 55 local distribution companies in the province. Some of those local distribution companies are actually winter peaking today. So are there ways for us to to look at what programs, what winter focused energy efficiency programs may be available. I don't want to say pilot those, but potentially launch some of those in those winter peaking utility areas, and again, for the ISO learnings associated with that, so that when the province more broadly becomes dual peaking is have some experience, have some data to inform what might work at the province flight level, to help us better plan and prepare for that future.   Trevor Freeman  31:26 And so, for our listeners, I think we've talked about this before, but as we electrify, especially space heating, we're going to start seeing that higher load in the winter. And you know, there's a way to do it more efficiently than not. So, making sure that we're looking at technology like heat pump and smart thermostats instead of baseboard heating and, you know, sort of more analog controls for that. So programs designed to address that would make a lot of sense, as you say, Tim and in those areas where we're already seeing a significant increase in the winter. So great to hear. Okay, so this seems like a good time to kind of dive into some of the specifics about the programs. We've been sort of talking high level. Let's, let's get into the details. So for residential customers, for folks out there that you know, own their home or rent a home and have a relationship with a landlord, what are some of the programs that are available to those customers to really address energy efficiency in their homes?   Tam Wagner  32:26 So, we've got two specific programs for broad residential consumers in Ontario, I mentioned our peak perks program, and with that, it's a demand response program that's targeted at that summer peak. So it's actually been a very wildly successful program. It's been in market. We're just approaching two years. It launched June of 2023 and what that program does is, if you have central air conditioning or a heat pump in your home that cools your home in the summer, and you have a smart thermostat, is what is by enrolling in the program, you get on immediate enrollment and acceptance into the program, you get a $75 prepaid MasterCard to participate. And participation in the program involves on those peak summer days. And usually, we see those peak days between the months of June and September, will make small, a small two degree adjustment in the temperature in your home and for no longer than a three hour period. And with that is, is that that does provide relief and flattens that peak in from a province wide level to help address what our system peaks are. So I'd mentioned that program has been really successful, so over just shy of two years, we've got over 230,000 poems enrolled in the program. And what we expect with that is just over 160 megawatts of peak demand reduction as a result. When we call on the program and it's quickly become the largest virtual power plant in Canada and one of the largest in North America. So, if you're a residential consumer, with central air conditioning or heat pump that close your home and a smart thermostat, definitely something to look into. One of the things I would really highlight about that program, because you might say, Okay, two degrees. How does how does that feel? Am I going to be uncomfortable, especially if it's a peak summer, what hot and humid day? We've been really mindful of the customers through the design of that program, so the customer is always in control when it comes to our peak perks program. If you're if you work from home, or are home during a day when we're calling a peak perks event and you're finding your home is getting a little bit warmer than you would like, you can always go to your thermostat and readjust the temperature setting back to your normal setting to for to maximize on, on your comfort at the same time is, is when we know we're calling event. What we'll do is this will pre cool your home in advance of the event. So I mentioned it's a three hour event where we where we increase the temperature in your home by two degrees. Is what we'll do is, is as long as there we're not. In a state of emergency in the provinces is will adjust the temperature in your home so it's actually cooler half an hour before the events will cool your home two degrees. And then when we actually call the peak perks event, raise it. I guess the difference would be four degrees. But again, trying to maintain that coolness in your home to maximize on customer comfort and and and help with that. The other program that we have for residential consumers, and was just launched earlier this year, it's our home renovation savings program. So with that, we deliver it in collaboration with Enbridge gas, and it offers rebates for energy efficient upgrades that you may be looking to do in your home. And some of the equipment that we include in that are heat pumps as well as smart thermostats and solar PV, rooftop solar PV as that, as well as battery, battery energy storage systems. And then also, we know that when it comes to your home, being able to retain or heat or cooling weatherization as well, so attic insulation or doors and windows as well. So rebates available for all of those if you're a homeowner in Ontario, great.   Trevor Freeman  36:07 You mentioned earlier that there are sort of income qualified programs or programs for folks living in social housing and First Nations. Can you shed a little bit of light on those specific aspects?   Tam Wagner  36:18 Yes, absolutely. So we've got, again, this the this programs in collaboration with Enbridge gas as well. So we've got the ISOs, the save on energy's energy affordability program, which is offered alongside with Enbridge gasses, winter proofing program, home winter proofing program, and that offers, again, the energy efficient upgrades to customers that are income qualified. So there are income qualifications, whether you're low or moderate income household in Ontario, and it provides you with energy efficient upgrades at no cost to you. So I would highly recommend going to the save on energy.ca website to see what those income qualifications are. It's all dependent on the number of people that live in the home, what the income thresholds are, and again, the all of these upgrades would be available to you at no cost to you at all. From a First Nations programming perspective, we've got two programs offered to First Nations community. We've got the First Nations community building retrofit program as well as the remote First Nations programs, and both of them help both businesses and residences of on reserve First Nations communities make energy efficiency upgrades, again, at no cost to the community or the community members.   Trevor Freeman  37:30 Great, so, really, anybody living in a residential home, there's something out there for you. So rebates to address energy efficient equipment or support from the Ieso to or your local distribution company. Okay, so let's shift over to commercial, industrial, institutional, kind of agriculture, all the other types of customers out there. What are the programs that are being offered, and how do they differ if they do differ from previous programs?   Tam Wagner  38:01 Maybe I'll start with the last part of their question. First, what I'd say specifically with the these businesses is we're even with a new framework. We're not with the old and in with the new. So everything that's been offered in the past is basically available to customers today when it comes to those business programs, and what we're really committed to is, how do we continue to improve the offerings that we have as new technologies or available or organizations are looking to improve some of the processes that might to help result in more efficient energy and usage. So we offer a range of business programs that provide different opportunities. And really our focus is, how do we meet the businesses where they're at based on the type of business that they are, but also where they are along their energy efficiency journey. So a couple of programs that I'll highlight is, is we've got our retrofit program, and that's really been our flagship program, and under the save on energy brand, and what that does, it provides an a la carte list of prescribed technologies with Dean savings that businesses can pick from. So if you're looking at making what upgrades to your heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and stuff, you can go to our retrofit program, and what it provides you is a list of equipment that it provide indicates what the energy savings that the ISO can expect from it, but and then also provides you with what the incentives levels are for that. So really, that's, I'd say that's kind of the simple, simplest path. From a customer journey perspective, we also recognize that there's a different range of customers when we think about our business customers, and it's not a one size fits all. We also have a small business program that recognizes the unique nature of small businesses in Ontario, and that program offers energy efficient upgrades at no cost to those businesses, and it also provides additional support to install the equipment as well. And we know that it's not all about technologies as well. I've mentioned around sometimes with processes that you. May have within your organization, they can also yield energy savings. So our strategic energy management program is designed to help organizations improve their energy performance by implementing an integrated system of organizational practices, policies and processes to achieve some of these persistent energy savings so really, what I'd say to the businesses is reflecting on what, what the nature of your organization is, how your energy and usage is, is that there's a variety of different programs that hopefully can cater to your needs and check out the save on energy.ca website to find out more.   Trevor Freeman  40:34 Yeah, I think in my kind of review of it, there's, there's support for equipment and sort of technical solutions to address energy efficiency, and you put it very, very well, you know the process, the people side of things, if you need support, if you need guidance, expertise, there's also methods of support to help you access that, whether in your organization or through other means, so lots of different avenues to address energy efficiency in all types of buildings. So those are all existing buildings, which we know are certainly a major part of energy consumption today and emissions today. But we're also building new buildings constantly and constantly adding to our building stock. So what programs are out there to address new building construction and making sure that we're constructing energy efficient buildings that go beyond existing codes and standards?   Tam Wagner  41:33 So, what I'm saying, I'll say there is, we're working on it. So as part of our 2025 to 2027 plan, we have identified the need for a new construction program. We heard this through stakeholder feedback as well. When we did our midterm review back in 2022 we we heard from stakeholders that that's a gap in our programming, and so we're looking, we were looking to address that. That gap has, that has been identified. So right now my team is we're doing some market research, and in order to help inform what the design of a new construction program may look like, our commitment is, is, is, as we've got some of those that early thinking is, we will go out and stakeholder it and invite feedback and into how best to design that program. We know the we know the things we know. We know there are things that others have expertise in, and that that expertise would really be helpful to the ISO as we, as we design the program. So I'd say, stay tuned for that and continue to look at on our stakeholder engagement website for upcoming engagements, where we will seek some feedback and insights into that design of that program.   Trevor Freeman  42:36 Perfect, one last item is beneficial electrification. So we know that the government has kind of directed the ISO to look at how to support beneficial electrification. So maybe kind of two questions here, what is beneficial electrification, if you could kind of help define that for our listeners, and what, how are you looking to support beneficial electrification for customers.   Tam Wagner  43:01 Sure, so how we look at beneficial electrification is, is really around changing your the fuel source of your end use. And that's I could probably plain language that a little bit more and maybe, well, it's easiest to use an example and an example charter that you've actually highlighted is, is for a lot of Ontarians, is, is the way you heat your home isn't actually typically with electricity, and that with fuel switching or switching the source that you heat your home with is that you can yield and really electrifying that is as you can yield greenhouse gas emissions reductions as a result of that of electrification, when We think about it from a beneficial electrification perspective, is electrification perspective, is, is with as we, as we talked about the demand in Ontario increasing is, how can we leverage the way that customers may be electrifying their end uses to ensure that we're doing it in the most efficient manner that will not only yield benefits to the Customers, from a GHG emissions perspective and from an overall energy bills perspective, but also provide benefits to the electricity grid as well. And trying to, instead of hitting that 75% is, how do we actually electrify and and electrify at a rate that's actually less than that 75% would be the goal that we're looking at here with regards to how we're actually applying that is just earlier this month. So in earlier in May, we launched our first offering through the home renovation savings program for a beneficial electrification. And what that entails is for those customers in Ontario that are currently heated through oil, propane or wood heated customers, is we do have a heat pump offering to to support electrifying those end uses that will enable the those customers to be to reduce the GHG emissions in their home, and with that is also save money on their energy bills as well recognizing. A different cost in the electricity side, versus the oil or propane fuels costs.   Trevor Freeman  45:06 Yeah, I think it's, I mean, I'm someone who, obviously, folks that are listening know, I'm pretty passionate about climate change. And if, if your only lens is GHGs or greenhouse gas reduction, you know, you may jump at electrifying in any possible way, but that could be taking out your furnace and putting in electric resistance baseboard heating, which is not a very efficient way to heat your home, or not as efficient as you could be doing with, for example, a heat pump which is much more efficient, you get a lot more energy out than you put in. And I've preached a lot about heat pumps on this program before, but that's the concept behind beneficial electrification. Is doing that fuel switching, but doing it in a way that one doesn't overly stress the grid. Two, doesn't overly stress your own energy bills, because we don't want to push people into unaffordable energy. So making sure that there's support to do the right move in the right way. Tam, just to wrap up here, you've said it a couple of times, but I'll give you a chance to say one more time, where do folks go to find out more information about these programs, what they can access? How to get that support? Where should they go and look?   Tam Wagner  46:18 So our website is the best place to get that information. So it's saveonenergy.ca. Whether you're a residential, consumer or business, all the information is there. And we also have energy savings tips on our website. So again, that's Saveonenergy.ca.   Trevor Freeman  46:34 Perfect. And I'm going to selfishly add a little plug in there of you can also reach out to your local distribution company, especially if you're here in hydro Auto's territory, we would be happy to help you access these programs and point you in the right direction and make sure that you're getting the support that you need through these programs. Tam, thanks so much for walking through this new framework. It's super exciting. I mean, it's a little bit close to my heart. Again, I've been working in conservation for a while before I moved into my current role, I spent a lot of time in conservation, so it's great to hear about the evolution of the program and where it's going. I'm really excited that it's such an important piece of the planning mix that it's getting the sort of recognition and focus that it's due and really exciting to see how it goes in the next couple of years. So to wrap up, we always end our interviews with a series of questions. So as long as you're ready, Tim, I'm going to jump right in with the first question being, what is a movie or a show that you have watched or are currently watching that you think everybody should take a look at?   Tam Wagner  47:40 This takes away from the seriousness of the conversation that we've been having.   Trevor Freeman  47:44 That's the goal we're trying to focus here.   Tam Wagner  47:47 So for those who don't know me, is I've got, I do have two kids in a series that we're watching right now. Is the rookie. Have you watched that before? Trevor? I   Trevor Freeman  47:56 I haven't, no, but it's on the list. We've got a long list   Tam Wagner  47:58 That sounds like our household as as as well. And it's a fun time. It's, it's a series that we can we watch as a family. And it's, I feel like sometimes we, you know, we try to solve the crime before the show does. But it also has a really good story, kind of, the initial story around an individual who is, I'd say, later in his career, but had a moment where he explored a career shift. And for me, that message there is around like you're never too old to try something new and be successful in it. So I think that's a really good message for me myself, but also a good message for my kids.   Trevor Freeman  48:38 Yeah, very cool. I like that one. I'll have to bump that up on the list. We'll watch it sooner rather than later. If somebody offered you a free round trip flight anywhere in the world, carbon offset accounted for, of course, where would you go?   Tam Wagner  48:50 So I would go to Vietnam. So I am Vietnamese by background, born there, but I've lived in Canada for, oh, over 40 years, been back there a couple of times, and I've always loved it. It's a So, yes, back to kind of from a cultural roots perspective, there's just so much history there. It's a completely different climate from what we have here in Canada. The people are incredibly friendly, and the food is fantastic.   Trevor Freeman  49:21 I have a tiny, tiny sliver of experience, and can say that Vietnam I visited once, and was definitely on the top of my all time favorite trips for a number of different reasons. All the ones you just mentioned are certainly up there for sure. Who is someone that you admire.   Tam Wagner  49:37 And again, I'm going to cheat on this one a little bit, so because it will be fun, but my parents with them. So I'd mentioned were first generation immigrants, when I think about the things that they've done and to come to Canada, we came to Canada as refugees, so to leave a place that they were very comfortable in. Knew the culture. Knew the language to come to a country where completely different environment, completely different culture, had no family here, and their reason for doing it was so that myself and my brothers could have greater opportunities as a parent. I'd like to think that if I was faced with that, I would make the same decision. But until you're actually in those shoes, you never know whether you whether you would or not, so I am definitely very grateful for the decisions that they've made, because it's landed me where I am today, and are very appreciative of that. So very much admire them.   Trevor Freeman  50:32 Yeah, that's a fantastic story. Thanks for sharing that. Tim. Finally, what is something about the energy sector or its future that you're particularly excited about.   Tam Wagner  50:43 We're at a really unique spot right now in that we are very much building for the future, and not just our future or kids future. When we think about the electricity infrastructure, it's things, it's something that's going to be in place for the next 40 plus years. So being able to face that challenge to build something for the generations to come is very exciting for me. It's not just the what of it, but how we do it. As I touched on before around, we're greater than the sum of our parts. Is being able to do that in a way that we can collaborate with each other, really lean on each other's strengths, learn from each other, and then I think that foundational culture is the way that we'll be really successful and ensuring that we can have that reliable, affordable and sustainable electricity future. So excited about the challenge, but also even more excited about how we're going to face that challenge and work together to to to be successful.   Trevor Freeman  51:40 Yes, I love that, and I think that's a great place to wrap this up. I love that. And I say this often to folks like, I can't think of a better spot to be when I think about climate and energy and the energy transition than kind of in the electricity sector, thinking about how all roads, or at least most roads, to the things that we want to envision run through the electricity grid and all the different nuances of that. And you could go down endless paths of, how do we make sure that this is going to work, and how do we make sure it's going to be affordable and that people are going to have the power they need? So super glad to hear that you're excited about that and passionate about that, super glad that you're putting your efforts towards that. Thanks. For coming on and talking to us today and sort of sharing your expertise and wisdom around this pretty exciting new program that hopefully is going to be a major piece of our energy future here in Ontario, at least moving forward.   Tam Wagner  52:38 Thanks for having me. Really appreciated you taking the time and spending it with me as well Trevor.   Trevor Freeman  52:42 Fantastic Tam Wagner, thanks very much for coming on, and we'll chat again soon. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of The thinkenergy podcast. Don't forget to subscribe. Wherever you listen to podcasts, and it would be great if you could leave us a review. It really helps to spread the word. As always, we would love to hear from you, whether it's feedback, comments or an idea for a show or a guest, you can always reach us at thinkenergy@hydroottawa.com

Will U.S. tariffs disrupt Canada's energy sector? What is the current state of cross-border electricity trade? How can we strengthen interprovincial connections to secure a sustainable energy future in our country? Host Trevor Freeman summarizes the on and offs of Canada's electricity trade. Tune in to learn about the complexities and challenges of evolving energy policies, infrastructure, and regulatory landscapes governed by both federal and provincial authorities. Related links   ●     Canadian Energy Regulator: https://www.cer-rec.gc.ca/en/index.html ●     The Transition Accelerator: https://transitionaccelerator.ca/  ●     Electrifying Canada: https://electrifyingcanada.ca/ ●     Canada Electricity Advisory Council: https://natural-resources.canada.ca/energy-sources/canada-electricity-advisory-council ●     thinkenergy episode 143 with Quest Canada: https://thinkenergypodcast.com/episodes/electrifying-canadas-remote-communities-with-quest-canada/ ●     Trevor Freeman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevor-freeman-p-eng-cem-leed-ap-8b612114/ Hydro Ottawa: https://hydroottawa.com/en  To subscribe using Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinkenergy/id1465129405   To subscribe using Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7wFz7rdR8Gq3f2WOafjxpl   To subscribe on Libsyn: http://thinkenergy.libsyn.com/   Subscribe so you don't miss a video: https://www.youtube.com/user/hydroottawalimited   Follow along on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hydroottawa Stay in the know on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HydroOttawa   Keep up with the posts on X: https://twitter.com/thinkenergypod Transcript: Trevor Freeman  00:07 Welcome to a think energy short hosted by me, Trevor Freeman, this is a bite sized episode designed to be a quick summary of a specific topic or idea related to the world of energy. This is meant to round out our collective understanding of the energy sector, and we'll compliment our normal guest interview episodes. Thanks for joining and happy listening.  Hi everyone. Welcome back to another thinkenergy short. I'm your host, Trevor Freeman, today we're going to take a look at Canada's electricity trade. You may recall that in my first episode of 2025 we did a look ahead at the year in energy, and we did briefly touch on potential upcoming tariffs, and I highlighted that there is a fair amount of trade and electricity across the border. So, given that we are still on the potential cusp of these tariffs being implemented, I'm recording this on march 3, and March 4 is the date that new tariffs are set to be implemented by the US on Canada, we thought it was probably a good idea to take a look at trade through the lens of electricity, to give you a sense of how this might impact electricity and what the future might hold. So we'll look at the current landscape, the challenges posed by some of these recent policies, and the potential for strengthening interprovincial connections to ensure a resilient and sustainable energy future.  So, let's start by establishing the current state of Canada's electricity trade. In short, Canada's electricity grids were designed to serve local demand, rather than looking at a large scale, integrated national grid, for all. We'll get more into this shortly, but it's the main reason why you'll see the majority of Canada's electricity grids at the provincial level are kind of oriented north to south when it comes to interconnections, rather than east to west. They are a stronger trade relationship to meet the higher demand of the United States, rather than between provinces and territories. Canada's electricity trade has long been a cornerstone of the North American energy framework that's governed by both federal and provincial authorities. These cross-border interconnections have facilitated a robust exchange with Canada, exporting around $3.2 billion worth of electricity to the United States in 2023 alone. And yes, that was billion with a B. So, let's talk about cross border trade. The Canadian energy regulator, or CER, oversees electricity exports to the United States, ensuring compliance with market regulations, fair access and impact assessment on our domestic supply. It should be noted that the CER does not regulate electricity imports into Canada. That is the role of provincial Crown corporations or private market participants who decide on the volume of electricity being traded here in Ontario, as we've talked about many times on the show, the IESO, or Independent Electricity System Operator decides on the amount of electricity that is needed in coming in terms of infrastructure, the CER regulates 86 different international power lines that connect Canada's provinces to the US electricity grid in different locations. So, to help you visualize this, you know, imagine a map of North America, starting west to east. We've got British Columbia, which is linked to the US Pacific Northwest grid. Manitoba and parts of Ontario are both connected to the US midcontinent grid. The other part of Ontario and Quebec are connected to the US Eastern grids. And finally, New Brunswick is connected to the US New England grid. So, there are a lot of different connection points across the map. So that gives you a picture of our current trade relationship, so, now let's look at how some of the recent policy shifts may affect that.  Canadians will be well aware that the dynamics of international trade are being tested by the recent shift in the US approach to trade policies, and that includes the electricity trade. As I said at the beginning, I'm recording this on march 3, the day before broad, sweeping tariffs are set to be imposed by the United States on Canada, and that will impact electricity potentially, as well. The Trump administration's imposition of tariffs on Canadian imports has introduced a whole layer of uncertainty and tension. In response, Canadian officials have contemplated numerous different measures, including restricting electricity exports to the United States, states like Michigan and in New York or Minnesota who receive a lot of electricity from us. In Ontario, our recently reelected premier Doug Ford has highlighted the significance of these exports and has noted that Canada's electricity has powered 1.5 million American homes just last year, as recently as last month, Premier Ford raised the possibility of charging Americans more for electricity that Ontario sends to the US, and has also announced plans to cut off energy exports to the United States if the Trump administration moves ahead with tariff threats. These developments create a climate of uncertainty, and such trade disputes underscore the vulnerability inherent in our current trade dependent system. That vulnerability has raised calls for Canada to look and invest inward, which brings us to interprovincial connectivity. Let's examine the case for strengthening interprovincial connectivity in Canada, as I said at the top, we don't have a national grid. In fact, Canada's electricity infrastructure, which we've talked about many times, consists of multiple provincial or territorial grids, each governed and regulated by its respective province or territory. They also vary in systems and resources for producing electricity, with some regions having ample access to water resources, hydroelectricity, for example, others relying heavily on nuclear energy, and still, others looking more to fossil fuels, like oil or gas for electricity generation, a more cohesive pan Canadian electricity grid has long been a topic of conversation, even before this current threat of tariffs from the United States. A few years ago, there was renewed interest in the idea of interprovincial connectivity to achieve a 100% net zero electricity system by 2035 and eliminate harmful emissions countrywide by 2050. Basically, utilizing the electricity grid to support decarbonization at the individual customer level. Of course, the federal government has recently relaxed its goal for a net zero electricity system by 2035 mostly due to feasibility concerns, but the goal is still there to achieve Net Zero electricity generation across the entire country, and work has already been done towards that. So, working closely with Natural Resources Canada, the transition accelerator, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the transition to low carbon economy and advancing Canada's 2050 climate target, created an initiative called Electrifying Canada, which was focused on widespread electrification throughout the economy. That initiative brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, including government, indigenous peoples, industry, labor and civil society, to develop a roadmap for the electrification of Canada. This roadmap runs in parallel with the federal government's Electricity Advisory Council, and outlines recommendations to create a pan Canadian electricity grid, including identifying the infrastructure needed, the regulatory and policy changes that are required and the necessary investments needed to make it happen. Given the challenges presented by the United States and the growing discourse around bolstering interprovincial electricity connections, enhancing our domestic grid could offer several different benefits. These could include energy security. So, by reducing reliance on external markets, we can ensure a more stable and self-sufficient energy supply. There's also economic resilience, strengthened interprovincial trade can mitigate the economic impacts of international trade disputes and tariffs. And finally, there are environmental goals, so a cohesive national grid can facilitate the integration of renewable energy sources, aiding in the achievement of our net zero emissions targets. The CERs Canada's energy future 2023 report projects a 27% increase in interprovincial transmission capacity by 2035 under a global net zero scenario. So, we need this interprovincial connectivity in order to meet our net zero targets. It's something that kind of has to happen anyway, or is one of the key strategies in order to make that happen. This expansion would enable more efficient electricity transfers between provinces, allowing us to optimize resource utilization and enhance grid reliability. All the things that we talk about on this show about how to make our grid more efficient and more effective can be enhanced by looking not just at our provincial grids, but at more of a pan Canadian grid. While a National Grid offers many benefits, there are significant challenges to overcome, surprise. Surprise. We talk about this all the time on the show, so let's explore some of these challenges and considerations in order to make interprovincial connections a reality. To start with, the existing infrastructure was primarily designed for localized needs and aligning the diverse regulatory frameworks of each province or territory presents a complex challenge. Additionally, significant investment would be required to develop the necessary transmission lines and related infrastructure. So, it's both a regulatory challenge as well as a physical infrastructure challenge. We just don't have all the transmission lines and interconnections that are required. Here, according to the CER Market Snapshot webpage, electricity transmission lines in the Yukon and Northwest Territories do not actually connect to the larger North American grids or even to each other. And Nunavut doesn't have any transmission lines connecting its communities at all, but rather, each community independently generates and distributes its own electricity. I'll draw your attention back to an episode that I did last October with Gemma Pinchin from Quest Canada. And in that conversation, she highlighted that almost 200,000 Canadians in more than 280 remote communities don't connect to their local electricity grid or natural gas system, and it's not feasible at the moment for them to do so, given how remote they are. So, that presents some challenges as well. At a more macro level, looking at interprovincial framework, in August 2023 Ontario and Quebec announced a 600-megawatt electricity trade agreement, exemplifying the potential for greater interprovincial collaboration. Such initiatives could serve as blueprints for broader efforts to enhance our national grid. Despite these challenges, there is progress being made by investing in our domestic infrastructure and fostering provincial collaborations, Canada can build a resilient, sustainable and self-reliant energy system poised to meet future challenges. The energy transition, as we've talked about before is all encompassing and includes many different strategies. So, while we sometimes talk about the end result that EV or that heat pump that needs to be installed on the show, we also need to look at the more macro level, as how do we actually arrange our energy systems and our provincial grids, and what is the best option for that.  So, that wraps up our look at Canada's electricity trade and how the current trade landscape might impact that moving forward. Hopefully you found that interesting. Thanks for tuning in for another think energy short, as always, we'd love to hear from you, and we'll talk to you next time.  Thanks for tuning in to another episode of The thinkenergy podcast. Don't forget to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, and it would be great if you could leave us a review. It really helps to spread the word. As always, we would love to hear from you, whether it's feedback comments or an idea for a show or a guest. You can always reach us at thinkenergy@hydroottawa.com  

The energy transition is a big topic on thinkenergy. But what exactly is it? What does it mean globally, in Canada, and to you as an energy user? In this bite-sized episode, host Trevor Freeman unpacks the what, where, when, and how of the energy transition. From energy production and storage to how electrification is implemented in different communities. Listen in to learn about the nuances shaping the energy landscape, including the economic, political, and technological shifts driving change. Related links   ●       Trevor Freeman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevor-freeman-p-eng-cem-leed-ap-8b612114/ ●       Hydro Ottawa: https://hydroottawa.com/en    To subscribe using Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinkenergy/id1465129405   To subscribe using Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7wFz7rdR8Gq3f2WOafjxpl   To subscribe on Libsyn: http://thinkenergy.libsyn.com/   Subscribe so you don't miss a video: https://www.youtube.com/user/hydroottawalimited   Follow along on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hydroottawa   Stay in the know on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HydroOttawa   Keep up with the posts on X: https://twitter.com/thinkenergypod   Transcript: Trevor Freeman  00:00  Welcome to think energy, a podcast that dives into the fast, changing world of energy through conversations with industry leaders, innovators and people on the front lines of the energy transition. Join me, Trevor Freeman, as I explore the traditional, unconventional and up and coming facets of the energy industry. If you have any thoughts, feedback or ideas for topics we should cover, please reach out to us at thinkenergy@hydrottawa.com Hi everyone and welcome back. Okay, so today is going to be a little bit different than normal. I mentioned in our first episode following the summer break that we'd be trying out a few new things, and this is one of them, we're going to periodically mix up the format and deliver kind of a shorter, bite sized episode. Every once in a while, the goal of these episodes will be to provide a little bit of an explainer or context setting information on a topic that either we reference and refer to often, but maybe haven't explicitly explained, or to maybe demystify some aspect of energy in the utility sector that can be overlooked or generally goes unseen from the outside. So for example, you know, what does that line item on my bill actually mean, or something like that? How we fill that shorter time slot may vary, but one of the formats will be just kind of me waxing on, hopefully poetically, hopefully not too mundane about the issue. I promise to keep it as short and succinct as I can think today is going to be probably on the longer side of that short and succinct window, but I will do my best. So what's on Trevor's mind for today? It shouldn't surprise you that it's the energy transition. Obviously, listeners of previous episodes will have heard me use that term probably in almost every episode since I took over the helm here at think energy. I think it's likely that if you're listening to this podcast, you've got a pretty good idea of what we mean by that, or a general sense, at least, but there is some nuance to it that I think is worth picking apart for a few minutes, and I always want to make sure that we are also welcoming to new people into the conversation who maybe don't know what that is, and so this would be kind of a good explainer for that. So with that rather verbose intro, let us dive in. When we think about the energy transition, we probably mostly think of this ongoing shift to cleaner emissions free energy. So EVs over gas cars, heat pumps over gas furnaces, etcetera. That is definitely part of it. In fact, that's a major part of it. But like most things in life, it's never just as simple as that. The Energy Transition is a truly fundamental shift in our global relationship with energy, which includes not just what makes our cars go, but everything from how, where and when we generate energy, how, where and when we store and use energy, how we pay for the energy we use, how we finance and pay for energy projects and the systems that we need to do all the things I just mentioned, it will include a shift in what policies and regulatory guidelines and barriers we put in place to protect the public, but that also encourage change that we want to see happen to allow for innovation and advancement. It isn't completely throwing out everything we have and starting from scratch, although some things will disappear, like coal fired electricity generation, for example, but in a lot of areas, it is building on what we've already got at a pace that we haven't seen before, at least in a very long time. And I think that's a key point here. One of the things that makes the energy transition a change worth noting is the pace of change that we will see. Things have never really been static in the world of energy, from that time when our earliest ancestors first sparked that fire, this is the poetic part that I mentioned earlier, our relationship to energy has never really stood still. But other than a few significant events, the upward trend in sophistication and growth and scope has been fairly linear, gradual, one step after the other, etcetera. It's those exceptions, though, those things that are different from that gradual, linear growth that probably most closely resemble this period of change that has started that we're calling the energy transition. Take the Industrial Revolution, for example. For decades and centuries prior, there had been gradual improvements in how we got around or how we worked the fields. Let's say, you know, first by hand, then with tools, maybe a better plow came along, and we started using a horse or an oxen to pull that plow, et cetera. Then along comes the steam engine, and all of a sudden, things take off like never before. It wasn't just a matter of swapping out a horse for an engine. It may have started there, but entire economies and aspects of society changed or sprang up where they didn't exist before one change rolls into another and another in quick succession, and before too long, things that couldn't be imagined only decades before are suddenly a reality. To a degree, that's what we're looking at today with the energy transition. How far that change goes remains to be seen, but it's pretty clear that we have begun one of those disruptive periods of change that will be looked back on as a major turning point. So yes, the energy transition is about shifting away from greenhouse gas emitting fossil fuels, coal, oil, natural gas, etcetera, to renewable, non-emitting energy sources, solar, wind, hydro, nuclear, etcetera. But it's also so much more. The World Energy Council Secretary General and CEO Angela Wilkinson put it best when she said, we're actually looking not at one energy transition, but multiple transitions plural, because there are many diverse pathways to a sustainable energy future. So, there is the aforementioned shift away from fossil fuels for space, water, heating and transportation. A very large portion of that fuel switch will be to electricity, which means we also need to decarbonize how we produce electricity. Phase out coal, nearly all-natural gas, the remaining diesel generation in favor of non-emitting energy sources that I just mentioned. We will also see more distributed energy resources, so things like small scale solar and battery storage and more programs like demand response to manage when we use energy. And there are also other items that I highlighted at the beginning, our financial mechanisms, our regulatory and policy framework, all the interconnected pieces that go along with this. Now, if you'll permit me just a couple more minutes, I do want to touch on a few more aspects of this. The first is, why? Why is this transition happening? One major, overwhelming driver, of course, is the climate crisis. This isn't the episode to fully pick that apart and define it, but suffice to say, climate change is and will continue to be, a signature global crisis of this century, and it is driven primarily by fossil fuel usage, the energy transition and all its various aspects and parts, is a big part of the strategy to slow and stop Climate change and to limit its impacts to what is already baked in. But other things are driving this too. As we continue to digitize our lives, another major disruptive change that probably is worth its own conversation, and as tools like AI evolve, our need for energy is growing faster than ever. We can't meet those needs with the business-as-usual approach. The energy transition helps us deal with this rising demand, regardless of the reason, whether it's for electrification or large, dense data centers that are needed to run things like AI. There are also considerations like energy security and the benefits of decentralizing at least some of our energy sources. And finally, air quality considerations are a major push to reduce harmful emissions and replace that energy with clean, non emitting sources. Listeners in Ontario who are say around my tenure as kind of that oldest millennial age group will remember smog days in Ontario, which no longer exists, mostly because we moved away from coal fired generation, a bit over a decade ago. There are other parts of the world that still see really poor air quality, and shifting away from fossil fuel combustion will go a long, long way to addressing that. Now, the energy transition is not all sunshine and grassy meadows. It is a hard journey with challenges and obstacles to overcome. To start with, time is tight, and that is an understatement. We lost our chance, which could have started as early as 50 years ago, for this to be a slow and easy process, we need to move fast. Our climate is changing rapidly around us, and we are not on track to reduce emissions at the pace we need to. We haven't been keeping up with past targets and goals for reductions, and so we really need to pick up the pace. And like I mentioned earlier, even without climate change, our need for energy is growing at an exponential pace. In Canada, we're fortunate in that we have a strong foundation with a relatively decarbonized grid already, so about 80% carbon free nationally, and a diverse mix of hydro, nuclear and renewables like wind and solar. But it's still going to take quite a lot of effort to decarbonize that remaining 20% at a time when, as I keep mentioning, demand is increasing rapidly. In Ontario, our electricity system operator, the IESO, just updated their future demand projections to show that provincial demand will be 75% more or less higher by 2050 than it is today. This means we also need to invest in our grid infrastructure to ensure it can handle the increased load, as well as utilizing things like decentralized generation and storage to ensure we don't over build not to mention making sure we can handle more extreme weather. Just to give you a sense of what all that means, I'll remind you of an episode we did a few months ago with Jenna Gillis, Hydro, Ottawa's manager of distribution system integration, about our grid modernization roadmap, which is a 10-year plan to modernize our grid to make sure it can support. Support the kinds of things we're talking about here today. And I encourage you to go back and have a listen to that if you haven't already. To zoom out a bit, the energy transition is also very political as any major disrupter in society would be. There are differing viewpoints on the tools and tactics, the carrots and sticks, if you will, with which to enable change, differing viewpoints about the pace of change that we should be aiming for, and differing viewpoints even about where we ultimately end up when it comes to energy, and that is true within each jurisdiction, so within Ontario and within Canada and between jurisdictions at a more geopolitical level. So, to find alignment to make progress in these areas, these are not easy tasks. Have a listen to my earlier episode with Nicholas Rivers from the University of Ottawa for more thoughts on that and on the role that governments and policy makers can and should be playing. Now, as urgent as the need for change is, as exciting as the benefits might be, and as appealing as the vision for a smart, clean, connected energy future can appear, we can't just plow ahead without also considering the consequences and impacts of our choices. The energy transition will be disruptive, and there are a lot of good things about that, but let's not forget the root of that word, disruption, disturbance, things we know today, systems we have today will be upended, will need to change and adapt and quickly, and there are people who rely on those systems. In Canada, we have an entire industry, a substantial portion of our economy, that is associated with fossil fuel extraction and processing, and that's just one example for the transition to work and to actually move forward, it has to be fair and equitable and just for everyone. People and communities whose livelihoods are going to be upended need to be supported. The energy transition is also not free. Another massive understatement. All this change that I've been talking about here costs a lot of money. For Canada to reach net zero by 2050 it could require an estimated $2 trillion in investment. Now there are a lot of benefits to that, absolutely. I'm not saying that's not a worthwhile investment, but it's worth thinking about. So, we already have affordability challenges for many of our neighbors. We have institutions like healthcare, education and housing struggling to hold up under the pressure of the pandemic that we just experienced, inflation, supply chain issues, underfunding, all these different things. This transition has to happen in a way that, again, allows everyone to benefit and participate in it, regardless of their income levels, in a way that doesn't cause those other institutions to crack and crumble. You'll notice I'm not talking any specific solutions to this, and I guess that's the benefit of sitting in the host chair. I get to bring other smart people on to talk about that. But I do want to highlight that in this little talk here. Going back to the World Energy Council that I mentioned earlier, they also note the concept of the energy quadrilemma. So as in more than a dilemma, a quadrilemma. What they mean by that is that the transition needs to be just, so ensure fairness for everyone through the process needs to be orderly, so making sure that we approach things in a structured and efficient manner. It needs to be inclusive, so ensuring that everyone has an equal voice in the decision-making process, and it needs to be equitable, making sure that everyone has access to affordable, reliable and clean energy. It's worth noting here that our current system doesn't yet provide this. In my previous episode with Gemma Pinchin from Quest Canada, we talked about the number of rural and remote Canadians relying on diesel generators, for example, for their energy needs, because they're not connected to a grid and they don't enjoy all the benefits that come with that not everyone has the same access to energy across the country today, and that is its own challenge that needs to be solved as we go through this energy transition. So, as we get close to wrapping this up, let's talk about the how, what will enable us to realize this transition that we've been talking about. To start with, we need to scale up. We have heat pumps, EVs, renewable generation and battery storage today, those are major pieces in the energy transition, but we need more can we need it faster, and most of all, we need it cheaper. We've seen this drop in costs for things like solar already. If you look at the cost of solar from, you know, let's say 15, 10, five years ago to now, it's dropped precipitously. But we need that across all aspects of the transition. And this happens naturally in some cases, but we also need to speed it along with both policy and market forces. So the more demand for heat pumps, the more get made, the cheaper it is to make them. We need public awareness. We need to collectively recognize the importance and urgency for action so that we can make decisions whether that's what vehicle that. Or what project to tackle in our homes, or what we demand of our political representation that will drive us in the right direction. On that note, we need clear and consistent policy from all levels of government that will support and encourage the energy transition, and we need the appropriate levels of investment from our various levels of government to make this transition possible, Again, listen to my conversation with Nicholas rivers for more thoughts on what that might look like. And we need leadership, leadership from our governments, but we also need to look at ourselves as how can we show leadership Canada and Canadians can punch above our weight class, so to speak, by setting an example for others to follow, and by developing policies, programs and technologies, even to serve and guide others. So, to wrap it up, as I come to a close here, the energy transition is a little bit bigger than just fuel switching. It definitely is that, but it's more. It's a long, tough road, but we're on it no matter what it started, and it will continue, and it's also full of exciting possibilities and opportunities. Now, I hope this summary wasn't too vague. That was, it was meant to be high level, and again, I'm going to play the host card here and point to past and future episodes to dive deeper into specific aspects of this. But what I will say is that I'd love to hear from you. If you have thoughts about what we cover on the show, what we're not covering that you think we should be reach out to us. Thinkenergy@hydroottawa.com, I'd love to hear from you. Love to get your thoughts on this. Feel free to let us know what you think about this kind of format. If this works for you and you want to see kind of more of these explainers. Great. That's awesome. If you want to reach out to us and say, I think that was maybe just a little bit too much, Trevor, I get it. That's okay. I won't be offended or too offended. Now, I normally wrap up my episodes with a series of questions for my guests. Since I don't have a guest today, I won't make you listen to me sharing all of my answers, but I will leave you with a book recommendation. And I have to be honest here, I'm taking a rather dangerous step of recommending a book that I haven't actually read yet, but it is next on my list when I finish what I'm reading now, and it came highly recommended to me, and I'm really excited to read it. It's a book called, What if we get it right by Ayanna Elizabeth Johnson. It's a collection of essays and poetry and conversations that really gives some optimism about what could be when it comes to climate change and the energy transition, it is an exercise in not letting the sometimes-disheartening aspects of the climate crisis keep us from dreaming about the possible and to have hope and faith in the future that we can solve these challenges, we can realize the benefits of this energy transition that we talk about and that we know are possible. So, I'm really excited to read it soon, hopefully it lives up to my recommendation and the recommendation that was given to me for it when I wanted to let you know about it as well. So thank you, as always, for joining. Thank you for letting me and the team here try out this different format. Definitely let us know what you think about it, and keep checking back in for more great conversations with great leaders in the energy world. I promise I will be bringing guests back onto the show. It won't just be me talking. There will be some great ones coming up. So, thanks very much, and check back next time. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of The Think Energy podcast. Don't forget to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, and it would be great if you could leave us a review. It really helps to spread the word. As always, we would love to hear from you, whether it's feedback comments or an idea for a show or a guest. You can always reach us at thinkenergy@HydroOttawa.com

The climate crisis is a global challenge. But there isn't a one-size-fits-all solution. While urban centres are driving discussions on electrification and policy, rural and remote communities, including many Indigenous areas, face distinct energy realities. Gemma Pinchin from QUEST Canada joins thinkenergy to share how these communities can engage in the energy transition equitably and sustainably. Listen to episode 143 to learn about the diverse approaches to decarbonization in different global contexts. Related links   ●       QUEST Canada: https://questcanada.org/ ●       QUEST Canada Net Zero Communities Accelerator Program: https://questcanada.org/nca/  ●       QUEST Canada on X: https://twitter.com/questcanada ●       QUEST Canada on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@QUESTtalks ●       Gemma Pinchin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gemma-pinchin/ ●       Trevor Freeman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevor-freeman-p-eng-cem-leed-ap-8b612114/ ●       Hydro Ottawa: https://hydroottawa.com/en  To subscribe using Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinkenergy/id1465129405  To subscribe using Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7wFz7rdR8Gq3f2WOafjxpl  To subscribe on Libsyn: http://thinkenergy.libsyn.com/ Subscribe so you don't miss a video: https://www.youtube.com/user/hydroottawalimited  Follow along on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hydroottawa Stay in the know on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HydroOttawa Keep up with the posts on X: https://twitter.com/thinkenergypod   Transcript   Trevor Freeman  00:07 Hi. Welcome to think energy, a podcast that dives into the fast, changing world of energy through conversations with industry leaders, innovators and people on the front lines of the energy transition. Join me, Trevor Freeman as I explore the traditional, unconventional and even up and coming facets of the energy industry. If you've got thoughts feedback or ideas for topics that we should cover, we'd love to hear from you. Please reach out to us at thinkenergy@hydroanawat.com, everyone, welcome back. Climate change is truly a global issue, and that is true in really every sense of that word. I mean. Carbon emissions come from literally everywhere humans live in the world. Climate impacts are felt across the globe, with no regards to borders, and as a result, the ongoing energy transition, which is one of the main tools we're using to address the climate crisis, also needs to be global, unfortunately, and as I've talked about several times on this show and a bunch of different contexts, there's really no overarching global solution that can be applied everywhere. Of course, electrification is one of the main strategies in most cases, and that can be applied in all different parts of the world, but exactly how electrification is deployed, what technology is going to be used in, what specific use cases, what government policies are going to work. There is by no means a one size fits all approach to those questions. Local context is so important when it comes to the energy transition, and that's a big part about what today's conversation is about. I'm going to assume that, like me, most not all, but most listeners of this show live in or adjacent to or very near an urban center of some sort. I certainly do. I live in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, as such, when we talk about the various technologies or policies or approaches, we probably do so with an urban lens. The things that we're thinking of when we're talking about this stuff is in that kind of urban context. But that isn't everybody's reality. Rural and remote communities have a very different relationship with energy than urban centers in Canada, at least, there are over 280 communities which are home to around 200,000 people who aren't connected to the broader electrical or natural gas grid. The process of decarbonization represents unique challenges for these communities and for these Canadians who get their energy in a very different way from the rest of us. And another aspect of this is that there are also often overlaps between what I'm referring to here as rural and remote communities and indigenous communities, and proper, meaningful engagement with indigenous communities is an extremely important step in making sure that the energy transition is equitable and just for everyone, not to mention as the original stewards of the land most of us live on, we can learn a lot from indigenous communities about how we can exist on this land in a way that is not detrimental to the land and to our own health and well-being. To that end, I'm really excited today to have Gemma Pinchin from Quest Canada on the show to help us pull this apart a little bit and understand this context a bit better. Gemma is a senior lead of research and projects at Quest, and is responsible for the motivating Net Zero action and rural and remote communities research project. Gemma Pinchin, welcome to the show.   Gemma Pinchin  03:42 Thank you so much for having me.   Trevor Freeman  03:44 So why don't we start Gemma by having you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you came to be working in the role you're in, and also what quest Canada does.   Gemma Pinchin  03:54  Sure. Yeah. So I come from a background in research and policy and kind of like a number of areas. Most recently, I was working with the IESO. I was working on their indigenous relations team, really, in indigenous energy planning and capacity building. So, I have a master's in globalization and international development, and a bachelor's in history. So, a bit of a varied background. I've sort of worked in a bunch of roles, but I've always sort of had an interest in the climate crisis and how communities are really facing that and dealing with that. So, I joined quest in early 2023 and I was really drawn to their mission. It was really inspiring for me. So, the quest is a national charity that focuses on helping communities on their pathway towards net zero. So, they've been around since 2007 and they facilitate connections, empower community champions and advise decision makers. So, we really, we develop tools and resources and convene a variety of working. Groups and also provide advice to decision makers. So, Quest's mission, the one that I was inspired by, is to encourage, assist and enable communities to contribute to Canada's net zero goals.   Trevor Freeman  05:13 And your particular focus, if I'm not mistaken, is on sort of rural and remote communities. How did you, why is that your focus? How did you end up there?   Gemma Pinchin  05:21 Yeah, so through Quests projects, particularly the net zero community accelerator, which works with communities to the end goal is to create community energy and emissions plan we saw, and also through policy work and those kinds of pieces, we saw that there was the net zero transition is sort of chugging along, but there's kind of been a gap. The transition tends to focus more on the urban context. You know, urban population centers, the big cities, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, those kinds of places and that we saw as leaving out a really big chunk of Canadians. I think the statistic off the top of my head is 1/5 of Canadians live in rural and remote places. So, it's not a small statistic. So, we wanted to make sure that as the net zero transition was moving along and progressing that this large group of Canadians weren't forgotten about and the net zero transition is going to rely, and has been relying on rural land, rural populations, you know, to house Renewable Energy for food production as well as carbon sequestration. So, leaving this big group of people out is just kind of inconceivable, I guess. And what quests saw was that this was happening. So, we started this research project to sort of make sure that those voices were being heard and considered as Canada moves through the net zero transition?   Trevor Freeman  07:03 Great. Yeah. I mean, it's, it's one of the reasons why I'm excited to have you on the show today is to talk about that. And as I mentioned in the intro, even this conversation that I often have on on this show tends to focus more on those kinds of urban centers, or features of the energy transition that are more often found in urban centers. How does the traditional grid interact with our customers, things like that? So, I'm excited for this, for this conversation today, I think it'd be helpful before we really dive into it, to define what is a rural and remote community. So maybe let's start with that. What do you consider a rural and remote community and maybe go into what is unique about their energy needs and priorities compared to those in the urban centers.   Gemma Pinchin  07:49 So, my research will, I've completed a literature review, and then I'll be going on and doing work in communities, work with 15 communities. So, I kind of, at the beginning, I was trying to figure out how to define rural, because it's going to be, or it is currently across Canada research project. So, I was trying to figure out if there is a, you know, standardized definition. But it turned out that every single province had a different province and territory has a different definition of rural or remote, and even stats can in order to be considered a rural community, you have to be under 1000 people. But that felt a little bit too small. When I moved to Canada, I grew up in a rural community that had a population of 3000 and it felt very, very rural. So, I felt that was going to be a bit of a barrier for a lot of rural communities, not all rural communities, but, you know, rural communities have varying different population amounts, and then the population for the remote cities for example, like white horse or Yellowknife. They're considered remote due to how far away they are from everything else, but they have quite large population bases for the territories. So, for the sake of my research, we decided on a population cap of 30,000 which is quite large, but we wanted to be able to include those remote cities if they were willing to be a part of the research. And then I really decided that rural communities were in were best placed to sort of define whether they considered themselves rural. I live in, I live outside of Toronto, so I'm not currently live in a place where I would consider it rural, and I think communities themselves are in the best place to define themselves as rural. So that's kind of, it's a little bit vague, but that's kind of what, what we ended up going with. And then in terms of needs and priorities of these communities. Compared to urban centers, a big one is getting energy to communities, particularly remote communities. A lot of remote communities are reliant on diesel or fossil fuels, still, because getting in Ontario, the grid is fairly clean, but some communities just do not have access to it because they're so far away and so remote. So transportation to rural communities is probably one of the biggest differences, I guess. And then the types of emissions are also very, very different. So urban centers, it tends to be, you know, buildings and like cars and things like that. Whereas for rural centers, there's not as many buildings, obviously. So they have transportation to and from is a really big one, and then from the big sectors, so agriculture, mining, those kinds of pieces. Yeah, those are kind of the biggest differences, I would say.   Trevor Freeman  10:58 And as all the examples you gave were kind of in the Canadian context, and that's going to be the basis of going to be the basis of most of our conversation today, but I do know that you did spend some time looking at the international context, and obviously rural and remote living is not a uniquely Canadian thing. Of course. What did you learn through your kind of literature review on energy challenges internationally?   Gemma Pinchin  11:21 Yeah, so for this research, I hoped to sort of just focus on the Canadian context when I just started out, but there wasn't as much readily available literature I would be able to base an entire literature review on. So, while this is sort of a great justification for my ongoing research to be able to do a literature review. It was a little bit frustrating, so I decided to open it up to the usual comparator countries, so the UK, the US, Australia, and then Europe more broadly. And I found that the energy challenges and opportunities, I found that they were quite similar, like, even in the UK. I grew up in the UK, so I'm pretty aware of the sort of differences geographically between Canada and the UK, but everything's much closer together. But still, there is still this, like, big rural, urban divide, and there's still, like, remote communities in the UK, even though that they're not Canada remote, but you know they're still, they're still quite remote when you sort of apply a UK context to it, the biggest challenges and opportunities that I saw was that there needs to be a real consideration for rural needs and not just apply the same lens as urban needs onto that obviously, though we need to use rural space for renewable energies that's sort of across the board, is going to be something that everybody needs, and the costs of the net zero transition to be a barrier for rural communities. So, something I found a little bit interesting that I hadn't considered before was that for diesel dependent communities, that there was such a high cost associated with diesel fuel that there wasn't any extra money left over to fund the net zero transition. So it was kind of, I'd never really considered it that way, that you're spending all this money on this fuel and that's kind of eating up all of your energy costs. There's nothing left over to be able to fund this transition, and that there's this trust in diesel, because it's been what's been working for however long, for like a small, tiny community in Australia or Canada or the US or wherever. You know, it's kind of nerve wracking to give up that piece that's been working for years and years and years and take a risk on this new technology that might not be as effective in in their perception as how diesel has been.   Trevor Freeman  13:57 Yeah, I mean, that's interesting in that I see a lot of parallels between that context and other contexts, including the urban context of we are comfortable with what we know. We are comfortable with the things that we have seen working and experienced working to get us to work and back, or get the kids to school, or heat our homes Exactly. And as soon as someone starts talking about this new thing that we don't really know that that makes us a bit nervous. So, it's interesting that that that applies regardless of where you are. What are some you know, for a lot of our listeners, I think are probably more familiar with the urban context, what are some misconceptions that you have heard or that you've come across when it comes to the energy needs and capabilities of rural and remote communities.   Gemma Pinchin  14:48 So, I think there's this idea that a one size fits all solution for every community, and that solutions that work in urban centers will work in rural centers, and that. Just not, not the case. For example, something obvious like transportation, my literature review highlighted that within urban centers, the most sustainable option would obviously be public transport. But if you apply that same lens to a rural community, you know, cars are bad, and we shouldn't be using them rural communities. It's almost impossible to be sustainable in net zero because they don't have the public transport option. So in that context, looking at it with a different lens, looking at it with a rural lens, you would look at sort of like consolidating car trips or making sure that services like health care and groceries and you know, the things that we take for granted in urban centers, making sure those are close like they're kept in communities, like a lot of services are kind of moving out of rural communities. And that doesn't necessarily seem like a net zero issue, but when people in those communities have to drive like, three times as long to get to their doctor, that's a huge, you know, emissions issue, you know. And it's just, it was an interesting look at the way that we're even myself, before I was doing this, I was like, well, cars are bad, like, you know, like gas cars aren't great for emissions. But the reality is, for rural communities, they need this transportation that there's no there's no other way for them to get around, and it would be incredibly isolating, and you can't function as a society if you're just stuck in your house, you know. So having that different lens and looking at it in a different context. I think that's really, really important as we move rural communities through this net zero transition.   Trevor Freeman  16:51 Yeah, it highlights a point that I know has been made here before, of the energy transition, regardless of where you are, requires a holistic approach. It requires some pretty nuanced thinking, and I think you're highlighting a really great example of that, of it's not just a piece of technology or it's not just a program that's going to resolve this problem for us, there are sort of cascading impacts of this, and primary health care provider shortage in rural communities is directly correlated to higher emissions in those communities and like, that's an interesting picture to paint and something that's important for us to remember. So, you mentioned this earlier, kind of the stats around how many people actually live-in rural communities, I think you said one in 20. That's over 200,000 people that are kind of not connected to, or this is a different stat I'm pulling here. Sorry. This is the number of people not connected to sort of the traditional electricity grid or to the natural gas grid here in Ontario. Talk us through a little bit more you mentioned, kind of the reliance on diesel in those communities. Talk us through sort of the unique challenges when you're not connected to the electricity grid. You don't have that transmission line coming into your community. What is the role that those traditional fuel sources, like diesel, for example, play in those communities?   Gemma Pinchin  18:12 Well, in those communities that aren't connected to, you know, natural gas or the electricity grid, like diesel used to be their only option. You know, modern life, we need electricity power like we need to power modern life. You can't have a modern existence without some form of power. So, you know, diesel, they are completely reliant on diesel. The ones that aren't connected. I mean, it's frustrating, because these communities do tend to be quite far away from the power grid infrastructure. So it's usually considered economically non-viable to connect those remote communities to the provincial power grids, because these communities are also very small. So, it's a small number of people that you would have to spend all this money for the infrastructure to get, you know, the power lines to them, and Canada, Ontario, Canada, both of them are very big, so there's many communities that exist quite far away from power lines or existing grid infrastructure. So, yeah. So yeah, diesel just, it's kind of been their only option for power to have a modern, modern existence, up until, I would say now, well, recently.   Trevor Freeman  19:27 Yeah, that's a great lead into kind of the next part of this is what comes next, if we're, if we're trying to get off of diesel, for example, for power generation, if, sort of the economics and the feasibility of bringing the traditional power grid to remote communities isn't really feasible. What role do other technologies play? And I'm thinking of obviously, like on site, renewable generation or storage, like, what's the option for these communities?   Gemma Pinchin  19:54 So that would kind of be entirely dependent on each community's context, I guess what renewable energy would work there. So, on site, renewable energy is obviously one of the better solutions for diesel dependent communities. But what works in one community might not work in another community. So, you know, solar might work really well. You obviously have to have the right amount of sunlight, but then maybe less so in Ontario, but like, tidal energy for a coastal community might work better, you know? So, it's kind of dependent, and that's a big thing that came out of this research, is that there's not going to be a one size fits all. We can't just say all diesel dependent communities are now having a solar micro grid, and that's what's going to happen. Like you can't do that, but I do know of from my previous life working with indigenous energy planning and energy capacity in Ontario, there are some really cool examples of communities that were slash, are diesel dependent, that have implemented solar micro grids or are implementing, I don't know where, where they're at now, but as a way to get off diesel. And it is, there were some really cool projects that I got to kind of have a tiny little part of it was just a really interesting project to lessen their reliance on diesel.   Trevor Freeman  21:19 So you mentioned indigenous communities, and obviously, when we're talking about rural and remote communities, a lot of those are indigenous communities, or have a higher amount of indigenous population. Talk through the importance of indigenous engagement when it comes to planning and implementing projects like renewable energy projects, that's like a whole extra layer of complexity to some of this. Tell us a little bit about that space.   Gemma Pinchin  21:50 Yeah, so any project that touches indigenous land needs to have robust indigenous engagement. It's, it's their land. They need to, need to be engaged and listened to. It's really an issue of decolonization and decolonizing the energy grid, because it's returning that power that should have remained with them all the time. It's returning that to indigenous communities. And I think it's really important from a culturally obviously, to protect indigenous cultural sites and practices, but also from like a protection of the land. I think the statistic is that 80% of all biodiversity is currently protected by indigenous peoples globally. So, the number is huge. And so, if we're going to be doing any sort of work that's potentially disrupting some sort of biodiversity or anything like that. I think having those voices included is really, really important as we try to fight the climate crisis and any engagement with indigenous people and needs to be really robust, like it actually has to go somewhere. You can't just engage with indigenous people and then just go and do whatever you want. You've got to listen and act on what you're hearing. It's important for decolonization and reconciliation and biodiversity and indigenous culture as well.   Trevor Freeman  23:13 I mean, I think it's just highlighting what engagement actually is and what it isn't. And engagement is not going in and doing a really slick presentation on here's the solution, here's what we're going to implement. It's starting the conversation before the solution is developed, and saying, what is the context within which we're working? What are, what is this community bringing in terms of knowledge and experience? And so how can that local knowledge and expertise be sort of integrated into the decision making and really leveraged to identify appropriate solutions? I mean, you talk about that stat of how much of our protected biodiversity is really on indigenous land or indigenous controlled land, there's no question that there's a knowledge and an expertise there that can be leveraged for this talk us through what that looks like in terms of a strategy for resolving some of these energy challenges.   Gemma Pinchin  24:10 Yeah from my research, this could be indigenous communities or non-Indigenous communities. It kind of counts for everything. What I really found was that there was this push to do sort of a top down, bottom-up approach at the same time. So, the local community was really needed to implement the local context like I've been saying, No, there's no one size fits all, so understanding how to implement these solutions locally needs to come from the local context. But at the same time, we do need a national strategy that has the flexibility in order to provide that sort of like umbrella guidance for what what the local context kind of like. Needs to be achieving, but having that flexibility and that openness to allow local communities to figure out what works best for them in that context. And I don't, I don't really know what that that looks like beyond like that vague framework, but I think empowering local communities to have the, you know, the ability to tailor the solutions to their community is really, really important, because we cannot have a one size fits all solution, but we do need that sort of national guidance, otherwise there won't be that empowerment like that. There needs to be some sort of overarching body or government or whatever that looks like to provide that power to communities, because usually they're small communities, they can't just act and go off roguely on their own. So yeah, so really, that top down, bottom-up approach is really important.   Trevor Freeman  25:54 Is this also an opportunity, is the engagement process when it comes to resolving energy challenges, an opportunity for economic growth. For sort of, is it like a vehicle for that? Is it a vehicle for job creation? For example, in these communities?   Gemma Pinchin  26:14 Do you mean engagement in itself, or just the net zero transition?   Trevor Freeman  26:19 I mean, I think both. Yeah, it's like the engagement process and then the implementation and the solutioning process as well.   Gemma Pinchin  26:25 Yeah. So, I definitely think both would be an opportunity for job creation engagement. There would need to be sort of a community contact, which I sort of foresee being a funded role, funded by who? I'm not sure, but having, having that as a, you know, a paid position, I think would be, is really important as well, to bring funds into the community, to really solidify that. You know, energy companies, or whoever's doing the engagement, they're committed to community, building up the community, and then in terms of economic growth from the energy transition, I think this is a huge opportunity for job creation in rural, remote and indigenous communities. I think a key piece of that, though, is that there needs to be training programs for not because, not only do we need to build, you know, these renewable energy structures, we also need to be able to upkeep and maintain them as we're going along. So, you know, once the solar farm, or whatever it is, is built, there needs to be training for communities to be able to provide maintenance to these structures. But and even from a like on a smaller scale, sort of heat pumps, or having people who usually work on furnaces to be trained on how a heat pump works, so they're able to sort of facilitate that net zero transition. On a smaller scale, there needs to be training provided in rural communities, because we're seeing now that like people are wanting to transition over to, say, heat pumps, but there's not anybody locally who has any expertise on what that what that means, or what that looks like, or how, how to install that. There's only the, you know, the furnace guy. There's not in these rural and remote communities and indigenous communities. There's not anybody providing the, I mean, there's, there's no one there that knows how to do it or how to train people on it. So, if we want to capitalize on job creation, then we need to train people in how to do this. There was also, in my literature review, like one of the things, one of the key things that was looked at was, sort of the carbon sequestration and agriculture. And in agriculture, there was this issue that came up where farmers are now expected to not only provide enough food to sustain our society, they're now also expected to have like a plan for carbon sequestration on their land, but without any training or support of what that looks like and how, how that would work with their farm. So making sure that these tactics that we have, we're training the people locally on how to undertake them and how to keep them going.   Trevor Freeman  29:33 it's interesting. I'm having this I don't know what the word is, let's call it flashback. So, I started my career actually working in international development. I worked in rural Zambia. Oh, cool on water and sanitation. And this conversation you and I are having right now mirrors that conversation. This is going back about almost 20 years now. Of the number of you know well-meaning international funders that came. Into rural Zambia or rural Africa or other parts, and bunked down boreholes and wells and pumps to provide clean water, and then walked away. And three months later, a small little part breaks on that pump, and there's no one around to fix it. Yep, you can't use it. There's no supply chain to provide that washer, that not it. It's the it's almost frustrating. I mean, it is frustrating, I shouldn't say almost frustrating that it seems like such a simple, a simple thing to make sure that solutions implemented are supported in the way that a piece of technology needs to be supported, if it's in downtown Toronto, it still needs to be supported out in the rural community as well. And exactly, who better to support it than the people that live there.   Gemma Pinchin  30:48 Exactly, it's also, it also saves money, because, yeah, you don't have to shuttle someone out from the Toronto's of the world into like, five hours. Five hours is minimum. But like, you know, like, five hours outside of the city to be able to work on these, you know, wind turbines or heat pumps or whatever, the technological solution is, building capacity within local communities is always, it's always going to be a benefit.   Trevor Freeman  31:16 I think that the positive thing is that there's a there's this understanding, I think, that we need capacity building across the board. When it comes to the energy transition, we don't have enough heat pump technicians, heat pump installers, people that know how to do solar and storage. So, we already need to solve this problem when it comes to training people, we just need to make sure that includes our rural and rural communities, our indigenous communities, all these things, exactly. So that brings us to an interesting next question, which is, what's the role of the government here in making sure that this energy transition also works for rural and remote communities?   Gemma Pinchin  31:57 Yes, I've touched on this a little bit, but I definitely think that getting back to my umbrella approach, having sort of policy frameworks that work to empower local decision making and local action, I think that's the role of the provincial and federal governments, is what I'm thinking of. And then funding, funding is a huge piece for rural, remote and indigenous communities. Like I said, there's just not any extra, like in my example earlier, about, you know, diesel generation having to pay all that money to get diesel into the community. There's nothing extra to fund any sort of renewable energy technology. So these funding programs are crucial for these small communities to be able to break away from what they've been doing. They're kind of currently just like floating around the status quo. And that's, that's where they're at having funding available is, is a really key part, really key role, sorry, that federal and provincial governments can play. And then I also think training existing, like we just spoke about, but also training specific for people that work in fossil fuel industries. I think if we were going to have a just transition, we can't just leave people who have been working their whole lives on I'm thinking more Alberta, but people who have been working on oil rigs their entire lives, or in the oil and gas industry their entire lives, and now we're saying we need to move away from that, so we can't just abandon those people. So, making sure there's some sort of like retraining programs or anything like that. I think is a really key role for governments to play.   Trevor Freeman  33:44 For anybody out there who's kind of keeping score here, that's another example of the need for holistic like well thought out process and programs. Is not just about plunking a piece of technology and it's about, as you say, exactly, what do we do with folks who are in industries that are declining as a result of the energy transition? Yeah, you mentioned the financial aspect of this and the role that the government can play, you know, in helping get over that initial capital cost burden. Is there a particular structure or approach? Do you think that would uniquely work for rural and remote communities, or is it kind of similar to incentive programs that work across the board no matter where you are?   Gemma Pinchin  34:31 So, I think grant programs are a really great way for rural and remote communities and indigenous communities to be able to access funding for the initial capital cost. And then in terms of structure, I think, something that I've heard a few times now is that making sure that the application, if we're doing sort of a grant structure that I was thinking, or anything that that needs, sort of like an application reporting. Requirements, making sure that those requirements are not so onerous that it deters communities from applying. So, if we're thinking of a tiny community that has one person working on, you know, climate and energy and 12 other things that are on their desk, it doesn't make sense for them to have this like, hugely onerous task of applying, and then if they get it, you know the reporting structure, it's sort of impossible, and it makes it inaccessible. I heard a story of a community who they had to hire and consultant in order to provide a piece of the information that was needed just for the application, that doesn't even guarantee that you're going to get the funding. So not only you might not get the funding, and then you'd be out however much money it took for you to hire that consultant. So that kind of huge the burdensome applications and reporting is not going to work for rural, remote and indigenous communities like the Toronto's can, like they have the money to be able to hire consultants to do those that work, and it doesn't really affect them. But if you have a tiny budget, and it's just you doing this work, having, you know, not having the capacity in house, and then having to pay someone for funding that you may not get, it's just going to prevent people from applying. So having that, yeah, just making sure that the structure is reflecting the realities that exist in rural, remote and indigenous communities, is really important.   Trevor Freeman  36:32 Yeah, and speaking from experience of having applied for funding programs, as well as administering programs Once we've received funding, and that's both in my kind of current life as well as in past life, it can be a really big lift. And obviously there's a role for due diligence and scrutiny and making sure funds are spent effectively. But if it's a barrier for some segments of our society, that's a problem. The other thing I think I'd mention is, like the time it takes sometimes to learn about process apply for this funding. You know, those, those large, urban, sort of entities that have resources, can jump on this stuff really quick, and often by the times the smaller communities or smaller entities get around to it, the funding is all allocated and gone. And so I think protecting, protecting that in the process is pretty critical.   Gemma Pinchin  37:34 Yeah, and having, having specific funding streams that are only for rural and remote communities and indigenous communities, I think is really important as well.   Trevor Freeman  37:45 Yeah, absolutely. So, Gemma, it's, it's great that you have this, this approach and this, this view of of the challenge facing these communities. But obviously there's a lot of stakeholders involved that kind of need to adjust and align and figure this out. How do we make sure that those connections are happening, that all these different stakeholders, be it government or some of the technology or service providers as well as community members? How do we overcome that disconnect when it when it comes to this approach?   Gemma Pinchin  38:18 Yeah, so that's a huge, huge issue that I saw through this research and continue to see and my answer might be a bit fluffy bunny, but I really think that communication is a key thing. I don't think that all of I think the way that we're approaching it right now is very, very siloed, and everyone's kind of just doing their little part, making sure that we have communication between them, I think, is sort of the, the first, most basic step, you know, breaking down those silos and then having structures that support working together. So again, in that, maybe in that umbrella approach, having policies that support people working together, as opposed to having, you know, this, like competition, or, you know, this is my work, and I'm, I don't, I don't need to work with you, because it's not in my, like, exact purview, having, a structural system that makes sure that we're able to break down those silos, because we're not going to get anywhere if we don't. We need to make like we've been talking about, the holistic approach. We need to make sure that all of the stakeholders, and like everybody, is really working on this.   Trevor Freeman  39:39 Yeah, absolutely. What do you think our next steps are? What do you think is the sort of the most critical next step to ensure that we are moving in this direction, that we're actually going to start to see some progress here?   Gemma Pinchin  39:50 So I think in terms of, I mean, for rural and indigenous communities, I definitely think we need more research like what I'm. Doing. I think these are voices that haven't necessarily been heard, and if we're going to have an energy transition, we need to include these voices. And I think the best way to do that is to sort of do research like mine and figure out what their needs are, and how we can how we can progress to that next step. There's, I mean, there's some amazing thinking, specifically of like indigenous organizations that are already doing great work in this, this space, like indigenous clean energy and the Center for Indigenous Environmental Research. So, they, they're already doing this, but just consolidating all of that, that and having people governments actually listen, I think is really, really important. I think, yeah, those voices just need to be heard and listened to. Otherwise, we're not going to get anywhere. It'll be, like you said, like we just putting in technology and then just kind of, like leaving it there, and that's not, it's not going to work. We're not going to get anywhere with that, that sort of approach. So, making sure, you know, local context is understood and local voices are heard.   Trevor Freeman  41:15 Yeah, well, as we kind of wrap our conversation here, I guess, thank you for the work you're doing, and for elevating those voices and making sure that we're pulling, we're pulling that front and center in the conversation of the energy transition. And so, thanks to you and to Quest.   41:31 Thank you.   Trevor Freeman  41:33 So, we always wrap our interviews with a series of questions just to learn a little bit more about you. So, we'll dive right into that. Okay, what is a book that you've read that you think everybody should read?   Gemma Pinchin  41:45 So, this is my, my favorite book. It's called The Secret Life of Addie LaRue by Victoria Schwab, or V Schwab, and its a, it just, it's a really, it's a novel, and it's a really beautiful look. It's kind of fantasy. There's like a fantasy element, but it's a look at human connection and what it means to be known, and those, those kinds of pieces. And it's really beautifully written. And I just really love it.   Trevor Freeman  42:15 What about a movie or a show that you think everyone should watch?   Gemma Pinchin  42:20 So, there's a French film. It's called Portrait of a Lady on fire, and it's really beautifully done. The sound editing, there's like, no, no. It sounds weird, but there's like no music in the backgrounds, really. But there's pieces where music is played, and it's really poignant, and it's a it's a love story between two women, and it's just, it's really, it's really gorgeous and heartbreaking and all of the things I love.   Trevor Freeman  42:49 Yeah, that sounds awesome. If someone was to offer you a free round-trip flight anywhere in the world, where would you go?   Gemma Pinchin  42:54 I'd go to Japan. That's where my fiancé and I are planning to take our honeymoon. So, we're kind of like looking into that and getting really excited about it. So that's where I would go.   Trevor Freeman  43:07 That's awesome. Who is someone that you admire?   Gemma Pinchin  43:09 My fiancé, she's just the strongest, she's kind. She's really practical, which is a really admirable quality, I think, for me, but also, you know, she's really empathetic, and, yeah, she's just a really magical person.   Trevor Freeman  43:29 Good answer. And to wrap it up, what is something about the energy sector or the energy transition that you are particularly excited about?   Gemma Pinchin  43:36 I'm really excited to see, sort of, the continued empowerment of local communities as we move through the energy transition, and how they're going to be able to move their communities through this climate crisis by looking at things you know, holistically the energy transition, but also, you know, biodiversity, nature based, carbon sequestration, and then also tying in sort of that holistic approach with, you know, healthcare and those pieces to better the community as a whole.   Trevor Freeman  44:09 Well, it'll be nice to as always as all parts of the sector. It's great to see success stories, and it'll be really great to see success stories in the space as well. So exactly, I'm also excited about that. Jeb, I thanks so much for your time today, and thanks for sharing your research with us. And like I said, elevating those voices, I really appreciate it.   Gemma Pinchin  44:29 Thank you for having me on.   Trevor Freeman  44:31 Thanks very much. Take care. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the think energy podcast. Don't forget to subscribe. Wherever you listen to podcasts, and it would be great if you could leave us a review. It really helps to spread the word. As always, we would love to hear from you, whether it's feedback comments or an idea for a show or a guest. You can always reach us at thinkenergy@hydroottawa.com  

In October 2022, the government of Ontario in Canada issued a directive to its Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) to increase investments in energy efficiency and demand management; the lowest-cost ways of meeting system needs. These increased investments enabled additional demand-side management programming, including the "Save on Energy Peak Perks" program. Close coordination between the IESO, service provider EnergyHub, and partners including ecobee and Renew Home (formerly Google Nest) was essential to delivering rapid scale for the Peak Perks program.The result? Ontario IESO built Canada's largest VPP in just six months with the capacity to deliver a peak demand reduction of up to 90 MW, equivalent to taking a mid-sized Canadian city off the grid during peak times. Join us to learn more about how this program was developed and launched so quickly and effectively, as well as its lessons learned.

Summer rewind: Ontario's electricity sector is evolving, as the province navigates the transition to cleaner energy amidst rising demand. In thinkenergy episode 135, we explore the grid's structure and key players, highlighting the crucial role of distributors (Local Distribution Companies or LDCs) in facilitating this transition. Guest Teresa Sarkesian, President and CEO of the Electricity Distributors Association (EDA), sheds light on LDCs' frontline efforts and contributions shaping the energy landscape. Related links   Teresa Sarkesian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teresa-sarkesian-53898613/   Electricity Distributors Association: https://www.eda-on.ca/  Green Button information: https://www.oeb.ca/consumer-information-and-protection/green-button  Electrification and energy transition panel report: https://www.ontario.ca/document/ontarios-clean-energy-opportunity-report-electrification-and-energy-transition-panel  Ontario Electricity Support Program: https://ontarioelectricitysupport.ca/  Trevor Freeman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevor-freeman-p-eng-cem-leed-ap-8b612114/ Hydro Ottawa: https://hydroottawa.com/en     To subscribe using Apple Podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinkenergy/id1465129405   To subscribe using Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7wFz7rdR8Gq3f2WOafjxpl   To subscribe on Libsyn: http://thinkenergy.libsyn.com/ --- Subscribe so you don't miss a video: https://www.youtube.com/user/hydroottawalimited   Follow along on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hydroottawa   Stay in the know on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HydroOttawa   Keep up with the posts on X: https://twitter.com/thinkenergypod     Trevor Freeman Hey everyone. Well, it's officially summer, and the think energy team is taking a break to recharge over the next two months, but also to plan our content for the fall. So stay tuned for some great episodes in the fall. Not to worry, though, we still have our summer rewind to keep you engaged. This is where we pick out some of the great past episodes that we've done and repost them. So whether you're lucky enough to be sitting on a dock or going on a road trip or if you're just keeping up with your commute through the summer, it's a great time to revisit our past content. You will hear past episodes from my predecessor and the host chair, Dan Sagan, as well as a couple of mine from the past few months, and you're welcome to check out your own favorite past episodes as well. Wherever you get your podcasts. We hope you have an amazing summer, and we'll be back with new content in September, and until then, happy listening.   Trevor Freeman  0:07   Hi, welcome to think energy, a podcast that dives into the fast-changing world of energy through conversations with industry leaders, innovators and people on the frontlines of the energy transition. Join me Trevor Freeman, as I explore the traditional, unconventional and even up and coming facets of the energy industry. If you've got thoughts, feedback or ideas for topics that we should cover, we'd love to hear from you. Please reach out to us, at think energy at hydro ottawa.com Hi, everyone, welcome back. Now it's no secret that Ontario's electricity sector is transforming rapidly as it moves to both decarbonize the grid itself, you know, we have a very clean grid in Ontario, but it's not totally carbon free. And to support the growing demand for electricity as our customers across the province, take steps to electrify and change how they use energy. The show is all about exploring those changes, among other things, and today is no different. But before we dive into our conversation today, I think it would be helpful for me to spend just a few quick minutes on some basics about how our electricity grid is structured in Ontario, and who some of the key players are. Now I know some of our listeners will know this already, but it can be hard to keep track of all those key players. And Ontario's structure is a little different than some of the neighboring jurisdictions no two jurisdictions are exactly alike. So, a refresher is never a bad thing. Now the most basic description is that electricity is largely generated at central generation facilities. So, think nuclear power plants are your electric generating stations, some gas fired generating stations and large-scale wind and solar installations. We call these entities generators simple as that. That electricity is then transmitted across the province in an interconnected grid of high voltage transmission lines, which also connect to other jurisdictions such as neighboring provinces and states, and Ontario, Hydro One runs the transmission network. Now you've probably seen this transmission network. These would be the large metal towers that you see out in the middle of a field when you're driving along the highway or in rural areas that have electricity wires strung way up high in the air. The last stage before it gets to the end user is called distribution. So, this is where electricity is taken from those high voltage lines stepped down to a usable voltage for residential and commercial customers via transformers and substations, and then distributed over a network of overhead and underground wires, then these would be the wires that you would see at the top of those wooden or composite poles that are along the side of the road in your neighborhood. The entities that run this distribution part are called distributors, again, simple as that. So, there's a few other key players that are worth mentioning here. Energy Policy is primarily the jurisdiction of the provincial government, who sets the general direction and associated rules and regulations accordingly. The Ontario Energy Board or OEB is the regulatory body who governs what all those other players do and enacts the government mandate. And finally, at least for today's purposes, we have the system operator. It's called The Independent Electricity System Operator in Ontario, or IESO, who runs the system. So, if you're in Windsor, Ontario, or Ottawa, or North Bay, and you want to turn on your air conditioner, or plug your EV in to charge, the IESO is responsible for making sure there's enough power on the grid to handle that load. So, I hope everyone is still with me and feel free to pause and do some jumping jacks if that was a lot to take in. Our conversation today is going to be focused on the role of the distributor. So, for full disclosure, as you know, I work for hydro Ottawa who is one of those distributors, we serve most electricity customers in the City of Ottawa, and the neighboring village of Casselman and in Ontario, you will often hear distributors referred to as local distribution companies or LDCs. So forgive me if I slip into that acronym throughout the conversation today, that's really just the sort of common name that we refer to those distributors as. But I'll try to mix it up and make sure that, that I'm explaining that acronym throughout as well. So the distributor is really the front line, the customer facing entity of the entire electricity system. If you are an electricity customer, and you think about the electricity system, you are probably thinking about your distributor. Chances are you get your bill from a distributor, even though for most customers, most of what you pay on that bill doesn't actually go to the LDC. Some of it stays with your local distribution company, but most of it goes to the transmitter to the generator, to the IESO etc. When the power goes out, it's probably your LDC that you call and it's your LDC that will give you a restoration time. Sometimes outages are caused by issues up the line, so to speak in the transmission portion of the grid. But often the issue is a localized one. And it's your LDC that is identifying the problem and fixing it, whether that means rolling a truck to string new cable, or performing switching to work around the problem. And finally, it's your LDC that is really on the frontlines of the energy transition. While all parts of the grid must then have started to change, the LDCs are really working hand in hand with our customers to identify where and how fast and new demand is needed to bridge that gap between customers and policymakers to enable more and more renewable generation. And also to determine what new technologies or programs we need to pilot and scale up. And it's really the LDCs that are driving change in the way that electricity is managed at the individual customer level moving forward. So to help us make some sense of this, I'm happy to have Teresa Sarkesian on the show today. Teresa is the president and CEO of the electricity Distributors Association, which is a role that she's held since 2016. This is actually Teresa second time on the show the first being back in December 2021. So we're happy to have Teresa back, Teresa, welcome back to the show.   Teresa Sarkesian  6:23   Thanks so much, Trevor. I'm really delighted to be back.    Trevor Freeman  6:27   Yeah, we're glad to have you. So, like I said, you were back on our show in 2021. I don't know if it's because of how COVID has changed our lives or if this is just the way things go. But sometimes, you know, weeks seem like years. So 2021 is a long time ago. Let's start by refreshing our listeners on the role and mandate of the electricity Distributors Association.   Teresa Sarkesian  6:49   Sure thing so the electricity Distributors Association, or the EDA our little acronym represents Ontario's public and private electric utilities that distribute electricity to 5.4 million homes, businesses and institutional customers across the province. And I should note that those 5.4 million customers really refers to build accounts so you have families that are behind a build account. So effectively the millions and millions of Ontarians and businesses that operate and live here are customers of our utilities. And as you know our members are on the front lines of power, and have developed a strong trust with their customers by providing safe, reliable and affordable service for over 100 years. The EDA itself provides analysis and networking and advocacy for our members to ensure that the energy policy direction and framework in Ontario is fair and balanced, supporting the financial viability of utilities to deliver service and ensuring affordability for customers. And long term, we are looking to ensure that our local distribution company members can become the premier energy solution providers to their customers, and that they're able to provide the value-added services that customers are already expecting from them but are going to grow with the energy transformation and electrification in the future.    Trevor Freeman  8:09   Yeah, it's kind of like I said, when people think about the electricity sector, they're probably thinking about their distributor. And the EDA is kind of that common voice for those distribution companies. So, you first joined the EDA back in 2009, and have been the president and CEO since 2016. So, we'll look ahead and talk about the future in a minute. But before we do that, tell us about how things have changed so far during your tenure. How are things different from 2009 When you first joined the organization?   Teresa Sarkesian  8:40   Yeah, and you know, this is almost like perfect timing, Trevor, because I've been at the association now for 15 years, I'm just marking my 15-year anniversary. So, feels really apropos to kind of reflect and look back. So, I want to break down my answer into two parts. So, I'm going to talk to you about some, I guess, just my own personal observations about the electricity system at large. And then I'm going to talk more about the changes in distribution. But some of the changes that I thought were really quite significant and profound, sort of when I joined the industry in 2009, I joined at a time when there was the Green Energy Act, and the province was looking to connect all kinds of renewable energy generation to the electricity grid. So that was fairly significant. Another thing that was happening with the province is that they closed down coal fired generation. That was pretty massive. In fact, I think, at the time, it was the largest kind of carbon reduction initiative in North America. And I think even to this date today, I think it still is something that Ontario really has to be proud of. Another thing that you know, at the time, I think that was you know, fairly significant in 2015 is just the expectation of what the demand would be. What was interesting, sort of like the past for 15 years, the demand from customers for electricity was actually flat or declining. And that's all changed. Now. 15 years later, we're, we're now forecasting, massive increases in in demand of energy, which could potentially be doubling in the future. And the other point I'd like to make is just the nuclear renaissance that we're having. I think when I joined the sector in 2009, I'll tell you, I think the public opinion of nuclear was actually quite low. And that's been completely turned around lots of geopolitical events around the world, I think, have driven that. And now that nuclear is having a huge Renaissance. And you're seeing, you know, lots of new investments in nuclear. And we're not talking about shutting down reactors anymore. We're talking about refurbishing and expanding. So those are some of the things that I've observed over the last 15 years that have really changed. And for local distribution companies, I think what I have seen is a growing expectation by both government and the regulators for electric utilities to do more to both support the grid reliability and meet growing expectation from customers. So, I started in the sector in 2009, it was right on the brink of implementation of smart meters, and time of use. And what was interesting is that was mandated, there were very few jurisdictions in the world that actually had mandated smart meters and time of use pricing. So again, Ontario is was one of the first. And so that was a big change for LDCs. To move from, you know, smart meters and having to bring in that technology and also support the technology of time of use. I did mention the Green Energy Act at the time, we suddenly had to connect 1000s and 1000s, of new solar and wind generation, as well. And that was all new. There were no protocols, there were no standards for that. So that was fairly significant as well. And when I kind of fast forward to I guess, more recently, there have been a lot of changes from government, I think they've really supported our industry, they understand the trust that we have, with our customers. And they've implemented, you know, a number of new changes in terms of rate structures, they've asked us to implement ultra low-rate pricing that can support overnight electric vehicle charging. And they've also asked us to introduce a green button digital platform that allows customers to download their energy data and share with third parties for you know, different assessments and tools for lowering energy costs. But it's all not, you know, unicorns and kittens, there's challenges to for our sector, grid resilience was, you know, not really, people talked about it in 2009, but not like they're talking about it now, because of climate change. And we are seeing more frequent storms, causing, you know, obviously, outages for the customer, and also significant damage to the distribution grid. And I know that hydro Ottawa has faced more than its fair share of very destructive storms over the past few years, we have Yes, I can't remember which Victoria Day weekend where we had, I didn't ever know how to say it the derecho or the derecho. So there, we weren't getting storms we've never even heard of before. And unfortunately, I think that is our new normal. So, grid resilience is something that we are very concerned about, and we need to make sure we've got the appropriate investments for that. So those are just a few of the highlights that, you know, when I came into the sector sort of things that were kind of ramping up, and then what's happening now, but I guess what I could say, the commonality is there's constant change in the sector. And what I'm seeing going forward is that change is going to be accelerated.    Trevor Freeman  13:40   Yeah, I mean, it's, it's fascinating to listen to you lay it all out like that. Thinking back to 15 years ago, it's hard to even remember, you know, not having smart meters, having meters that really just ticked forward and measured your consumption over the course of a month, and someone would come and read that. And, you know, having declining or even flat demand profiles that aren't increasing is so different from the world that we are in today. But I think what you said there at the end is really important. We are in our industry, an organization that knows about change, we're constantly changing, which helps us as we look forward into your point, we're going to see that level of change and the pace of change accelerate. So, I think that sets us up pretty well. So, let's start to look forward, then I know that the EDA is about to launch a new vision paper. So, we're going to dive into some of the details. But maybe let's start by kind of a high-level summary of what is the vision that you are trying to lay out with this paper?   Teresa Sarkesian  14:42   Okay, and no problem. So, I think what I want to start just give a little bit of background as to why we did this. We've done a couple of vision papers and implementation plans in the past. But you know, they were like seven, eight years ago and things have changed a lot even in Seven or eight years. So, what we've been seeing, obviously, I think the big change over the last few years has been the big focus on meeting Net Zero targets in 2050, that we are going to get to net zero in terms of our greenhouse gas emissions. Not only in Canada, but this is actually a bit of a global commitment, you know, for countries that have signed on to that objective. So, what happens when you set up, you know, those big audacious goals? You have all kinds of organizations and entities looking at how are we going to get there, how much it's going to cost? What do we need to do to get there? And so when we started reviewing some of these publications, both in Ontario, Canada, and actually in other jurisdictions, they were very good. They talked about what supply mix that we need the investment in transmission, but almost 100% of the papers, Trevor, if you can believe this, just neglected distribution, no one talked about distribution, they didn't talk about how distribution is going to have to change what the investments would be. And then we'll so we said it's going to be critical for us to identify the electric utility role and the energy transition, and how the sector will need to be grid ready to support electrification, economic development, grid resilience, and customer preferences. So we view that LDCs are going to be pivotal in enabling Ontario's low carbon economy, navigating the challenges posed by climate policies, electrification trends, and these evolving customer demands. And with Ontario's growing economy and the demands for housing intensify, LDCs must innovate to effectively meet these accelerating electricity needs and changing preferences. And right now, we've seen the ISO is predicting significant consumption growth from 144 terawatt hours in 2023, to 240 terawatt hours and 2050 not quite double, but it's getting close. And so this rapid growth demands urgent attention to adopt new strategies and to ensure that the local distribution companies can make the necessary investments in grid enhancements to expand the capacity and capability of the distribution system. So while reliability and affordability remain Paramount customers do expect additional value from their utility service. And, you know, we are seeing all sorts of things that are happening, you know, such as the need for swift electric vehicle charging installation, and other upgrades that will increase the electrical load. We see that LDCs are more frequently interacting with businesses that seek utility partners to achieve their energy management, sustainability and ESG goals. And in parallel, the LDC must prepare to respond to increase climate change induced extreme weather events. So recognizing the essential role of LDCs in the energy transition, we've worked in collaboration with industry experts to outline a vision of the role of utilities, so they can enable economic development, housing growth and electrification. And the report identifies urgent and practical steps that LDCs in partnership with the government, and its agencies must take in the near term to achieve the benefits of this transition. So what you'll see in the paper is recommendations related to the need for clear policy direction on regulatory frameworks to support LDCs in becoming grid ready, and with a continued focus on affordability and enabling a customer choice and opportunity. And we also discuss issues like workforce needs. And we also emphasize the role of human capital in enabling technological advancements. So that's very high level what it is, and I will get into it a bit more as we have our discussion further.   Trevor Freeman  18:41   Yeah, I think it's a good way to frame it of the entire sector is changing at all levels. But what you're really doing is laying out that vision that roadmap for the distributors, in particular, and I think that's great. Maybe like, Who is the audience for this paper? Who are you kind of directing this at?   Teresa Sarkesian  18:59   Well, we're still putting the crossing the T's and dotting the I's., but I think it's about 80 pages. So, it's not going to be for everyone, obviously, you know, government decision makers, government, policymakers, people that work in their regulatory agencies and our energy board, the Independent Electricity System Operator, we did try to make it accessible. There is an executive summary that's about two or three pages, which I think will be of great interest to a lot of people to read. And I think it gives a very kind of a high-level overview of what's in the document. So that's something that we're trying to do. And, you know, obviously our LTC members are an audience as well. They've been working with us hand in glove the last few months we've had extensive member meetings we had a board committee that helped steer this paper. But you know, ultimately, the paper is really focused on our customers because its customers and businesses that are driving a lot of this change for the future, whether it's businesses that are on their own journey on environmental, social and governance ESG objectives, and they're looking for more low carbon communities to invest in its customers who are very interested in EV charging, and maybe what the opportunity for the batteries can be to sell that storage back to the grid. It's, it's really the customers that are driving this change.    Trevor Freeman  20:31   Right Yeah, and I mean, the nature of this medium is I don't know who's out there listening. But I'd encourage, you know, all of our listeners, when this comes out, take a look at it and get some insight into kind of how the distributors role is laid out there. So let's dive into some of the details. You know, you outline obviously, some of the traditional roles and functions of the LDCs. So from maintaining, owning and maintaining the infrastructure, the poles and wires, and doing customer metering and billing, that stuff's not going away, we're gonna keep doing those things. But you also highlight some of these emerging roles that have begun to appear, or that we'll see in the next couple of years, you know, a more of a focus on distributed energy resources, like solar on roofs, for example, that LDCs are going to have to work to both enable as well as integrate into our own systems. It's going to include things like more customer programs, and rate design, etc. I'm curious, you know, how are LDCs going to balance that traditional role that we've already been doing, along with this rapidly new expanding set of roles that we need to tackle?    Teresa Sarkesian  21:38   That's a great question, Trevor. So look, LDCs will continue, as we always have been to be responsible for safe, reliable and affordable delivery of electricity to customers, customers can count on us to do that 24/7. And even with all these anticipated grid expansions, we're not going to be shut down, if the critic dispatches so, you know, we're experts at multitasking in our sector, and we will continue to do so. And with the increases, as you mentioned, in distributed energy resources, and electrification, there are the pressures for us to adapt, modernize and change how we ensure the safety and reliability in the service to customers. And the emerging roles and responsibilities aren't something that's in the distant future. You know, as I mentioned before, changes the constant, we have been engaging in ongoing adaptation. And so when I think about the future, and I think about what we call grid modernization, it really is part of the ongoing continuous improvement, and the pursuit of the digital utility of the future, that every utility is on that journey. So you know, utilities have been bringing in new technologies, particularly related to information technology, communications, and digital solutions. And so while we're in early stages, we are expecting our members to become more digitally based in the future, they're going to be introducing advanced distribution management systems to monitor the grid. And they're also going to have distributed energy resource management systems to monitor all the connections that are behind the meter. So I think what is different now than in the past, is simply that the pace of change is being dramatically accelerated. So for example, it took us about 100 years to get the grid to its current size, yet, we need to almost double the current grid in 25 years. So we have to move four times as fast. And the grid is not going to be built with just simple poles and wires and one way energy flow like it has been for basically the last 100 years, it's going to be a lot more complex, we're going to see two way energy flows, so it's not just us sending power to the customer one way, they're potentially going to be selling back their energy generation or their energy storage back onto the grid. So we need to have that temerity, that two way, power flow. So that's going to be a big change. And we also expect there to be a lot more customer interaction. They want to leverage their own generation and storage behind the meter. And we as utilities, want to be able to leverage that to help us with you know, reliability, Storm outage, other emergency situations. So we see there's going to be a greater interactive relationship with customer than simply, you know, maybe sending a bill to them or offering them conservation programs, it's going to be much more dynamic than it has been in the past. And so, you know, over the last two decades, and we talked about this a bit already, the utility has been modernizing the system in response to government policy initiatives, regulatory requirements, and customer preferences. One other example, recently, utilities were required to implement something called green button. And we've been also engaging by bringing them more into the system through net metering. And a lot of our members are also involved in various pilot projects with the Independent Electricity System Operator and with Enercan to look at all kinds of new LTC models and functions. So and you're going to see a lot of this actually, in our vision paper is that to really be effective, cost effective. To make sure this happens at the accelerated pace, we do need for there to be proactive policy and regulatory changes, to remove barriers and empower LDCs to embrace these new evolving roles in shaping the future of the energy sector. And as I mentioned before, customers are demanding it. And I want to point out a research report that came out by the International Energy Agency just late last year. And they made it very clear that in quite a number of countries around the world, the lack of the regulatory permission to provide more investments in the distribution system is now becoming a significant barrier to new renewable energy projects connecting on the system. And while we don't have that situation here in Ontario, if we don't start moving quickly, in terms of reforming the regulatory context, then we might be like some of these other countries, and we don't want to be that a barrier, you want to be able to enable what our customers want on the grid.    Trevor Freeman  26:07   Yeah, so I'm going to ask you a question about that last point in a minute. But I think your framing of the ways that the sector is going to change, and the way our customers are going to interact with us is going to change is really great. And it's something that you know, often comes up in conversation. And I often say, there is no single strategy or tool here, we can't solve the coming challenges with just more poles and wires. We can't solve it with just new innovative solutions, we need all of those things, we need more poles and wires. But we also need more programming, more innovation, more technology, we need to utilize those distributed energy resources out there on the grid. So, I think that's a great way to frame it. Okay, so let's talk about grid planning a little bit. So LDCs play a really key role in helping forecast the needs of the future, both for our own distribution systems, but also feeding up into those broader provincial needs. So, the insight that we gain from our customers, we pass up to the IESO, for example, so that they can do planning at the provincial level. Traditionally, this is a pretty consistent process. You know, in the past, we get a sense from municipalities and developers, how cities are going to expand and grow. And we've generally been able to count on the typical home using roughly the same amount of electricity as homes that are out there today. So, we account for a certain expansion of commercial customers based on the Intel that we get from those customers. And we know roughly what they're going to use. The problem is that model's kind of being turned on its head a little bit. So, we now need to account for even our existing customers increasing their load because they are electrifying or they want to add EV chargers. And new developments today are likely going to have increased demand compared to some of the historical developments, because we're going to see all electric communities or at the very least more electrified and uses. So I know you don't have a crystal ball yet that tells us exactly how this change is going to happen. But what are LDCs doing to adapt their long term grid planning to account for this uncertainty?   Teresa Sarkesian  28:22   Yeah, you're so right, Trevor forecasting is getting more challenging. And I just want to start with a little story before I get into my answer about that. So, you know, electric vehicles are kind of the hot thing right now. And you know, although people I think are still on a waiting list for certain cars, there's lots of others that are available. And so one of the concerns that our sector had was we didn't know where these electric vehicles were going to pop up. And we weren't getting any kind of pre advanced warning when people started making orders or, you know, advanced purchases for electric vehicles. So we actually did a great advocacy campaign, with the province with both the Ministry of Energy of the Ministry of Transportation, to secure postal code data for utility, so they could see where people were going to be purchasing electric vehicles to help them with their own planning, in terms of, you know, making sure that their local feeders were upgraded their local transformers, and so that just got announced a year ago. But that's obviously not going to be good enough. And that just tells us about electric vehicles, you know, in the near term, but this is I think, you know, having sightlines into our customer behavior, whether we do that proactively with you know, consultations and communications with customers, or we can do it by you know, pinging the meter, or getting data such as postal codes. We are going to have to, you know, adapt and have greater visibility and sightlines into the customer. And so this is that some of that technology that I was talking about earlier, the sophisticated future grid is going to need lots of visibility and transparency, for usage and investment to be able to, you know, look at these two way power flows, look at how customers are behaving, in order to better plan the system, we also need to maximize and optimize the data that we have, you know, from our planners, it's going to be vital to protecting the grid reliability and resilience, we're going to have to have more partnerships with municipalities, in terms of their energy planning for the future and things that they want for their community. And, you know, one of the things that we're asking for on our paper is actually to, you know, rethink the distribution system plan, that the utilities have to file with the OMB every five years, and start building in a, you know, Grid Modernization plan within that broader plan. So we can get the regulator to start looking ahead and seeing what these requests are, it'll be important to also have various performance metrics and filing guidelines for grid modification from the energy board. So you know, these are some of the things I think that the membership is going to have to look at but it is going to be a very iterative experience, because it's just it's the pace of change is the big unknown. And so everyone talks about these things. But you know, I saw something today, I think it was from Ford Motor Company, and they're kind of slowing down, it's taken them a while to retool their plants. So that could take an extra two years now for them to be up and running and producing electric vehicles. So there's going to be all these other pieces of the puzzle that are constantly going to be changing a moving and evolving. It is I think, planning for the future is going to be very challenging. And I do expect the province to start talking about this higher level, maybe starting at the end of this year, they just came off a massive exercise related to the energy transition electrification panel. And I do expect to see more guidance from the province as well, in terms of how they're going to manage this planet, because it's not just planning for us. It's planning for everybody else in the system, too.    Trevor Freeman  32:02   Yeah. And for listeners out there, if you haven't had a look at that energy transition electrification panel reports, a really fascinating read. So I'd encourage you to take a look at it. You mentioned a lot of interesting things there. So for our listeners, and I'll probably do a future episode on this so I won't get into detail, but LDCs typically have to file five year rate applications once every five years that really lay out their plans for those five years and how they're going to fund them. So coincidentally, hydro Ottawa was getting ready to do our next one. And like I said, I'll probably talk about that on a future episode. But one thing we did when it comes to forecasting is, we conducted a electrification study that looks at if we electrify by 2050, like our plans, say we will and you know, society wise, what does that mean for the grid? And some of the inputs we took is, you know, what are the federal plans for electrification? What are our own municipal plans for electrification? What are we hearing from our customers, and that really, is helping us modify and change how we do grid forecasting, based on some of the changes that we're seeing from our customers. So I think this is a really important piece that, like you said, we're going to need to iterate on we're not going to get it right the first time. But we're starting to think of how do we need to change the way we do things in order to keep up with what our customers are doing.   Teresa Sarkesian  33:28   I think one thing I've seen more of the last few years, because this is much more complex than it's been in the past that I've seen, like the IESO, for example, they've done more, you know, scenario setting. So when they've had their, you know, their APO's and AER safe, they sort of had other two or three scenarios, and they're constantly updating their numbers every year. So these are other changes that we're starting to see. And even myself, I was just looking at the provincial budget detail the other day, they also set out, you know, scenarios as well. They're just not picking Oh, it's going to be, you know, X amount of deficit. And you know in 2028 they're actually forecasting out different scenarios. So I think that's another piece I see more in play, that people will, you know, showcase what assumptions they have, and will have maybe two or three different scenarios as well.    Trevor Freeman  34:21   Yeah, and I think it's a, it's a great way to tackle that unknown component to where we've never really been through a change like this before. We've never wholesale changed the way we use energy in our society. So there's a degree of uncertainty, obviously, and I think, targeting out that kind of, let's call it high, medium, low scenario, or whatever the metric might be, is going to be really critical for us to make sure we're staying within the boundaries of what's possible and what's probable and refining that constantly as we move forward. So that's a great point. Something else you mentioned a little bit ago, that's, you know, could be a bit of a nebulous term is grid modernization now I've actually got a future episode, and specifically about grid modernization and what hydro Ottawa is doing, I think it might actually be our next one. So we don't need to go into all the details on this. But let's just help our listeners understand what do we mean when we're talking about grid modernization? And why is this important? Why is it important to our customers that we do this kind of back office improvement?   Teresa Sarkesian  35:23   So I'm going to keep it really simple, because I know you're going to do a deep dive on it and a future episode. But essentially, Grid Modernization are improvements that LDCs will make simply to augment our capabilities, and enable us to offer new or improved services to customers. So back office improvements might look like things like real time sensing, and monitoring systems to improve efficiency and reliability. Or we may be investing in new digital infrastructure communication systems to improve safety, cybersecurity, it can also include more visible improvements to safeguard our infrastructure against extreme weather, and climate change to reduce outages. And like one, I guess, example that some of your customers might already be recognizing, you know, we made investments in green button, which enables customers to download their data, send it to a third party if they want to save on customer use. So it really is the whole soup to nuts, it really is not just one type of technology or solution. It is a combination of a whole series of things that the that the utility will need to do. And I think why we want to do it, I think when we look at all of the pressures on the system, from NetZero objectives to housing priorities, you know, to accelerate broadband development, and support electrification, the pressures seems to be never ending. And the only way that we can respond to all those pressures, is to be grid ready. And, you know, like I said, it's it is a form of continuous improvement. It's just that now it's the pace accelerated pace is such so extraordinary, that we need to have a more dedicated plan. But most importantly, we have to make sure we have dedicated attention by policymakers and regulatory decision makers as well. Because right now, there isn't that dedicated attention to this very important task. Yeah,   Trevor Freeman  37:28   Yeah, I mean, it's, it's great that you bring up all these pressures that we're feeling that it's I think it's time we kind of talk about that elephant in the room, our customers often ask us about affordability, or we're hearing from our customers about affordability, I was actually at a customer event not too long ago, and talking about the change that we're going to see here talking about some of this, you know, large scale transition of our of our energy sector. These are not small investments that we have to make. We're talking about both an increase of our infrastructure, you know, you mentioned almost doubling the capacity of the grid. We're talking about modernizing our grid systems, that's a lot of back office work with new technology, and bringing on new programs. Like this is a big change. Energy affordability is already a kind of a challenge today for some folks. So as we get into this new investment that we have to make as we start moving down the path of the energy transition, how do we balance affordability, especially for our vulnerable populations, with the level of investment that we know is necessary to do the things that we have to do? Yes,   Teresa Sarkesian  38:42   Yes, that's the multibillion-dollar question, Trevor. And it's something I'm going to carve out my response, because there's some things that we've put into our vision paper for the future, because affordability is absolutely critical. And as you know, this is basically a massive restructuring of the economy going forward. So, there's may be other participants who might be playing a funding role. So, you know, right now, obviously, you know, customers aren't monolithic, and you know, residential customers who are struggling to pay bills. Do you have some programs that they can, that they can access, they have the low income Energy Assistance Program, they have the Ontario electricity support program. Some of those are funded by the tax base, some are funded by other electricity customers. The province also gives a rebate to customers in Ontario, and that's a pretty big rebate. I don't think a lot of residential customers are aware of it but it is over 7 billion annually to residential small business customers. That's a lot of money. But I don't know if customers really appreciate that. So I don't know what's going to be available going forward. These are some of the challenges that you know policy makers, you know, have to address as well. So, when we were thinking about this as part of our paper, we sort of looked at it from a number of perspectives. So, the federal government has set up all these Net Zero targets, they've set out, you know, targets for electric vehicle manufacturing, as well. And so it might be appropriate for them to share part of the burden with this massive energy transformation. And it's interesting, we actually pulled customers about 2000 Customers two years ago, we asked them a whole series of questions about the changes going forward. And customers do have different perspectives about who should be paying for some of this energy transition. So when we asked them about who should be paying for electric vehicle, charging infrastructure, and they said, Oh, electricity, customers should pay for that, because that's something that everyone's going to benefit from. When we ask them about, you know, who should be paying for the electricity grid, to address climate change and hit Net Zero targets, they actually the majority, 58% said, the taxpayer should be paying for that. So I think that's just a very interesting data point. But it's something that, you know, we've been active on in terms of having those conversations with the federal government, saying that, you know, you have offered different subsidies to attract different companies to invest in Ontario, based on our clean grid, but we need to have the whole grid support it. So, you know, we're pursuing federal government support, we also are looking at increased maybe private equity engagement in in our sector. So right now, we have a couple of private members, but there's not a lot of private equity money in the sector, most of our members are municipally owned, and municipalities can't invest in their utility, probably even if they wanted to, because they're in short supply of funds as well, they have their own taxpayer that they have to deal with. So one of the solutions we are putting forward to government is to increase the private equity threshold, so it doesn't trigger additional taxes, right now, it's only 10% ownership. But we're saying that maybe a tool in the toolbox should be up to 49% ownership. So it would allow private equity to come the patient capital, they're not maybe looking to seek a return right away. So there's some you know, flexibility there as well. Another thing we're looking at is to revisit the debt equity ratios of utilities to manage the costs over the long term. So you'd be effectively amortizing on some of those grid investments as well. So these are some of the ideas that we have around how we can basically fund the energy transition going forward. You know, and some people say, Well, if you could get customers to think about their energy usage holistically, so if they're going to be, you know, moving away from a, you know, a combustion engine car, and they're going to be using heat pumps, instead of, you know, natural gas heating in their home, if you could get people to think holistically what they're saving on the kind of, you know, GHG side of things, versus what they are going to be spending on electricity, they may actually be spending less if they look at it holistically, but I don't really know, to be honest with you, so that I'd rather focus on the things that we could ask government for, as opposed to asking customers to be, you know, thinking more holistically at their entire energy usage, which is just not how they think. And I think, to change that behavior, would be quite a monumental task going forward. But those are some of the things that we think about, because we are very concerned about the affordability going forward, because it is such a massive change that we're all experiencing.   Trevor Freeman  43:50   Yeah, I think this is another example of there is no single solution here. There is no you know, silver bullet that's going to help us pay for all of this, we need all the tools on the table here, we need to look at all different options. And I think you outlined a couple of them, you know, in what you said about our customers impression of some of this change and who should pay for it. Last episode, I talked to David Coletto, from Abacus data, and he was saying on the whole Canadians really believe that a an electrified energy system, we know once we make that transition, we will be more secure, it will be more affordable. And I think those customers who have made some transition in their lives can see the benefit of that. But sometimes the initial hurdle is pretty hard to get over that upfront capital cost. And so looking for ways, both at the customer level as well as at the utility level, the LDC level I think is going to be important to help get over that initial capital outlay that's required, so that we can realize those benefits that we all know where they are that we know we'll see. So . Yeah, great filling some of those out. So I know I mentioned that I will get back to this. But I do want to talk to you about the advocacy role that the EDA plays. So you mentioned, you know, talking to governments and Ontario, the provincial governments across Canada, the provincial government has jurisdiction over most energy matters. So advocacy to the government is a key role that you play. I'm curious, what are you asking the government to do or to provide to help some of these changes that we're talking about happen? What is the advocacy that you're pushing for with the government.   Teresa Sarkesian  45:32    So I'm going to try to keep it really simple and just sort of, you know, tie it back to our vision paper for now, because at any given time, I'm working on 20 or 30 l policy issues, primarily with the Ontario government. But this past year, we have expanded our work to also include the federal government, because they have investment tax credits that we are interested in for our members to see if they could be eligible for those. We're interested in them changing things to the Canada Infrastructure Bank, also to provide new sources of equity there. And we're also pursuing grants, as well, for grid modernization. So provincially, a whole whack of issues. But I'm going to go back to our paper just to give your audience a little bit of a sneak peek on some of the things that we're going to be asking for. So one of the first things we're going to be asking for is to get a common understanding and definition of grid modernization, and electrification. And this is not really new of an idea, we kind of have copied it from the US, there's a lot of jurisdictions, there where very clear objectives that have been set out in order to justify grid modernization, investments. So we think that it'd be beneficial for Ontario to do that, because then once you have those objectives in place, it is going to make it a lot easier to be able to prioritize grid modernization capabilities, functionalities, and investments in line with those objectives. You know, and then from there, you know, we're looking at creating a series of foundational investments. So going forward, some of the things that we think are foundational, are things like the distributed energy resource management systems and the advanced metering infrastructure, which is sort of like smart meters 2.0, for lack of a better term, and also the advanced distribution management systems. So we see those are going to be foundational pieces that all utilities are going to need to be able to help customers interact with the grid, and they're going to be necessary grid investments. So how what we see for those is we would like it to be similar policy direction, like we had for smart meters and green button, where you have government mandated activities. And then those are given, you know, a kind of lower standard of evidence with the Ontario Energy Board to support that capital infrastructure, they're deemed as priorities and ties back to that initial plan, where you set objectives, as long as those objectives can be that then those should get a pass through.   Trevor Freeman  48:12   If I could jump in right there just for our listeners. So what Teresa is describing here is, at the moment when there are unique things that are not part of government mandate, yet every LDC and Ontario, of which there are many 60, something I don't even have the number in front of me but every LDC when it comes time to enact that project has to go through a whole exercise of justifying it proving why it's necessary, saying this is why we want to do it. If there was some commonality across LDCs in the province, we wouldn't have to put as much effort into, you know, the report writing side of it, we could just get down to business and make these changes that we all know across the province are important. So I think it's helpful for us to understand how that process works.    Teresa Sarkesian  49:00   Yeah, and thank you for interjecting on that, Trevor, because if government wants us to move fast, we can, but we need that certainty. So you know, we're no different than any even though we're regulated monopolies. We're really no different than any other business that wants to do business in Ontario, you're always looking for certainty and clarity, from legislation from policy from regulation, because the uncertainty is what slows things down. Another recommendation that I'm moving forward with is that we need to move beyond pilot projects. I had a conversation with a consultant who is working with Enercan on this and they want to move beyond I love their term, death by demonstration. We've got a couple of dozen pilot projects currently in the sector, whether they're funded provincially through the IESO or they're funded federally through Natural Resources Canada, and you know, there's some very exciting results that are coming out of those. But some of those pilot projects have been going on for all almost four years, in one case, almost five. And at some point you need to pull off the band aid said, Yes, this is a success, all LDCs would be eligible for funding in this. So we need to be able to scale it up. Or we just say no, that's not going to work. But being in this constant state of the pilot projects, while it's informative, at some point, someone has to have the courage to say we're moving forward, this is going to be scalable. Another recommendation we have is to create an action plan to develop a comprehensive human resource strategy to address quantity quality, and partnership aspects of the labor force going forward. There's some great work that electricity, Human Resources Canada has done. And, you know, DC 28,000, replacement and new jobs in our sector, by 2050 and that's, the electricity sector at large across Canada. And I did some, I think back of the envelope calculations to try to figure out, okay, some assumptions about distribution. And we're looking at close to 10,000 new positions in the sector, over the next 25 years. Every sector is having challenges, filling current jobs, never mind jobs, that we're not even sure what they are quite yet. So we don't necessarily have the right programs at the universities and colleges or private training institutions to start getting the right people and talent into our organization. And, you know, so we need help for that. And, you know, I am encouraged, I saw a little announcement out of the province yesterday to have more electricians down on the Chatham Kent area, because that's the whole greenhouse industry. And so I said, Okay, that's exciting. So people are starting to pay attention, but we need it more than just in one local community, it needs to be province wide. And, you know, like I mentioned before, we need to have more conversations about what the funding models are going to be to fund the energy transition. So these are some of the issues and recommendations that we're taking forward from our vision paper. But day to day, I guess that's the other thing, I want to mention in terms, the change I've seen, I've never seen us work on so many issues, prepare so many submissions, invest so many staff at various tables and working groups. And we love doing all that work. We love representing our members at every table of discussion possible, but I've never seen so many. And they're not just oh, you're there for a month, and you're done. Some of these they are multi year. So they have longer legs, because they are far more complex. But you know, we're working every day, you know, for members that way. Very, very proud to represent our sector think it's a fantastic sector. And the fact that they're going to play such a pivotal role in the future makes us only want to work harder to make sure we get the best of everything for our membership.    Trevor Freeman  52:54   Yeah, I know, we echo that at our level, we can certainly see a lot more stakeholdering and engagement happening with all players in the sector, but especially the government as they figure out this energy transition to right, let's not, you know, let's not forget that the government needs to figure out where policy needs to go to lead it, and it's a great role that you're playing to kind of bring the voice of the distributors to the government. Because again, as we've talked about a couple of times, we're really on the front lines, and we're hearing from our customers, and we're seeing what needs to change right at that customer level, in order to enable some of this stuff that's happening so that that conversation between the LDCs and the government I think is really important. So you know, we don't work in a vacuum, I just mentioned a number of stakeholders in our sector. And I highlighted the interconnected nature of our grid at the beginning of our conversation. There are a lot of different players working together to really, at the end goal is bring power to the customer. How do you see the existing model changing or expanding in terms of, you know, the kinds of partnerships that LDCs have moving forward? So you know, you mentioned private equity is being a potential upcoming role. There are things like technology companies that are developing innovative solutions, who, you know, we maybe were a bit more arm's length with in the past. There's a changing nature of our relationship with the customers, you brought up the idea of going from one way power flow to kind of two way back and forth. arrangement. How do you see that partnership evolving in the future?   Teresa Sarkesian  54:30   Well, I think the good news is, there's a very strong foundation knowledge to build on. So I'm going to talk about three different areas. I'm going to talk about sort of shared services across utilities, and I'll talk about a partnerships with the private industry. And I'd like to talk about the engagement with customers as well. So firstly, there's lots of shared services going around in the industry already. There's all kinds of partnerships that members are trying to reduce costs for customers and find the best solution. So instead of saying, having 60 utilities run, seek out the best solution, you know, you get everyone working collaboratively to find a solution at the best price for customers. So we've seen a lot, just in my 15 years I've been there you've got in the past, there was, you know, common delivery of conservation programs, members work together on common engineering standards, lots of mutual aid assistance agreements across among utilities, for Storm Recovery. I've seen shared billing services, bulk purchasing products, and shared control room practices and services. And I've seen private sector play a much bigger role in utilities, as well. I've had the privilege to attend some openings, and launches of micro grids, where you have maybe a solar company and an energy storage, battery company, that are part of that group with utility, creating a micro grid for their community to provide maybe warming and cooling charging services when there's a major outage, for example. And I've seen now, some smart grids, you know, one that's already been implemented up in the north that has a significant private sector partner. And I've seen it also there's a new one, that's another one in the north, that's going to be developed with a private sector partner. And I've seen, not just Ontario businesses, I've seen what businesses come in one of our members is doing a distribution system operator pilot model with a partner in from Norway. So I'm really encouraged, I think the foundation is already there to kind of build on all those successes we already have, and do more, you know, and we talked about the customers going forward as well, that they're going to be to help playing a role, or we hope they're going to be playing a role. Because there's a lot of energy, battery storage and solar generation, sort of behind the meter, whether it's a farm, or it's a residential customer, or it's a big industrial customer. And so we want to be able to optimize all of those resources into the system to be of benefit to all customers to reduce costs. But we'd have to give an incentive to those customers to participate, no one is going to let you know a utility access their, you know, solar panel generation or their battery storage, unless they're going to be getting paid to do so. And I think that's going to be really important going forward, because we don't want to over build the grid, I mean, the grid is going to be so big, going forward. And we have to find ways to avoid over building it. Because we don't want to be in a situation where you know, customers are having to pay too much for a grid that's not properly optimized. So trying to find solutions behind the meter, that will maybe either avoid or delay bigger generation investments or transmission investments, or even actually distribution investments, we want to optimize that. But right now, there's not really a lot of permission to do that. So we need to get that legislative and regulatory permission to do that, to turn those, you know, more passive customers into prosumers, that they're basically your their proactive customers by selling their energy storage back to the grid. So I'm really optimistic. I think we've got a great foundation work to do on the customer peace, letting them participate as prosumers and the system, but I'm pretty optimistic that that we can get that job done.   Trevor Freeman  58:27   Yeah, I think it really highlights, there's a lot to be excited about when it comes to the change, that's going to happen. There's a lot of opportunity out there both for the LDCs, for the other stakeholders for our customers, that this energy transition, this change is going to bring about, you know, there's some challenges to I know, he talked about the challenges. I wonder, though, what do you see, as you know, one of the single biggest are a series of risks to achieving the vision that you've outlined in the paper, how could this go off the rails and not happen the way we need it to happen?   Teresa Sarkesian  59:03   Well, I always like to be glass half full as opposed to half empty, but you're taking me down that road? Trevor? So I'm going to answer that question.    Trevor Freeman  59:11   It's my job.    Teresa Sarkesian  59:11   So you know, obviously, our vision for the future role is big, but it's practical. The energy transition is upon us now. It's not something to contemplate for the future. So we think that the biggest risk is effectively inaction or kind of, you know, kicking the issue down the road, 510 years. We're seeing this right, nearby jurisdictions in the US are taking action. There's been significant funding out of the Biden administration, for all kinds of initiatives from you know, cybersecurity, to grid modernization down there. They're doing they're very competitive. They want to attract businesses, to the US. And so, you know, that's a major competition for Ontario. So if we don't seize the opportunities to kind of start working on these important issues now, we could lose economic development opportunities, we could lose jobs, we could lose investment, we could lose our talent as well, that may want to move to another jurisdiction. So to mitigate that risk, the LDCs, and policymakers have to work together on developing a shared vision around electrification and grid modernization, develop a plan of action and create a realistic timeline to turn that vision into reality.   Trevor Freeman  1:00:26   Yeah, it's a it's a great point. And I think it's important for people to understand that change is happening, the change is going to happen, whether we want it to or not. And, you know, often sometimes people say, Are we are we really going to see this change? I think we're already seeing it, we're already seeing customers want to change the way they interact with energy. The risk here is if we don't react quick enough or properly enough, the costs of that change becomes higher the reliability of the grid that we're working with, goes down, that general customer experience is not where it needs to be. And then you've highlighted some other ones, you know, we can really struggle with talent if we're not offering them the kind of cool innovative roles that they're looking for. But the neighboring jurisdiction is, so it's not so much that the change may or may not happen, it's how do we react to it in a way that really serves all of our stakeholder the best. So, Teresa, this has been a really great conversation. And I really appreciate you taking the time to join us and chat with us today. I think there's a number of things that we talked about today that really set up future conversations I'm going to have nicely. So thanks for the half for teeing that up. And this is your second time on the show. No doubt, there'll be a third time because I think there's a lot more that down the road, we can we can pick apart. So thanks for that. We typically end our interviews here with some common questions to all our guests. So to start off, what is a book that you've read that you think everybody should read?   Teresa Sarkesian  1:01:56   So one I recently enjoyed it's by a friend too. By Darrell Bricker, he wrote Empty Planet, and that is very, very good talks about actually declining global population. And what that means from everything from, you know, businesses to climate

Summer rewind: As demand for electricity increases, the need to diversify supply also rises. In Episode 120 of thinkenergy, Lesley Gallinger, CEO of Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), unpacks what's driving the transformation of the province's power system, the potential opportunities, and the obstacles standing in the way. From hydrogen innovation to resource procurement, listen in to learn how the IESO is helping Ontario navigate to a cleaner, reliable, and affordable energy future. Related links ● Lesley Gallinger on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-gallinger-784a194/ ● Lesley Gallinger on Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/lmgallinger ● IESO website: https://www.ieso.ca/ ● Hydrogen Innovation Fund: https://www.ieso.ca/en/Get-Involved/Innovation/Hydrogen-Innov ation-Fund/Overview ● Powering Ontario's Growth report: https://www.ontario.ca/page/powering-ontarios-growth ● Trevor Freeman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevor-freeman-8b612114/ To subscribe using Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinkenergy/id1465129405 To subscribe using Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7wFz7rdR8Gq3f2WOafjxpl To subscribe on Libsyn: http://thinkenergy.libsyn.com/ --- Subscribe so you don't miss a video: https://www.youtube.com/user/hydroottawalimited Check out our cool pics on https://www.instagram.com/hydroottawa More to Learn on https://www.facebook.com/HydroOttawa Keep up with the Tweets at https://twitter.com/thinkenergypod Transcript: Trevir Freeman: Everyone, well, it's officially summer. And it's been about four months since I took over the mic as the host of the think energy podcast, which is kind of hard to believe. It's been really fun having great conversations with great people in the energy sector. I now mostly know my way around the recording equipments and the software, and really feel like we're kind of just getting started and looking forward to where we go from here. That said, the think energy team is taking a break to recharge over the next few months, but also to plan our content for the fall. So, stay tuned for some great episodes in the fall. Not to worry though, we still have our summer rewind to keep you engaged. This is where we pick out some of the great past episodes that we've done and repost them. So, whether you're lucky enough to be sitting on a dock or going on a road trip, or if you're just keeping up with your commute through the summer, it's a great time to revisit our past content. You will hear past episodes from my predecessor and the host chair Dan second, as well as a couple of mine from the past few months. And you're welcome to check out your own favorite past episodes as well wherever you get your podcasts. We hope you have an amazing summer and we'll be back with new content in September. And until then, happy listening. Daniel Seguin: This is Think Energy, the podcast that helps you better understand the fast changing world of energy through conversations with game changers, industry leaders and influencers. So join me, Dan Seguin, as I explore both traditional and unconventional facets of the energy industry. Hey everyone, welcome back. In 1902 electrical pioneers met for the first time in Berlin now Kitchener, Ontario to discuss wiring Ontario's customers together to form a provincial electricity grid. Ontario's electricity grid, like all grids around the world was designed as a one way street, to generate, transmit, and deliver electricity to customers. It's no secret that nowadays new technologies are shaking up the way we produce and use electricity. Back then, these pioneers likely couldn't have imagined that the electricity grid would become a two way interactive system capable of supporting variable supply from renewable energy or accommodating electric vehicles, energy storage, home generation, and a host of other innovations. As the demand for electricity grows, Ontario's supply is diversifying, evolving and transforming at a speed we haven't seen in this industry. One thing is for certain, it's going to be one electrifying ride. On today's show, we're diving into the heart of Ontario's power system and shining a light on the organization that manages the province electricity sector. As we mentioned before, we are at the forefront of a power revolution. Of course, we need someone driving the ship to provide guidance on how Ontario's power system adopts a cleaner and more interactive machine. So here's today's big question. What is driving the transformation of Ontario's power system? And what are the potential opportunities and challenges? Joining us today is Lesley Gallinger, president and chief executive officer of the Ontario Independent Electricity System Operator. Under her leadership, the IESO oversees the safe and reliable operation of Ontario's bulk electricity system, ensuring affordable electricity is available when and where people need it. Lesley, so great to have you join us today. Now, your knowledge and experience of the electricity industry is extensive. Can you talk to us a bit about what drew you to a career in energy sector? And what led you to your current role? _____________________________________________ Lesley Gallinger: Well, thank you for that, Dan. It's great to be here, and I have spent the majority of my career in the electricity sector after spending the first third in a different sector. I certainly benefited from working all across North America and in Europe, for some very sophisticated multinational organizations with very talented team members. However, I always had this interest in electricity. And just for a funny story, my first grade school in Ontario was Sir Adam Beck, so I wonder if that was a bit of foreshadowing. But in reality, I had friends and colleagues in the sector who spoke quite passionately about the impact they were making with the work they were doing. And I was attracted to that. And sure I had some skills that I thought would be transferable. And the role that I have now embodies all of that, as we at the IESO are helping inform and execute on energy policy on electricity policy, specifically that will support Ontarians as we transition to an electrified and decarbonized future. I honestly couldn't imagine a better role to be in at this moment. Daniel Seguin: At a high level Lesley, what is the Independent Electricity System Operator and what is it responsible for with respect to Ontario's power system? Lesley Gallinger: The IESO works at the heart of Ontario's electricity system, ensuring that electricity is available where and when it is needed. We monitor Ontario's demand in real time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, balancing supply and demand and directing the flow of electricity across the provinces transmission lines. We also oversee the electricity market, which includes putting mechanisms in place to increase competition and ensure cost effective supply. And finally, we also plan the electricity system by working with indigenous communities, with municipalities and stakeholders to forecast demand and secure enough supply to meet Ontario's needs as far as 20 years out. Daniel Seguin: Okay, very interesting. Finally, looking forward to your answer on this one here. Can you walk us through how you oversee and manage the electricity systems such as determining the type of supply required to meet demand for electricity in the province? In the short, medium, and long term? Lesley Gallinger: Yeah, thanks that that is a good and big meaty question. So we've spoken a lot about where we are now. So after having years of surplus electricity, Ontario is entering a period of growing electricity needs and demand is expected to increase by an average of 2% annually over the next two decades due to electrification and economic growth in various sectors, including residential, agricultural, and mining. One way that the IESO helps meet these growing needs is by securing new supply. In the short term, we have the annual capacity auction that we conduct that allows existing resources to compete. This is cost effective and allows the IESO to adapt to changing supply and demand conditions on a year by year basis. We also look at three to five year commitments for other resources, this timeframe provides more certainty while ensuring it doesn't get locked into commitments that no longer reflect those changing needs of electrification. And finally, in the long term, we look 20 years out to secure resources that require significant upfront investments in order to give suppliers the confidence they need to make those investments. So it's a bit of a layer cake with those three timeframes. Daniel Seguin: Great segway here. Okay. What do you see as the IESOs role in the future planning of the evolving electricity grid and your role in supporting the changing energy needs of the decarbonized economy? Lesley Gallinger: As Ontario's electricity system planner, we certainly have the long view. Our role is to ensure that Ontario's current and future energy needs are met both reliably and affordably. Our corporate strategy calls out three main ways in which we do this we ensure system reliability while supporting cost effectiveness, we're driving business transformation within the IESO and also driving and guiding the sector's future by working closely with indigenous communities, municipalities and stakeholders. On the decarbonisation front, our main role is to enable technologies that will help us decarbonize. There's lots of emerging energy resources that can help us build a zero emissions electricity grid and the IESO ensures that these resources can all participate in Ontario's electricity system and markets. We're procuring new resources under our flexible resource adequacy framework. We recently announced the procurement of over 800 megawatts of energy storage, which is the largest energy procurement energy storage procurement in Canada to date, that combined with 250 megawatts of the Oneida battery storage project, the IESO, with these projects, is taking steps to integrate this valuable and flexible resource. And in last December's publication of pathways to decarbonisation, we explored ways in which Ontario can move forward to an emissions-free electricity system. The Ministry of Energy consulted on our pathways report, and recently on July 10, very recently, announced a series of actions in its report powering Ontario's growth. And those actions include collaborating with Bruce Power and Ontario Power Generation on pre development work to to consider potential new nuclear generation reporting back on the design of our second long term procurement, which will acquire new non-emitting resources supporting a Ministry of Energy consultation on a post 2024 Conservation Demand Management Framework and assessing additional transmission needs to support new and growing generation and demand in the province. So quite a list of workforce ahead that we're very excited to undertake. And as our system operator for the province, we're certainly at the center of all of this. There'll be a continuing need for coordination with the broader electricity sector in order to plan an orderly transition to a decarbonize grid, there will also be an increased need to revisit how we plan the electricity system. The IESO is looking forward to working with the electrification and energy transition panel to identify ways to adapt and evolve existing frameworks in order to increase transparency and ensure communities and stakeholders are more aware of what we're doing and why. This work, the work of the EETP also takes a broader economy wide view, which reflects how the electricity sector is becoming increasingly dependent on other sectors like industry and transportation. So you know, in short, a lot of work and some very exciting work ahead. Daniel Seguin: Follow up question here for you. Now, some Ontarians are concerned about moving to variable renewable energy sources like wind and solar, while others are concerned about continuing use of natural gas. What have you uncovered in your work about these issues? And what would you like residents of Ontario to know? Lesley Gallinger: Yeah great question Dan, every type of generation has its own strengths and drawbacks based on its unique attributes, which is why Ontario maintains a diverse supply mix that can adapt to changing system conditions quickly. Renewables such as wind and solar are not emitting when they generate electricity, but they're also intermittent, meaning how much electricity they produce can change rapidly in response to weather conditions. And to help with this, the IESO is looking into hybrid facilities that combine renewables with energy storage. By 2026 we'll also have about 1300 megawatts of energy storage on the grid, which will help more efficiently integrate renewables. We're also going to start designing our second long term procurement which will focus on acquiring non-emitting resources and we'll be engaging on this with stakeholders and communities as we go. Natural gas, for example, has the main advantage that it can respond quickly to change in demand and system conditions, making it an important resource for us as we seek to maintain reliability. Ontario's demand fluctuates constantly throughout the day, and having access to natural gas can help us respond to sudden changes and maintain a balance across the system. It's also very important to recognize and something I'd like to emphasize for your listeners that overall emissions from Ontario's electricity sector are extremely low, the sector accounts for about 3% of the provinces total emissions. While this may increase slightly in the future, the continued existence of natural gas on the grid is an important resource to help us transition and it'll enable the near term electrification of other sectors which in total will drive down Ontario's emissions. Daniel Seguin: Okay Lesley, how will the efficiency upgrades at existing natural gas facilities contribute to meeting the growing demand? And what is the plan for these facilities as emerging technologies mature and the reliance on natural gas decreases? Lesley Gallinger: Yes, and as I mentioned in my earlier remarks, Ontario's definitely entering a period of increased demand and so with many existing contracts expiring, and nuclear plants undergoing refurbishment or scheduled to be decommissioned, coupled with increasing electrification of other sectors, the province is going to need more power in the immediate future and the natural gas expansions can help with this. In our pathways to decarbonisation report, we looked at the questions the minister posed to us, we looked at a moratorium scenario that would phase out natural gas over time as newer non-emitting resources come online, and in the report we concluded that we could be less reliant on natural gas in Ontario by the year 2035 and completely phased out by 2050. Efforts were made to align this report with clean electricity regulations, and that recognizes that the contribution of natural gas may be restricted over time, but for the meantime, we have you know, the important transitional resource needs, the natural gas fulfills. Daniel Seguin: Okay. In May of 2023, the IESO announced that it was moving forward with the largest procurement of energy storage in Canada. What can you tell us about these storage projects and their benefits? Lesley Gallinger: Yeah, this was a very exciting announcement for us the energy storage projects we announced in May were for grid connected battery storage systems, which will be an important step towards the transition to a non-emitting supply mix, and will support grid reliability. The procurement was the culmination of the work we've done over the last several years to understand the potential of battery storage to provide supply and reliability services to the grid. The biggest advantage of energy storage is that it can charge during off peak hours when the provincial electricity demand is low and then inject energy back into the grid during peaks when demand is high, which makes it very flexible and a resource that can help us optimize the efficiency of other resource types. And we also see battery storage as a key enabler of decarbonisation. It will help us to integrate more renewables such as wind and solar onto the system, but also get more out of our current nuclear and hydro fleet. By charging during these off peak hours energy storage can use up any surplus green power from Ontario's existing nuclear and hydro facilities. Daniel Seguin: Now, how does this procurement help ensure system reliability during nuclear refurbishment and support the overall energy transformation in Ontario, Lesley Gallinger: The procurement will help with the transition away from natural gas and it's certainly about maintaining reliability at a time when multiple refurbishments are underway. In particular, the Pickering generating station is scheduled to go out of service mid decade and so right around that time, those energy storage projects are expected to be online. Certainly the timelines of the procurements were aligned understanding what the system conditions would be at that time, Lesley, I'd like to dig into your fascinating pathway to decarbonisation report just a bit. Ontario has one of the cleanest electricity system in North America, contributing only 3% to the provinces greenhouse gas emissions, that doesn't sound like a lot. So why is it important to eliminate the remaining 3% of emissions from the grid? Yeah, another another really interesting question and the subject of a lot of conversations we've been having we know that electricity use is going to increase in the coming years driven by an economic growth and electrification across other sectors. Transportation is becoming increasingly electrified as our industrial processes such as steel smelting, and as the pace of electrification speeds up the efforts and investments being made by businesses and households to electrify will increase society's reliance on electricity as a fuel and electricity is only as clean as the resources we use to make it. So that 3%, if we don't tackle that remaining 3%, we will see an increased reliance on less clean generating sources. I mean tackling climate change is certainly an economy wide effort and clean electricity is a fundamental enabler of those climate change solutions. Daniel Seguin: Thanks for that, Lesley. Now, I have a follow up question for you. The IESO presents two scenarios to address decarbonisation, what are they and what key assumptions and drivers were discovered with your analysis? Lesley Gallinger: So our first scenario was the moratorium scenario where the IESO so looked at restricting the procurement of additional natural gas. And this assessment showed that a moratorium would be feasible beginning in 2027, and that Ontario could be less reliant on natural gas by 2035. At that point, the system would not require additional emitting generation to ensure reliability provided that other forms of non-emitting supply could be added to the system in time to keep pace with demand growth. The second scenario is our pathways to decarbonisation scenario, this scenario assumed aggressive electrification of the transportation and industrial sectors, and that attaining a completely decarbonized grid would be possible by 2050, while balancing reliability and costs, so you can see a lot of variables came to play in that second scenario. Daniel Seguin: Perfect. Thanks, Lesley. Now, what are your thoughts on where Canada stands on its road to meet the 2035 and 2050 targets?  Lesley Gallinger: Yeah, I think that's, you know, that's what we're all looking towards and bridging the work of today with the needs of a futurized decarbonized world will be challenging and complex, a collaborative approach across all sectors of the economy will certainly be necessary to achieve this. From Ontario's perspective, we're in a strong starting position, our electricity system is already close to 90% emissions free, most of the generation coming from Hydro and Nuclear resources. And in our pathways report, we identify that for Ontario, at least, a moratorium on natural gas could be possible by 2035, and a fully decarbonized electricity system by 2050 provided that new non-emitting supplies and surfaces online. So we certainly had those goals in mind for Ontario as we created that pathway so decarbonisation work. Daniel Seguin: Now Lesley, in your opinion, what are the biggest challenges facing the electricity industry in Canada today? And what are the biggest opportunities? Lesley Gallinger: Yeah, I anchor on the word orderly because I've used it a lot. The biggest challenge I see is managing the significant transformation that's underway. And doing it in an orderly fashion, electrification is requiring the electricity system to expand and produce more power, while decarbonisation puts pressure on the grid to rely more heavily on low carbon resources, many of which are still in their early days of development. Across the country. Every province is faced with similar challenges. The recently formed Canadian Electricity Advisory Council will provide advice to the Minister of natural resources on ways to accelerate investment and promote sustainable, affordable, reliable electricity systems. And I have the privilege of being on this panel. It's exciting work with colleagues from across the country, many of whom come from provinces in very different stages of decarbonisation. We're sharing best practices and all working towards similar goals. For Ontario, we're entering a period of emerging electricity system needs starting in the 2020s. These electricity and energy capacity needs will continue through to 2040. So demand is expected to increase at nearly 2% per year as I mentioned earlier. All of this presents incredible opportunities for Ontario's communities, new technologies are creating economic growth opportunities and setting the stage for Ontario to build a highly skilled workforce to push to decarbonize will have significant impacts on economy wide emissions reductions, and building the electricity grid of the future also presents opportunities to collaborate and strengthen relationships with indigenous communities and municipalities. Back to my first comment, the pace of this change is a vital consideration. We need to strike the right balance between decarbonizing the grid, while it's still ensuring electricity and energy remain reliable and affordable. If we go too fast, the cost may impede electrification, if we go too slow, we're not going to have the supply available as demand increases. So it really is about thinking this through orderly and it's an all hands on deck challenge. Daniel Seguin: Okay, moving along here, maybe you could walk us through some of the scope for what's required to decarbonize Ontario's electricity system. What does an achievable pathway to net zero look like? Lesley Gallinger: Yeah, that's the work of the IESO on a regular basis. I mean, I can't underscore my last point enough, which is that it's vital that the transition occurs in an orderly manner, we absolutely need to act but we need to act in a carefully managed way that balances decarbonisation with reliability and affordability. Large infrastructure such as hydroelectric plants and nuclear facilities and transmission lines can take 15-10 years, sometimes more to build, significant investments in capital and materials and labor will be required to build out a fully decarbonized system. And one study I read estimated that 14,000 strong labor force participants, that are that are currently working on our electricity infrastructure would need to increase by a factor of six. So you know, that's a huge investment in training and getting people ready to build all the things we need to build. Indigenous communities and municipalities also have a voice in how and where new infrastructure is located. So meaningful and transparent discussions about siting and land use will be needed. And while many technologies will be needed to decarbonize the grid already known, some are not known and not commercialized yet. And so those are low carbon fuels small modular reactors still in development. At this point, it'll be important for Ontario and for Canada to continue to invest in these and other other innovations as well in supporting the pathway. We need energy plans to be approved and new infrastructure needs to be planned, permitted and cited. Regulatory and approval processes such as the environmental impact assessments need to be resourced, appropriately and streamlined to enable all of these builds to happen. We also need the supporting transmission infrastructure to be planned and built on on similar timelines as demand growth and as new supply comes online and underlying all of that we need to carefully manage the costs to ensure the actual impact on total energy costs is affordable, and that they do not diverge significantly, Ontario from those of our neighbors in Manitoba and Quebec and in the US. So lots of again, lots of facets, but work that can be itemized now and definitely plan forward. Daniel Seguin: Cool. What are some of IESO's, no regret actions that can be taken to help meet those growing demands? Lesley Gallinger: Yeah, I think the minister anchored on some of those in his Powering Ontario's Growth report, Ontario can certainly continue to acquire new non-emitting resources and incentivize energy efficiency through our Save on Energy programs. sector partners can also begin planning and citing for new potential projects, partnerships between municipal, provincial and federal governments will also be key and we need to continue to develop those relationships now, while we're also revisiting the regulatory frameworks that may hinder and prevent progress. Last but certainly not least, we must track our progress in an open and transparent way. There's no one way we can say decarbonisation happens. It's a gradual change that will take place over many years, and will require lots of little steps to make progress. And certainly the government's recent response to our reports puts in motion some of those actions including asking us at the IESO to explore opportunities to enable future generation in northern Ontario and reducing the reliance on natural gas generation in the GTA. The ministry has also asked the IESO to begin consultations on a competitive transmitter selection framework for future lines with electricity supply expected to continue to grow over the next 20 to 30 years, you know, that's what we're doing now, you know, in terms of planning, but we're also we're also working to secure new capacity and leveraging our existing assets. So that is through our very thorough resource adequacy framework, which was put in place that outlines our strategy to get that new supply in the short, medium and long term. A key piece of this is competitive procurements and the processes that have been used to date including the annual capacity auction, and but you know, there's also work being done that we're leveraging by our energy efficiency and demand response programs that that get back to what individuals and what individual businesses can do to support decarbonisation. We've got market renewal going on. We've got medium and long term procurements. So lots of action underway. All of them no regret that can that can be continued to to meet this demand.  Daniel Seguin: Now Lesley, with electricity supply expected to grow the next 20 to 30 years, what is the IESO doing to secure new capacity? And how is it leveraging existing assets? Lesley Gallinger: Yeah, great question. So in terms of generating new supply or acquiring new supply, that's really our resource adequacy framework. It outlines, you know, the work we're doing both in the short, medium and long term to competitively procure new resources. We've recently done the procurements for batteries and for natural gas, upgrades and expansions. We'll be launching our next procurement very shortly and designing the one after that. So it's that layer cake approach that I mentioned. We've also, you know, can can anchor back in the strides we've taken in the current procurements to secure we've had great resources come to bear and participate in those procurements, so we're very hopeful that future procurements will also be very successful Daniel Seguin: Now hoping you can help demystify this next one for our listeners. What is the Hydrogen Energy fund? What is special about hydrogen, and how do you think it will support Ontario's reliability needs and decarbonisation? Lesley Gallinger: Yeah, it is, it is a new word and a new way of thinking for for a lot of folks. So let me dig into that. But the goal of our hydrogen Innovation Fund is to investigate, evaluate and demonstrate how low carbon hydrogen technologies could be integrated into the grid. The new program will enable the IESO to test the ability of hydrogen to support grid reliability and affordability, but also the role it can play in broader decarbonisation. Hydrogen has the potential to reduce electricity sector emissions, but it could also be used as a replacement fuel in other more fossil fuel intensive industries such as transportation.  From the electricity sector's perspective, hydrogen has the potential to provide several essential services, it can smooth the output from renewable resources such as wind and solar, it can be blended into natural gas to reduce total emissions and could be used to offer several services such as peaking generation, grid efficiency and storage. But all that being said, it's not an ultimate solution. While hydrogen can be used to generate electricity producing it also requires electricity. So the integration of hydrogen like all new resources will require a balanced approach, one that can make more efficient use of our existing electricity system assets which the Hydrogen Innovation Fund will help with the interest in the fund has been very high. The IESO has received more than 25 applications. The projects are in flight now are undergoing review right now. And we should be in a position to announce the successful projects in September. Daniel Seguin: Lesley. Let's now look globally, what are other countries doing right, that Canada should consider emulating or even adopting?  Lesley Gallinger: Yeah, I think I think this is, you know, very important. We very much focused on on Canada or in you know, in our case, Ontario for answers. And the IESO is just one of many electricity system operators worldwide. And I certainly am always keeping an eye on what other countries are doing. However, every jurisdiction has unique circumstances, which include laws, regulations, geography and politics that can sometimes make comparisons difficult. In North America, specifically, Ontario is a leader in many ways and the pathways report is a very well thought out approach. And so I think that's an area of interests that others have looked to us, that, coupled with our experience of phasing out coal fired generation, we're in a good position really to set examples for other jurisdictions looking to do similar work, and certainly in conversations with my IESO counterparts around North America, we're having robust discussions and learning from each other.  Daniel Seguin: Well, looking to the future of this industry and Canada's approach, what is giving you hope? Lesley Gallinger: Well, electricity is being looked at to support decarbonisation of other sectors and to support economic growth. That's hugely exciting to see the broad impact our industry is having on society. And as we engage with broader audience, the collaborative spirit across the sector, across the province and across the country, we're seeing... certainly gives me hope that Ontario can achieve decarbonisation through an orderly transition that balances that decarbonisation desire with reliability and affordability that are at the heart of our mandate.  Daniel Seguin: Lastly, Lesley, we always end our interviews with some rapid fire questions. Are you ready?  Lesley Gallinger: I'm ready. These were some of the more difficult questions, Dan. So I'm certainly ready for these.  Daniel Seguin: Okay. What are you reading right now?  Lesley Gallinger: So I just finished reading a really great book, how big things get done by bent flyvbjerg. And I think it's making the rounds really good book on large projects, and what we can learn from past failures in large projects, which will be important information for Ontario.  Daniel Seguin: Cool. Thanks for sharing. Now, what would you name your boat if you had one? Or do you have one?  Lesley Gallinger: Well, I have a very, very small boat, and I have yet to name it. But now now that you've got me thinking about that the wheels are turning. At the moment, it's new, so I'm just learning to park it. And when I say park, my my partner rolls his eyes and says "you mean dock" and I say no, Park. So next time we speak Dan, I'll have a name for the boat.  Daniel Seguin: Very good. Who is someone that you truly admire?  Lesley Gallinger: I think this was the most difficult question. There are people I admire in many aspects of my life. And I certainly wouldn't want to single out anyone or miss out on another person. But if I can be a bit general, given the role I'm in, I'd have to say it's the people who have the vision and foresight to see what's coming in the future and to plan and build those large projects and large infrastructure investments needed to get there.  Daniel Seguin: What is the closest thing to real magic that you've witnessed? Lesley Gallinger: Well, I am a lover of being outdoors, so perhaps for me it would be on the morning after a deep snowfall on the trails around my friend's property being the first snow shoes out on the trails on a Sunday morning. It's so quiet and so beautiful and it just feels magical.  Daniel Seguin: Now what has been the biggest challenge to you personally, since the pandemic began? Lesley Gallinger: I think for me, it would be helping my mom stay connected to to our community as as an elderly widow in her own home. It was a lot of one on one contact for me with her and making sure that I could connect her to a broader social network. So she didn't feel so isolated. And I think that was, you know, well worth the challenge. But it was a it was a challenge.  Daniel Seguin: Okay. We've all been watching just a little bit more TV or even Netflix lately. What is your favorite show?  Lesley Gallinger: So I spend very little time watching TV and when I do or, or Netflix, and when I do, it's mostly documentaries. I want to give a call out for a course I'm taking right now online, which is the closest thing to TV, I'm taking the University of Alberta's indigenous Canada course, which has been for me tremendous value in helping me understand indigenous worldviews and perspectives. But I did just watch a Netflix series on the Tour de France, which was a fascinating look at the teams and tactics as well as the effort that the athletes endure over that 21 days.  Daniel Seguin: Okay, cool. Now, lastly, what is exciting you about your industry right now?  Lesley Gallinger: Oh, my goodness. My teams have heard me use this before everything everywhere all at once. We have an opportunity as an industry right now to guide generational change and to have an impact on the environment and the economy far past our working lives. And that is incredibly exciting.  Daniel Seguin: Well, Lesley, this is it. We've reached the end of another episode of the Think Energy podcast. Thank you so much for joining us today. If our listeners wanted to learn more about you, or your organization, how can they connect?  Lesley Gallinger: Thank you. Yes. www.ieso.ca. Our website has a wealth of resources to help listeners become more energy literate. And to understand the work we do. And you can find me on LinkedIn at Lesley Gallinger.  Daniel Seguin: Again, thank you so much for joining us today. I hope you had a lot of fun. Cheers.  Lesley Gallinger: I did! The questions were tough, but very interesting and they certainly got to the heart of the work that we do at the IESO. Thank you, Dan, for for your interest in our work and for asking those questions that allow me to speak and highlight the work of the incredible professionals that work at the IESO. Daniel Seguin: Thanks for tuning in for another episode of the Think Energy podcast. Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review wherever you're listening. And to find out more about today's guest or previous episodes, visit think energy podcast.com. I hope you will join us again next time as we spark even more conversations about the energy of tomorrow.  

Our energy system is undergoing extraordinary change. We are working to move from fossil fuels to renewables and more sustainable power systems in electricity generation and in our use of products, such as EV cars. We are doing this at a time when the demand for energy is only growing. By any estimation, the transition in generation alone – moving from coal and natural gas to renewables such as wind, solar and nuclear – is an Industrial Revolution-level undertaking. Even in a perfect world, this transition was never going to be easy, and it is only going to be made more complicated by the realities of cyber threats, geopolitical realities, and a world-wide supply chain crunch. Please join The Empire Club of Canada on June 12th for The Great Energy Transition event featuring this curated panel of energy insiders – as they discuss how we will build out our new reliable and greener energy supply against these unprecedented headwinds. Featuring special remarks by IESO's President and CEO, Lesley Gallinger Shelley Babin

Ontario's electricity sector is evolving, as the province navigates the transition to cleaner energy amidst rising demand. In thinkenergy episode 135, we explore the grid's structure and key players, highlighting the crucial role of distributors (Local Distribution Companies or LDCs) in facilitating this transition. Guest Teresa Sarkesian, President and CEO of the Electricity Distributors Association (EDA), sheds light on LDCs' frontline efforts and pivotal contributions shaping the energy landscape. Related links   Teresa Sarkesian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teresa-sarkesian-53898613/   Electricity Distributors Association: https://www.eda-on.ca/  Green Button information: https://www.oeb.ca/consumer-information-and-protection/green-button  Electrification and energy transition panel report: https://www.ontario.ca/document/ontarios-clean-energy-opportunity-report-electrification-and-energy-transition-panel  Ontario Electricity Support Program: https://ontarioelectricitysupport.ca/  Trevor Freeman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevor-freeman-p-eng-cem-leed-ap-8b612114/ Hydro Ottawa: https://hydroottawa.com/en     To subscribe using Apple Podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinkenergy/id1465129405   To subscribe using Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7wFz7rdR8Gq3f2WOafjxpl https://open.spotify.com/show/7wFz7rdR8Gq3f2WOafjxpl To subscribe on Libsyn: http://thinkenergy.libsyn.com/ Subscribe so you don't miss a video: https://www.youtube.com/user/hydroottawalimited   Follow along on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hydroottawa   Stay in the know on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HydroOttawa   Keep up with the posts on X: https://twitter.com/thinkenergypod     ...   Transcript: Trevor Freeman  0:07  Hi, welcome to think energy, a podcast that dives into the fast-changing world of energy through conversations with industry leaders, innovators and people on the frontlines of the energy transition. Join me Trevor Freeman, as I explore the traditional, unconventional and even up and coming facets of the energy industry. If you've got thoughts, feedback or ideas for topics that we should cover, we'd love to hear from you. Please reach out to us, at think energy at hydro ottawa.com Hi, everyone, welcome back. Now it's no secret that Ontario's electricity sector is transforming rapidly as it moves to both decarbonize the grid itself, you know, we have a very clean grid in Ontario, but it's not totally carbon free. And to support the growing demand for electricity as our customers across the province, take steps to electrify and change how they use energy. The show is all about exploring those changes, among other things, and today is no different. But before we dive into our conversation today, I think it would be helpful for me to spend just a few quick minutes on some basics about how our electricity grid is structured in Ontario, and who some of the key players are. Now I know some of our listeners will know this already, but it can be hard to keep track of all those key players. And Ontario's structure is a little different than some of the neighboring jurisdictions no two jurisdictions are exactly alike. So, a refresher is never a bad thing. Now the most basic description is that electricity is largely generated at central generation facilities. So, think nuclear power plants are your electric generating stations, some gas fired generating stations and large-scale wind and solar installations. We call these entities generators simple as that. That electricity is then transmitted across the province in an interconnected grid of high voltage transmission lines, which also connect to other jurisdictions such as neighboring provinces and states, and Ontario, Hydro One runs the transmission network. Now you've probably seen this transmission network. These would be the large metal towers that you see out in the middle of a field when you're driving along the highway or in rural areas that have electricity wires strung way up high in the air. The last stage before it gets to the end user is called distribution. So, this is where electricity is taken from those high voltage lines stepped down to a usable voltage for residential and commercial customers via transformers and substations, and then distributed over a network of overhead and underground wires, then these would be the wires that you would see at the top of those wooden or composite poles that are along the side of the road in your neighborhood. The entities that run this distribution part are called distributors, again, simple as that. So, there's a few other key players that are worth mentioning here. Energy Policy is primarily the jurisdiction of the provincial government, who sets the general direction and associated rules and regulations accordingly. The Ontario Energy Board or OEB is the regulatory body who governs what all those other players do and enacts the government mandate. And finally, at least for today's purposes, we have the system operator. It's called The Independent Electricity System Operator in Ontario, or IESO, who runs the system. So, if you're in Windsor, Ontario, or Ottawa, or North Bay, and you want to turn on your air conditioner, or plug your EV in to charge, the IESO is responsible for making sure there's enough power on the grid to handle that load. So, I hope everyone is still with me and feel free to pause and do some jumping jacks if that was a lot to take in. Our conversation today is going to be focused on the role of the distributor. So, for full disclosure, as you know, I work for hydro Ottawa who is one of those distributors, we serve most electricity customers in the City of Ottawa, and the neighboring village of Casselman and in Ontario, you will often hear distributors referred to as local distribution companies or LDCs. So, forgive me if I slip into that acronym throughout the conversation today, that's really just the sort of common name that we refer to those distributors as. But I'll try to mix it up and make sure that, that I'm explaining that acronym throughout as well. So, the distributor is really the front line, the customer facing entity of the entire electricity system. If you are an electricity customer, and you think about the electricity system, you are probably thinking about your distributor. Chances are you get your bill from a distributor, even though for most customers, most of what you pay on that bill doesn't actually go to the LDC. Some of it stays with your local distribution company, but most of it goes to the transmitter to the generator, to the IESO etc. When the power goes out, it's probably your LDC that you call and it's your LDC that will give you a restoration time. Sometimes outages are caused by issues up the line, so to speak in the transmission portion of the grid. But often the issue is a localized one. And it's your LDC that is identifying the problem and fixing it, whether that means rolling a truck to string new cable, or performing switching to work around the problem. And finally, it's your LDC that is really on the frontlines of the energy transition. While all parts of the grid must then have started to change, the LDCs are really working hand in hand with our customers to identify where and how fast and new demand is needed to bridge that gap between customers and policymakers to enable more and more renewable generation. And also to determine what new technologies or programs we need to pilot and scale up. And it's really the LDCs that are driving change in the way that electricity is managed at the individual customer level moving forward. So, to help us make some sense of this, I'm happy to have Teresa Sarkesian on the show today. Teresa is the president and CEO of the electricity Distributors Association, which is a role that she's held since 2016. This is actually Teresa second time on the show the first being back in December 2021. So we're happy to have Teresa back, Teresa, welcome back to the show.   Teresa Sarkesian  6:23  Thanks so much, Trevor. I'm really delighted to be back.   Trevor Freeman  6:27  Yeah, we're glad to have you. So, like I said, you were back on our show in 2021. I don't know if it's because of how COVID has changed our lives or if this is just the way things go. But sometimes, you know, weeks seem like years. So, 2021 is a long time ago. Let's start by refreshing our listeners on the role and mandate of the electricity Distributors Association.   Teresa Sarkesian  6:49  Sure, thing so the electricity Distributors Association, or the EDA our little acronym represents Ontario's public and private electric utilities that distribute electricity to 5.4 million homes, businesses and institutional customers across the province. And I should note that those 5.4 million customers really refers to build accounts so you have families that are behind a build account. So effectively the millions and millions of Ontarians and businesses that operate and live here are customers of our utilities. And as you know our members are on the front lines of power, and have developed a strong trust with their customers by providing safe, reliable and affordable service for over 100 years. The EDA itself provides analysis and networking and advocacy for our members to ensure that the energy policy direction and framework in Ontario is fair and balanced, supporting the financial viability of utilities to deliver service and ensuring affordability for customers. And long term, we are looking to ensure that our local distribution company members can become the premier energy solution providers to their customers, and that they're able to provide the value-added services that customers are already expecting from them but are going to grow with the energy transformation and electrification in the future.   Trevor Freeman  8:09  Yeah, it's kind of like I said, when people think about the electricity sector, they're probably thinking about their distributor. And the EDA is kind of that common voice for those distribution companies. So, you first joined the EDA back in 2009, and have been the president and CEO since 2016. So, we'll look ahead and talk about the future in a minute. But before we do that, tell us about how things have changed so far during your tenure. How are things different from 2009 When you first joined the organization?   Teresa Sarkesian  8:40  Yeah, and you know, this is almost like perfect timing, Trevor, because I've been at the association now for 15 years, I'm just marking my 15-year anniversary. So, feels really apropos to kind of reflect and look back. So, I want to break down my answer into two parts. So, I'm going to talk to you about some, I guess, just my own personal observations about the electricity system at large. And then I'm going to talk more about the changes in distribution. But some of the changes that I thought were really quite significant and profound, sort of when I joined the industry in 2009, I joined at a time when there was the Green Energy Act, and the province was looking to connect all kinds of renewable energy generation to the electricity grid. So that was fairly significant. Another thing that was happening with the province is that they closed down coal fired generation. That was pretty massive. In fact, I think, at the time, it was the largest kind of carbon reduction initiative in North America. And I think even to this date today, I think it still is something that Ontario really has to be proud of. Another thing that you know, at the time, I think that was you know, fairly significant in 2015 is just the expectation of what the demand would be. What was interesting, sort of like the past for 15 years, the demand from customers for electricity was actually flat or declining. And that's all changed. Now. 15 years later, we're, we're now forecasting, massive increases in in demand of energy, which could potentially be doubling in the future. And the other point I'd like to make is just the nuclear renaissance that we're having. I think when I joined the sector in 2009, I'll tell you, I think the public opinion of nuclear was actually quite low. And that's been completely turned around lots of geopolitical events around the world, I think, have driven that. And now that nuclear is having a huge Renaissance. And you're seeing, you know, lots of new investments in nuclear. And we're not talking about shutting down reactors anymore. We're talking about refurbishing and expanding. So those are some of the things that I've observed over the last 15 years that have really changed. And for local distribution companies, I think what I have seen is a growing expectation by both government and the regulators for electric utilities to do more to both support the grid reliability and meet growing expectation from customers. So, I started in the sector in 2009, it was right on the brink of implementation of smart meters, and time of use. And what was interesting is that was mandated, there were very few jurisdictions in the world that actually had mandated smart meters and time of use pricing. So again, Ontario is was one of the first. And so that was a big change for LDCs. To move from, you know, smart meters and having to bring in that technology and also support the technology of time of use. I did mention the Green Energy Act at the time, we suddenly had to connect 1000s and 1000s, of new solar and wind generation, as well. And that was all new. There were no protocols, there were no standards for that. So that was fairly significant as well. And when I kind of fast forward to I guess, more recently, there have been a lot of changes from government, I think they've really supported our industry, they understand the trust that we have, with our customers. And they've implemented, you know, a number of new changes in terms of rate structures, they've asked us to implement ultra low-rate pricing that can support overnight electric vehicle charging. And they've also asked us to introduce a green button digital platform that allows customers to download their energy data and share with third parties for you know, different assessments and tools for lowering energy costs. But it's all not, you know, unicorns and kittens, there's challenges to for our sector, grid resilience was, you know, not really, people talked about it in 2009, but not like they're talking about it now, because of climate change. And we are seeing more frequent storms, causing, you know, obviously, outages for the customer, and also significant damage to the distribution grid. And I know that hydro Ottawa has faced more than its fair share of very destructive storms over the past few years, we have Yes, I can't remember which Victoria Day weekend where we had, I didn't ever know how to say it the derecho or the derecho. So there, we weren't getting storms we've never even heard of before. And unfortunately, I think that is our new normal. So, grid resilience is something that we are very concerned about, and we need to make sure we've got the appropriate investments for that. So those are just a few of the highlights that, you know, when I came into the sector sort of things that were kind of ramping up, and then what's happening now, but I guess what I could say, the commonality is there's constant change in the sector. And what I'm seeing going forward is that change is going to be accelerated.   Trevor Freeman  13:40  Yeah, I mean, it's, it's fascinating to listen to you lay it all out like that. Thinking back to 15 years ago, it's hard to even remember, you know, not having smart meters, having meters that really just ticked forward and measured your consumption over the course of a month, and someone would come and read that. And, you know, having declining or even flat demand profiles that aren't increasing is so different from the world that we are in today. But I think what you said there at the end is really important. We are in our industry, an organization that knows about change, we're constantly changing, which helps us as we look forward into your point, we're going to see that level of change and the pace of change accelerate. So, I think that sets us up pretty well. So, let's start to look forward, then I know that the EDA is about to launch a new vision paper. So, we're going to dive into some of the details. But maybe let's start by kind of a high-level summary of what is the vision that you are trying to lay out with this paper?   Teresa Sarkesian  14:42  Okay, and no problem. So, I think what I want to start just give a little bit of background as to why we did this. We've done a couple of vision papers and implementation plans in the past. But you know, they were like seven, eight years ago and things have changed a lot even in Seven or eight years. So, what we've been seeing, obviously, I think the big change over the last few years has been the big focus on meeting Net Zero targets in 2050, that we are going to get to net zero in terms of our greenhouse gas emissions. Not only in Canada, but this is actually a bit of a global commitment, you know, for countries that have signed on to that objective. So, what happens when you set up, you know, those big audacious goals? You have all kinds of organizations and entities looking at how are we going to get there, how much it's going to cost? What do we need to do to get there? And so, when we started reviewing some of these publications, both in Ontario, Canada, and actually in other jurisdictions, they were very good. They talked about what supply mix that we need the investment in transmission, but almost 100% of the papers, Trevor, if you can believe this, just neglected distribution, no one talked about distribution, they didn't talk about how distribution is going to have to change what the investments would be. And then we'll so we said it's going to be critical for us to identify the electric utility role and the energy transition, and how the sector will need to be grid ready to support electrification, economic development, grid resilience, and customer preferences. So, we view that LDCs are going to be pivotal in enabling Ontario's low carbon economy, navigating the challenges posed by climate policies, electrification trends, and these evolving customer demands. And with Ontario's growing economy and the demands for housing intensify, LDCs must innovate to effectively meet these accelerating electricity needs and changing preferences. And right now, we've seen the ISO is predicting significant consumption growth from 144 terawatt hours in 2023, to 240 terawatt hours and 2050 not quite double, but it's getting close. And so, this rapid growth demands urgent attention to adopt new strategies and to ensure that the local distribution companies can make the necessary investments in grid enhancements to expand the capacity and capability of the distribution system. So, while reliability and affordability remain Paramount customers do expect additional value from their utility service. And, you know, we are seeing all sorts of things that are happening, you know, such as the need for swift electric vehicle charging installation, and other upgrades that will increase the electrical load. We see that LDCs are more frequently interacting with businesses that seek utility partners to achieve their energy management, sustainability and ESG goals. And in parallel, the LDC must prepare to respond to increase climate change induced extreme weather events. So, recognizing the essential role of LDCs in the energy transition, we've worked in collaboration with industry experts to outline a vision of the role of utilities, so they can enable economic development, housing growth and electrification. And the report identifies urgent and practical steps that LDCs in partnership with the government, and its agencies must take in the near term to achieve the benefits of this transition. So, what you'll see in the paper is recommendations related to the need for clear policy direction on regulatory frameworks to support LDCs in becoming grid ready, and with a continued focus on affordability and enabling a customer choice and opportunity. And we also discuss issues like workforce needs. And we also emphasize the role of human capital in enabling technological advancements. So that's very high level what it is, and I will get into it a bit more as we have our discussion further.   Trevor Freeman  18:41  Yeah, I think it's a good way to frame it of the entire sector is changing at all levels. But what you're really doing is laying out that vision that roadmap for the distributors, in particular, and I think that's great. Maybe like, who is the audience for this paper? Who are you kind of directing this at?   Teresa Sarkesian  18:59  Well, we're still putting the crossing the T's and dotting the I's., but I think it's about 80 pages. So, it's not going to be for everyone, obviously, you know, government decision makers, government, policymakers, people that work in their regulatory agencies and our energy board, the Independent Electricity System Operator, we did try to make it accessible. There is an executive summary that's about two or three pages, which I think will be of great interest to a lot of people to read. And I think it gives a very kind of a high-level overview of what's in the document. So that's something that we're trying to do. And, you know, obviously our LTC members are an audience as well. They've been working with us hand in glove the last few months we've had extensive member meetings we had a board committee that helped steer this paper. But you know, ultimately, the paper is really focused on our customers because its customers and businesses that are driving a lot of this change for the future, whether it's businesses that are on their own journey on environmental, social and governance ESG objectives, and they're looking for more low carbon communities to invest in its customers who are very interested in EV charging, and maybe what the opportunity for the batteries can be to sell that storage back to the grid. It's, it's really the customers that are driving this change.   Trevor Freeman  20:31  Right Yeah, and I mean, the nature of this medium is I don't know who's out there listening. But I'd encourage, you know, all of our listeners, when this comes out, take a look at it and get some insight into kind of how the distributors role is laid out there. So, let's dive into some of the details. You know, you outline obviously, some of the traditional roles and functions of the LDCs. So, from maintaining, owning and maintaining the infrastructure, the poles and wires, and doing customer metering and billing, that stuff's not going away, we're going to keep doing those things. But you also highlight some of these emerging roles that have begun to appear, or that we'll see in the next couple of years, you know, a more of a focus on distributed energy resources, like solar on roofs, for example, that LDCs are going to have to work to both enable as well as integrate into our own systems. It's going to include things like more customer programs, and rate design, etc. I'm curious, you know, how are LDCs going to balance that traditional role that we've already been doing, along with this rapidly new expanding set of roles that we need to tackle?   Teresa Sarkesian  21:38  That's a great question, Trevor. So, look, LDCs will continue, as we always have been to be responsible for safe, reliable and affordable delivery of electricity to customers, customers can count on us to do that 24/7. And even with all these anticipated grid expansions, we're not going to be shut down, if the critic dispatches so, you know, we're experts at multitasking in our sector, and we will continue to do so. And with the increases, as you mentioned, in distributed energy resources, and electrification, there are the pressures for us to adapt, modernize and change how we ensure the safety and reliability in the service to customers. And the emerging roles and responsibilities aren't something that's in the distant future. You know, as I mentioned before, changes the constant, we have been engaging in ongoing adaptation. And so, when I think about the future, and I think about what we call grid modernization, it really is part of the ongoing continuous improvement, and the pursuit of the digital utility of the future, that every utility is on that journey. So, you know, utilities have been bringing in new technologies, particularly related to information technology, communications, and digital solutions. And so, while we're in early stages, we are expecting our members to become more digitally based in the future, they're going to be introducing advanced distribution management systems to monitor the grid. And they're also going to have distributed energy resource management systems to monitor all the connections that are behind the meter. So, I think what is different now than in the past, is simply that the pace of change is being dramatically accelerated. So, for example, it took us about 100 years to get the grid to its current size, yet, we need to almost double the current grid in 25 years. So, we have to move four times as fast. And the grid is not going to be built with just simple poles and wires and one way energy flow like it has been for basically the last 100 years, it's going to be a lot more complex, we're going to see two-way energy flows, so it's not just us sending power to the customer one way, they're potentially going to be selling back their energy generation or their energy storage back onto the grid. So, we need to have that temerity, that two-way, power flow. So that's going to be a big change. And we also expect there to be a lot more customer interaction. They want to leverage their own generation and storage behind the meter. And we as utilities, want to be able to leverage that to help us with you know, reliability, Storm outage, other emergency situations. So, we see there's going to be a greater interactive relationship with customer than simply, you know, maybe sending a bill to them or offering them conservation programs, it's going to be much more dynamic than it has been in the past. And so, you know, over the last two decades, and we talked about this a bit already, the utility has been modernizing the system in response to government policy initiatives, regulatory requirements, and customer preferences. One other example, recently, utilities were required to implement something called green button. And we've been also engaging by bringing them more into the system through net metering. And a lot of our members are also involved in various pilot projects with the Independent Electricity System Operator and with Enercan to look at all kinds of new LTC models and functions. So, and you're going to see a lot of this actually, in our vision paper is that to really be effective, cost effective. To make sure this happens at the accelerated pace, we do need for there to be proactive policy and regulatory changes, to remove barriers and empower LDCs to embrace these new evolving roles in shaping the future of the energy sector. And as I mentioned before, customers are demanding it. And I want to point out a research report that came out by the International Energy Agency just late last year. And they made it very clear that in quite a number of countries around the world, the lack of the regulatory permission to provide more investments in the distribution system is now becoming a significant barrier to new renewable energy projects connecting on the system. And while we don't have that situation here in Ontario, if we don't start moving quickly, in terms of reforming the regulatory context, then we might be like some of these other countries, and we don't want to be that a barrier, you want to be able to enable what our customers want on the grid.   Trevor Freeman  26:07  Yeah, so I'm going to ask you a question about that last point in a minute. But I think your framing of the ways that the sector is going to change, and the way our customers are going to interact with us is going to change is really great. And it's something that you know, often comes up in conversation. And I often say, there is no single strategy or tool here, we can't solve the coming challenges with just more poles and wires. We can't solve it with just new innovative solutions, we need all of those things, we need more poles and wires. But we also need more programming, more innovation, more technology, we need to utilize those distributed energy resources out there on the grid. So, I think that's a great way to frame it. Okay, so let's talk about grid planning a little bit. So LDCs play a really key role in helping forecast the needs of the future, both for our own distribution systems, but also feeding up into those broader provincial needs. So, the insight that we gain from our customers, we pass up to the IESO, for example, so that they can do planning at the provincial level. Traditionally, this is a pretty consistent process. You know, in the past, we get a sense from municipalities and developers, how cities are going to expand and grow. And we've generally been able to count on the typical home using roughly the same amount of electricity as homes that are out there today. So, we account for a certain expansion of commercial customers based on the Intel that we get from those customers. And we know roughly what they're going to use. The problem is that model's kind of being turned on its head a little bit. So, we now need to account for even our existing customers increasing their load because they are electrifying or they want to add EV chargers. And new developments today are likely going to have increased demand compared to some of the historical developments, because we're going to see all electric communities or at the very least more electrified and uses. So I know you don't have a crystal ball yet that tells us exactly how this change is going to happen. But what are LDCs doing to adapt their long-term grid planning to account for this uncertainty?   Teresa Sarkesian  28:22  Yeah, you're so right, Trevor forecasting is getting more challenging. And I just want to start with a little story before I get into my answer about that. So, you know, electric vehicles are kind of the hot thing right now. And you know, although people I think are still on a waiting list for certain cars, there's lots of others that are available. And so, one of the concerns that our sector had was we didn't know where these electric vehicles were going to pop up. And we weren't getting any kind of pre advanced warning when people started making orders or, you know, advanced purchases for electric vehicles. So, we actually did a great advocacy campaign, with the province with both the Ministry of Energy of the Ministry of Transportation, to secure postal code data for utility, so they could see where people were going to be purchasing electric vehicles to help them with their own planning, in terms of, you know, making sure that their local feeders were upgraded their local transformers, and so that just got announced a year ago. But that's obviously not going to be good enough. And that just tells us about electric vehicles, you know, in the near term, but this is I think, you know, having sightlines into our customer behavior, whether we do that proactively with you know, consultations and communications with customers, or we can do it by you know, pinging the meter, or getting data such as postal codes. We are going to have to, you know, adapt and have greater visibility and sightlines into the customer. And so this is that some of that technology that I was talking about earlier, the sophisticated future grid is going to need lots of visibility and transparency, for usage and investment to be able to, you know, look at these two way power flows, look at how customers are behaving, in order to better plan the system, we also need to maximize and optimize the data that we have, you know, from our planners, it's going to be vital to protecting the grid reliability and resilience, we're going to have to have more partnerships with municipalities, in terms of their energy planning for the future and things that they want for their community. And, you know, one of the things that we're asking for on our paper is actually to, you know, rethink the distribution system plan, that the utilities have to file with the OMB every five years, and start building in a, you know, Grid Modernization plan within that broader plan. So, we can get the regulator to start looking ahead and seeing what these requests are, it'll be important to also have various performance metrics and filing guidelines for grid modification from the energy board. So, you know, these are some of the things I think that the membership is going to have to look at but it is going to be a very iterative experience, because it's just it's the pace of change is the big unknown. And so, everyone talks about these things. But you know, I saw something today, I think it was from Ford Motor Company, and they're kind of slowing down, it's taken them a while to retool their plants. So that could take an extra two years now for them to be up and running and producing electric vehicles. So, there's going to be all these other pieces of the puzzle that are constantly going to be changing a moving and evolving. It is I think, planning for the future is going to be very challenging. And I do expect the province to start talking about this higher level, maybe starting at the end of this year, they just came off a massive exercise related to the energy transition electrification panel. And I do expect to see more guidance from the province as well, in terms of how they're going to manage this planet, because it's not just planning for us. It's planning for everybody else in the system, too.   Trevor Freeman  32:02  Yeah. And for listeners out there, if you haven't had a look at that energy transition electrification panel reports, a really fascinating read. So, I'd encourage you to take a look at it. You mentioned a lot of interesting things there. So, for our listeners, and I'll probably do a future episode on this so I won't get into detail, but LDCs typically have to file five-year rate applications once every five years that really lay out their plans for those five years and how they're going to fund them. So coincidentally, hydro Ottawa was getting ready to do our next one. And like I said, I'll probably talk about that on a future episode. But one thing we did when it comes to forecasting is, we conducted a electrification study that looks at if we electrify by 2050, like our plans, say we will and you know, society wise, what does that mean for the grid? And some of the inputs we took is, you know, what are the federal plans for electrification? What are our own municipal plans for electrification? What are we hearing from our customers, and that really, is helping us modify and change how we do grid forecasting, based on some of the changes that we're seeing from our customers. So I think this is a really important piece that, like you said, we're going to need to iterate on we're not going to get it right the first time. But we're starting to think of how do we need to change the way we do things in order to keep up with what our customers are doing.   Teresa Sarkesian  33:28  I think one thing I've seen more of the last few years, because this is much more complex than it's been in the past that I've seen, like the IESO, for example, they've done more, you know, scenario setting. So, when they've had their, you know, their APO's and AER safe, they sort of had other two or three scenarios, and they're constantly updating their numbers every year. So, these are other changes that we're starting to see. And even myself, I was just looking at the provincial budget detail the other day, they also set out, you know, scenarios as well. They're just not picking Oh, it's going to be, you know, X amount of deficit. And you know in 2028 they're actually forecasting out different scenarios. So, I think that's another piece I see more in play, that people will, you know, showcase what assumptions they have, and will have maybe two or three different scenarios as well.   Trevor Freeman  34:21  Yeah, and I think it's a, it's a great way to tackle that unknown component to where we've never really been through a change like this before. We've never wholesale changed the way we use energy in our society. So, there's a degree of uncertainty, obviously, and I think, targeting out that kind of, let's call it high, medium, low scenario, or whatever the metric might be, is going to be really critical for us to make sure we're staying within the boundaries of what's possible and what's probable and refining that constantly as we move forward. So that's a great point. Something else you mentioned a little bit ago, that's, you know, could be a bit of a nebulous term is grid modernization now I've actually got a future episode, and specifically about grid modernization and what hydro Ottawa is doing, I think it might actually be our next one. So, we don't need to go into all the details on this. But let's just help our listeners understand what do we mean when we're talking about grid modernization? And why is this important? Why is it important to our customers that we do this kind of back-office improvement?   Teresa Sarkesian  35:23  So, I'm going to keep it really simple, because I know you're going to do a deep dive on it and a future episode. But essentially, Grid Modernization are improvements that LDCs will make simply to augment our capabilities, and enable us to offer new or improved services to customers. So back-office improvements might look like things like real time sensing, and monitoring systems to improve efficiency and reliability. Or we may be investing in new digital infrastructure communication systems to improve safety, cybersecurity, it can also include more visible improvements to safeguard our infrastructure against extreme weather, and climate change to reduce outages. And like one, I guess, example that some of your customers might already be recognizing, you know, we made investments in green button, which enables customers to download their data, send it to a third party if they want to save on customer use. So, it really is the whole soup to nuts, it really is not just one type of technology or solution. It is a combination of a whole series of things that the that the utility will need to do. And I think why we want to do it, I think when we look at all of the pressures on the system, from NetZero objectives to housing priorities, you know, to accelerate broadband development, and support electrification, the pressures seem to be never ending. And the only way that we can respond to all those pressures, is to be grid ready. And, you know, like I said, it's it is a form of continuous improvement. It's just that now it's the pace accelerated pace is such so extraordinary, that we need to have a more dedicated plan. But most importantly, we have to make sure we have dedicated attention by policymakers and regulatory decision makers as well. Because right now, there isn't that dedicated attention to this very important task. Yeah,   Trevor Freeman  37:28  Yeah, I mean, it's, it's great that you bring up all these pressures that we're feeling that it's I think it's time we kind of talk about that elephant in the room, our customers often ask us about affordability, or we're hearing from our customers about affordability, I was actually at a customer event not too long ago, and talking about the change that we're going to see here talking about some of this, you know, large scale transition of our energy sector. These are not small investments that we have to make. We're talking about both an increase of our infrastructure, you know, you mentioned almost doubling the capacity of the grid. We're talking about modernizing our grid systems, that's a lot of back-office work with new technology, and bringing on new programs. Like this is a big change. Energy affordability is already a kind of a challenge today for some folks. So, as we get into this new investment that we have to make as we start moving down the path of the energy transition, how do we balance affordability, especially for our vulnerable populations, with the level of investment that we know is necessary to do the things that we have to do? Yes,   Teresa Sarkesian  38:42  Yes, that's the multibillion-dollar question, Trevor. And it's something I'm going to carve out my response, because there's some things that we've put into our vision paper for the future, because affordability is absolutely critical. And as you know, this is basically a massive restructuring of the economy going forward. So, there's may be other participants who might be playing a funding role. So, you know, right now, obviously, you know, customers aren't monolithic, and you know, residential customers who are struggling to pay bills. Do you have some programs that they can, that they can access, they have the low income Energy Assistance Program, they have the Ontario electricity support program. Some of those are funded by the tax base, some are funded by other electricity customers. The province also gives a rebate to customers in Ontario, and that's a pretty big rebate. I don't think a lot of residential customers are aware of it but it is over 7 billion annually to residential small business customers. That's a lot of money. But I don't know if customers really appreciate that. So, I don't know what's going to be available going forward. These are some of the challenges that you know policy makers, you know, have to address as well. So, when we were thinking about this as part of our paper, we sort of looked at it from a number of perspectives. So, the federal government has set up all these Net Zero targets, they've set out, you know, targets for electric vehicle manufacturing, as well. And so, it might be appropriate for them to share part of the burden with this massive energy transformation. And it's interesting, we actually pulled customers about 2000 Customers two years ago, we asked them a whole series of questions about the changes going forward. And customers do have different perspectives about who should be paying for some of this energy transition. So, when we asked them about who should be paying for electric vehicle, charging infrastructure, and they said, Oh, electricity, customers should pay for that, because that's something that everyone's going to benefit from. When we ask them about, you know, who should be paying for the electricity grid, to address climate change and hit Net Zero targets, they actually the majority, 58% said, the taxpayer should be paying for that. So, I think that's just a very interesting data point. But it's something that, you know, we've been active on in terms of having those conversations with the federal government, saying that, you know, you have offered different subsidies to attract different companies to invest in Ontario, based on our clean grid, but we need to have the whole grid support it. So, you know, we're pursuing federal government support, we also are looking at increased maybe private equity engagement in in our sector. So right now, we have a couple of private members, but there's not a lot of private equity money in the sector, most of our members are municipally owned, and municipalities can't invest in their utility, probably even if they wanted to, because they're in short supply of funds as well, they have their own taxpayer that they have to deal with. So, one of the solutions we are putting forward to government is to increase the private equity threshold, so it doesn't trigger additional taxes, right now, it's only 10% ownership. But we're saying that maybe a tool in the toolbox should be up to 49% ownership. So, it would allow private equity to come the patient capital, they're not maybe looking to seek a return right away. So, there's some you know, flexibility there as well. Another thing we're looking at is to revisit the debt equity ratios of utilities to manage the costs over the long term. So, you'd be effectively amortizing on some of those grid investments as well. So, these are some of the ideas that we have around how we can basically fund the energy transition going forward. You know, and some people say, Well, if you could get customers to think about their energy usage holistically, so if they're going to be, you know, moving away from a, you know, a combustion engine car, and they're going to be using heat pumps, instead of, you know, natural gas heating in their home, if you could get people to think holistically what they're saving on the kind of, you know, GHG side of things, versus what they are going to be spending on electricity, they may actually be spending less if they look at it holistically, but I don't really know, to be honest with you, so that I'd rather focus on the things that we could ask government for, as opposed to asking customers to be, you know, thinking more holistically at their entire energy usage, which is just not how they think. And I think, to change that behavior, would be quite a monumental task going forward. But those are some of the things that we think about, because we are very concerned about the affordability going forward, because it is such a massive change that we're all experiencing.   Trevor Freeman  43:50  Yeah, I think this is another example of there is no single solution here. There is no you know, silver bullet that's going to help us pay for all of this, we need all the tools on the table here, we need to look at all different options. And I think you outlined a couple of them, you know, in what you said about our customers impression of some of this change and who should pay for it. Last episode, I talked to David Coletto, from Abacus data, and he was saying on the whole Canadians really believe that an electrified energy system, we know once we make that transition, we will be more secure, it will be more affordable. And I think those customers who have made some transition in their lives can see the benefit of that. But sometimes the initial hurdle is pretty hard to get over that upfront capital cost. And so, looking for ways, both at the customer level as well as at the utility level, the LDC level I think is going to be important to help get over that initial capital outlay that's required, so that we can realize those benefits that we all know where they are that we know we'll see. So. Yeah, great filling some of those out. So, I know I mentioned that I will get back to this. But I do want to talk to you about the advocacy role that the EDA plays. So, you mentioned, you know, talking to governments and Ontario, the provincial governments across Canada, the provincial government has jurisdiction over most energy matters. So, advocacy to the government is a key role that you play. I'm curious, what are you asking the government to do or to provide to help some of these changes that we're talking about happen? What is the advocacy that you're pushing for with the government?   Teresa Sarkesian  45:32   So, I'm going to try to keep it really simple and just sort of, you know, tie it back to our vision paper for now, because at any given time, I'm working on 20 or 30 l policy issues, primarily with the Ontario government. But this past year, we have expanded our work to also include the federal government, because they have investment tax credits that we are interested in for our members to see if they could be eligible for those. We're interested in them changing things to the Canada Infrastructure Bank, also to provide new sources of equity there. And we're also pursuing grants, as well, for grid modernization. So provincially, a whole whack of issues. But I'm going to go back to our paper just to give your audience a little bit of a sneak peek on some of the things that we're going to be asking for. So, one of the first things we're going to be asking for is to get a common understanding and definition of grid modernization, and electrification. And this is not really new of an idea, we kind of have copied it from the US, there's a lot of jurisdictions, there where very clear objectives that have been set out in order to justify grid modernization, investments. So, we think that it'd be beneficial for Ontario to do that, because then once you have those objectives in place, it is going to make it a lot easier to be able to prioritize grid modernization capabilities, functionalities, and investments in line with those objectives. You know, and then from there, you know, we're looking at creating a series of foundational investments. So going forward, some of the things that we think are foundational, are things like the distributed energy resource management systems and the advanced metering infrastructure, which is sort of like smart meters 2.0, for lack of a better term, and also the advanced distribution management systems. So, we see those are going to be foundational pieces that all utilities are going to need to be able to help customers interact with the grid, and they're going to be necessary grid investments. So how what we see for those is we would like it to be similar policy direction, like we had for smart meters and green button, where you have government mandated activities. And then those are given, you know, a kind of lower standard of evidence with the Ontario Energy Board to support that capital infrastructure, they're deemed as priorities and ties back to that initial plan, where you set objectives, as long as those objectives can be that then those should get a pass through.   Trevor Freeman  48:12  If I could jump in right there just for our listeners. So what Teresa is describing here is, at the moment when there are unique things that are not part of government mandate, yet every LDC and Ontario, of which there are many 60, something I don't even have the number in front of me but every LDC when it comes time to enact that project has to go through a whole exercise of justifying it proving why it's necessary, saying this is why we want to do it. If there was some commonality across LDCs in the province, we wouldn't have to put as much effort into, you know, the report writing side of it, we could just get down to business and make these changes that we all know across the province are important. So, I think it's helpful for us to understand how that process works.   Teresa Sarkesian  49:00  Yeah, and thank you for interjecting on that, Trevor, because if government wants us to move fast, we can, but we need that certainty. So, you know, we're no different than any even though we're regulated monopolies. We're really no different than any other business that wants to do business in Ontario, you're always looking for certainty and clarity, from legislation from policy from regulation, because the uncertainty is what slows things down. Another recommendation that I'm moving forward with is that we need to move beyond pilot projects. I had a conversation with a consultant who is working with Enercan on this and they want to move beyond I love their term, death by demonstration. We've got a couple of dozen pilot projects currently in the sector, whether they're funded provincially through the IESO or they're funded federally through Natural Resources Canada, and you know, there's some very exciting results that are coming out of those. But some of those pilot projects have been going on for all almost four years, in one case, almost five. And at some point, you need to pull off the band aid said, yes, this is a success, all LDCs would be eligible for funding in this. So, we need to be able to scale it up. Or we just say no, that's not going to work. But being in this constant state of the pilot projects, while it's informative, at some point, someone has to have the courage to say we're moving forward, this is going to be scalable. Another recommendation we have is to create an action plan to develop a comprehensive human resource strategy to address quantity quality, and partnership aspects of the labor force going forward. There's some great work that electricity, Human Resources Canada has done. And, you know, DC 28,000, replacement and new jobs in our sector, by 2050 and that's, the electricity sector at large across Canada. And I did some, I think back of the envelope calculations to try to figure out, okay, some assumptions about distribution. And we're looking at close to 10,000 new positions in the sector, over the next 25 years. Every sector is having challenges, filling current jobs, never mind jobs, that we're not even sure what they are quite yet. So we don't necessarily have the right programs at the universities and colleges or private training institutions to start getting the right people and talent into our organization. And, you know, so we need help for that. And, you know, I am encouraged, I saw a little announcement out of the province yesterday to have more electricians down on the Chatham Kent area, because that's the whole greenhouse industry. And so, I said, Okay, that's exciting. So, people are starting to pay attention, but we need it more than just in one local community, it needs to be province wide. And, you know, like I mentioned before, we need to have more conversations about what the funding models are going to be to fund the energy transition. So, these are some of the issues and recommendations that we're taking forward from our vision paper. But day to day, I guess that's the other thing, I want to mention in terms, the change I've seen, I've never seen us work on so many issues, prepare so many submissions, invest so many staff at various tables and working groups. And we love doing all that work. We love representing our members at every table of discussion possible, but I've never seen so many. And they're not just oh, you're there for a month, and you're done. Some of these they are multi year. So, they have longer legs, because they are far more complex. But you know, we're working every day, you know, for members that way. Very, very proud to represent our sector think it's a fantastic sector. And the fact that they're going to play such a pivotal role in the future makes us only want to work harder to make sure we get the best of everything for our membership.   Trevor Freeman  52:54  Yeah, I know, we echo that at our level, we can certainly see a lot more stakeholdering and engagement happening with all players in the sector, but especially the government as they figure out this energy transition to right, let's not, you know, let's not forget that the government needs to figure out where policy needs to go to lead it, and it's a great role that you're playing to kind of bring the voice of the distributors to the government. Because again, as we've talked about a couple of times, we're really on the front lines, and we're hearing from our customers, and we're seeing what needs to change right at that customer level, in order to enable some of this stuff that's happening so that that conversation between the LDCs and the government I think is really important. So you know, we don't work in a vacuum, I just mentioned a number of stakeholders in our sector. And I highlighted the interconnected nature of our grid at the beginning of our conversation. There are a lot of different players working together to really, at the end goal is bring power to the customer. How do you see the existing model changing or expanding in terms of, you know, the kinds of partnerships that LDCs have moving forward? So you know, you mentioned private equity is being a potential upcoming role. There are things like technology companies that are developing innovative solutions, who, you know, we maybe were a bit more arm's length with in the past. There's a changing nature of our relationship with the customers, you brought up the idea of going from one way power flow to kind of two way back and forth. arrangement. How do you see that partnership evolving in the future?   Teresa Sarkesian  54:30  Well, I think the good news is, there's a very strong foundation knowledge to build on. So, I'm going to talk about three different areas. I'm going to talk about sort of shared services across utilities, and I'll talk about a partnership with the private industry. And I'd like to talk about the engagement with customers as well. So firstly, there's lots of shared services going around in the industry already. There are all kinds of partnerships that members are trying to reduce costs for customers and find the best solution. So instead of saying, having 60 utilities run, seek out the best solution, you know, you get everyone working collaboratively to find a solution at the best price for customers. So, we've seen a lot, just in my 15 years I've been there you've got in the past, there was, you know, common delivery of conservation programs, members work together on common engineering standards, lots of mutual aid assistance agreements across among utilities, for Storm Recovery. I've seen shared billing services, bulk purchasing products, and shared control room practices and services. And I've seen private sector play a much bigger role in utilities, as well. I've had the privilege to attend some openings, and launches of micro grids, where you have maybe a solar company and an energy storage, battery company, that are part of that group with utility, creating a micro grid for their community to provide maybe warming and cooling charging services when there's a major outage, for example. And I've seen now, some smart grids, you know, one that's already been implemented up in the north that has a significant private sector partner. And I've seen it also there's a new one, that's another one in the north, that's going to be developed with a private sector partner. And I've seen, not just Ontario businesses, I've seen what businesses come in one of our members is doing a distribution system operator pilot model with a partner in from Norway. So, I'm really encouraged, I think the foundation is already there to kind of build on all those successes we already have, and do more, you know, and we talked about the customers going forward as well, that they're going to be to help playing a role, or we hope they're going to be playing a role. Because there's a lot of energy, battery storage and solar generation, sort of behind the meter, whether it's a farm, or it's a residential customer, or it's a big industrial customer. And so, we want to be able to optimize all of those resources into the system to be of benefit to all customers to reduce costs. But we'd have to give an incentive to those customers to participate, no one is going to let you know a utility access their, you know, solar panel generation or their battery storage, unless they're going to be getting paid to do so. And I think that's going to be really important going forward, because we don't want to over build the grid, I mean, the grid is going to be so big, going forward. And we have to find ways to avoid over building it. Because we don't want to be in a situation where you know, customers are having to pay too much for a grid that's not properly optimized. So trying to find solutions behind the meter, that will maybe either avoid or delay bigger generation investments or transmission investments, or even actually distribution investments, we want to optimize that. But right now, there's not really a lot of permission to do that. So we need to get that legislative and regulatory permission to do that, to turn those, you know, more passive customers into prosumers, that they're basically your their proactive customers by selling their energy storage back to the grid. So I'm really optimistic. I think we've got a great foundation work to do on the customer peace, letting them participate as prosumers and the system, but I'm pretty optimistic that that we can get that job done.   Trevor Freeman  58:27  Yeah, I think it really highlights, there's a lot to be excited about when it comes to the change, that's going to happen. There's a lot of opportunity out there both for the LDCs, for the other stakeholders for our customers, that this energy transition, this change is going to bring about, you know, there's some challenges to I know, he talked about the challenges. I wonder, though, what do you see, as you know, one of the single biggest are a series of risks to achieving the vision that you've outlined in the paper, how could this go off the rails and not happen the way we need it to happen?   Teresa Sarkesian  59:03  Well, I always like to be glass half full as opposed to half empty, but you're taking me down that road? Trevor? So I'm going to answer that question.   Trevor Freeman  59:11  It's my job.   Teresa Sarkesian  59:11  So you know, obviously, our vision for the future role is big, but it's practical. The energy transition is upon us now. It's not something to contemplate for the future. So we think that the biggest risk is effectively inaction or kind of, you know, kicking the issue down the road, 510 years. We're seeing this right, nearby jurisdictions in the US are taking action. There's been significant funding out of the Biden administration, for all kinds of initiatives from you know, cybersecurity, to grid modernization down there. They're doing they're very competitive. They want to attract businesses, to the US. And so, you know, that's a major competition for Ontario. So if we don't seize the opportunities to kind of start working on these important issues now, we could lose economic development opportunities, we could lose jobs, we could lose investment, we could lose our talent as well, that may want to move to another jurisdiction. So to mitigate that risk, the LDCs, and policymakers have to work together on developing a shared vision around electrification and grid modernization, develop a plan of action and create a realistic timeline to turn that vision into reality.   Trevor Freeman  1:00:26  Yeah, it's a it's a great point. And I think it's important for people to understand that change is happening, the change is going to happen, whether we want it to or not. And, you know, often sometimes people say, Are we are we really going to see this change? I think we're already seeing it, we're already seeing customers want to change the way they interact with energy. The risk here is if we don't react quick enough or properly enough, the costs of that change becomes higher the reliability of the grid that we're working with, goes down, that general customer experience is not where it needs to be. And then you've highlighted some other ones, you know, we can really struggle with talent if we're not offering them the kind of cool innovative roles that they're looking for. But the neighboring jurisdiction is, so it's not so much that the change may or may not happen, it's how do we react to it in a way that really serves all of our stakeholder the best. So, Teresa, this has been a really great conversation. And I really appreciate you taking the time to join us and chat with us today. I think there's a number of things that we talked about today that really set up future conversations I'm going to have nicely. So thanks for the half for teeing that up. And this is your second time on the show. No doubt, there'll be a third time because I think there's a lot more that down the road, we can we can pick apart. So thanks for that. We typically end our interviews here with some common questions to all our guests. So to start off, what is a book that you've read that you think everybody should read?   Teresa Sarkesian  1:01:56  So one I recently enjoyed it's by a friend too. By Darrell Bricker, he wrote Empty Planet, and that is very, very good talks about actually declining global population. And what that means from everything from, you know, businesses to climate change to pension plans. So it's a fascinating read. People have time for it.   Trevor Freeman  1:02:19  Yeah, very cool. I'll check that out. So kind of the same question. What's a movie or a show that you'd recommend to everybody?   Teresa Sarkesian  1:02:24  I watched one a few months ago was a Netflix series called the Blue Zone. And it was an investigation on people who had made it to 100 I think they called Central Jamarion's I can't remember the name. But basically, they interviewed all these people living around the world about what it takes to get to be 100. So I really enjoyed it. It was just, it was just very beautifully done. And the people they talked to, I found fascinating and so interesting. So I really enjoyed it.   Trevor Freeman  1:02:52  Yeah, I also watched that one that was really great. If somebody offered you a free round trip flight anywhere in the world, where would you go

Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator President and CEO, Lesley Gallinger, is in conversation with host Francis Bradley about the challenges the system faces in the transition to a decarbonized future. They discuss the role of the IESO, rising electricity demand, resource adequacy, and the importance of engagement with Indigenous Peoples and communities. Lesley shares some perspectives on the work of the Canadian Electricity Advisory Council and some of the factors that will impact the timing of Ontario meeting its decarbonization ambitions. The conversation closes with two excellent recommendations for additions to the Flux Capacitor Book Club.Links: The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO): https://ieso.ca/ Lesley Gallinger at the IESO: https://ieso.ca/Corporate-IESO/Leadership/Executive-Team Lesley Gallinger on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-gallinger-784a194/?originalSubdomain=ca IESO's Pathways to Decarbonization report: https://www.ieso.ca/en/Learn/The-Evolving-Grid/Pathways-to-Decarbonization The Canadian Electricity Advisory Council: https://natural-resources.canada.ca/our-natural-resources/energy-sources-distribution/electricity-infrastructure/the-canada-electricity-advisory-council/25297 Book recommendations:My Life in Full: Work, Family, and Our Future,by Indra Nooyi: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57499853-my-life-in-full Working Effectively with Indigenous Peoples, by Bob Joseph and Cynthia F. Joseph:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36988156-working-effectively-with-indigenous-peoples?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=ngI9EMHqcd&rank=1

On February 16, 2024, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) announced some proposed changes to the draft Clean Electricity Regulations (CER). Initially released in August 2023, the draft legislation requires electricity production in Canada to be net zero by 2035. Peter and Jackie start the podcast by reviewing the recently proposed changes and discuss whether these changes are enough to win over the provinces that object to the proposed CER, including Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontario.Next, they introduce this week's guest, the Honourable Todd Smith, Ontario's Energy Minister and MLA for the Bay of Quinte in Ontario. Since the Conservatives came to power in 2018, Todd Smith has held various cabinet positions.Here are some of the questions that Peter and Jackie asked Minister Smith: When the Ontario Conservatives first came into power, renewable electricity projects that were agreed to under the Liberal government's feed-in tariff (FIT) program were canceled, yet now Ontario is procuring new capacity for wind, hydro, biomass, and solar generation, why the change? Is Ontario having a nuclear renaissance? What are the plans to expand nuclear electricity? Where will Ontario source the enriched uranium for the new nuclear power plants? Is it realistic to see nuclear plants operating in other parts of Canada, such as Saskatchewan and Alberta? What is the role of natural gas for power generation and residential heating in Ontario? In November 2023, the Ontario IESO wrote a letter to the Federal Government on the proposed CER, saying, “The CER as drafted is unachievable by 2035 in Ontario…the policy would cause a resource shortfall”; what are your concerns and do the changes announced on February 16th improve the situation? Are you working with any other provinces that oppose the CER?Content referenced in this podcast: - ECCC's Proposed Changes to the CER (February 16, 2024)- The Ontario IESO's letter to the federal government on the proposed CER Please review our disclaimer at: https://www.arcenergyinstitute.com/disclaimer/  Check us out on social media:  X (Twitter): @arcenergyinst LinkedIn: @ARC Energy Research Institute  Subscribe to ARC Energy Ideas Podcast Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Amazon Music Spotify  

Host Chad Hughes welcomes Jennifer Tidmarsh, Vice President of Indigenous Relations & Partnerships with Ontario Power Generation, to the show. Jennifer talks about the development of small modular reactors in the nuclear space and the challenges surrounding presenting those solutions to the community.Jennifer explains some of the public perceptions around nuclear power that have been shaped by events like Three Mile Island, Fukushima, and Chernobyl, and even pop culture references like the nuclear power plant in The Simpsons. Her work involves a lot of education around changing those perceptions and explaining the new initiatives in place for nuclear waste management. Chad and Jennifer discuss the Indigenous community's concerns about the storage and handling of nuclear waste, specific facts about nuclear waste, the complex regulatory process for it, and the value of nuclear energy for the future. Jennifer sheds light on the environmental assessments that go into nuclear power generation and how the OPG works to alleviate negative perceptions of nuclear overall and educate the public on safeties in place.“But really the perception has been we want more information about nuclear as a whole, not just those little snippets of, okay, here's the permit we need for this, for the reactor. It's where does nuclear fit into the Ontario grid, and why are you doing this? So we've spent a lot of time really talking about, you know, pathways to decarbonization, which was a report that was put out by the IESO. And you know what, the fact that we need generation and why do we need generation and what's the plan going forward. And so that's been, you know, us doing a lot of that groundwork. And we have had pushback. You know, I can't sugarcoat it all, right?” - Jennifer TidmarshAbout Jennifer Tidmarsh:With a strong background in the energy sector, Jennifer has worked with various organizations, associations, regulated and unregulated businesses, Indigenous communities, governments, and ministerial departments. Prior to becoming the Vice President of Indigenous Relations and Partnerships at Ontario Power Generation, Jennifer was the President of Transmission in Canada for NextEra Energy, the largest renewables developer in North America. In addition to business development in Canada, Jennifer also led the development and construction of the East West Tie transmission project in Northwestern Ontario, which went into service in March 2022.  The East West Tie project is proud to have an equity partner in six First Nations communities, as well as training and employing a large Indigenous workforce in the region.---Chad Hughes | CEO, Entrepreneurial Leader, Author: website |linkedinJennifer Tidmarsh | Vice President, Indigenous Relations & Partnerships: website | linkedin | opg instagram

Small-scale technologies like solar panels and on-site battery storage are empowering homeowners, businesses, and entire communities to become more energy independent. In this episode, we talk with Dick Bakker, Director of the Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-operative (OREC), about his personal switch to solar power, OREC's role as an advocate for renewable energy, and more. Related links   Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-operative: https://www.orec.ca/ Dick's article: https://www.orec.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Vistas-Jan-2024-2pages.pdf Hydro Ottawa: https://hydroottawa.com/en To subscribe using Apple Podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinkenergy/id1465129405   To subscribe using Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7wFz7rdR8Gq3f2WOafjxpl   To subscribe on Libsyn: http://thinkenergy.libsyn.com/ --- Subscribe so you don't miss a video: YouTube   Follow along on Instagram   Stay in the know on Facebook   Keep up with the posts on X --- Transcript: Dan Seguin  00:06 This is thinkenergy, the podcast that helps you better understand the fast changing world of energy through conversations with game changers, industry leaders, and influencers. So join me, Dan Seguin, as I explore both traditional and unconventional facets of the energy industry. Hey, everyone, welcome back. In today's era, there is a growing desire among residents to take charge of their energy consumption not only to manage costs, but also to actively generate their own power. Traditionally, electricity has been generated at large power plants and transmitted over extensive distances to homes and businesses, leaving consumers with little influence over the source of their electricity. However, advancements in small scale technologies such as solar panels and onsite battery storage are empowering homeowners, businesses, and entire communities to become energy self-sufficient. In addition to these technologies, the integration of smart thermostats, vehicle to grid charging stations and heat pumps is further reshaping the dialogue around energy generation, conservation, and being active participants in an emission free future. Today, Canadians have the opportunity to take control of virtually every aspect of their energy consumption and interaction. The landscape of energy is evolving, putting the power back into the hands of individuals and communities alike. So here's today's big question. What role will innovative technologies and decentralized energy solutions play in shaping the future energy independence for individuals and communities? Joining us today is Dick Bakker, an Ottawa area homeowner that recently published an article about his experience installing a solar panel system on his home. Dick is also the director of an auto renewable energy cooperative, so brings a unique perspective on other small scale renewable projects his organization has been involved in. Dick, welcome to the show.   Dick Bakker  02:34 Thank you very much.   Dan Seguin  02:36 Now, you recently published an article about the process of installing solar panels on your home. What inspired you and your family to make the switch to solar power? And why did you decide to share your experience in this article,   Dick Bakker  02:52 It was a long process, I actually had to go back to 98 when the ice storm hit Eastern, Northeastern the US and Canada. At that time, I was working in the internet equipment business. And I watched the world stop and became fascinated with how it happened. And that caused a restart and an interest in energy that I had from the 70s during the oil crisis. And I found the electricity grid to be very similar to the telecom industry, then in oh three. So in 98, we were out of power here for seven days. People across the road had power, so we're okay, but we just didn't have power in our house. We just live with them. Then in Oh, three the trees in Ohio shut down North America again. And I couldn't believe that that could happen again. But at that time, Ontario was the last jurisdiction in North America to come back on stream fully. It took us almost four weeks for the whole province to come back. But Quebec was lit up okay. And they actually had bars on the hunt in the hall side looking at the lights going off in Ontario. But I asked myself why the heck is this. And I realized very quickly that it was because of our big nuclear plants. They're so big, and so rigid. The premier at the time couldn't get the citizens of Ontario to turn off their air conditioning units because of the heatwave we were in. And Quebec was unaffected. Well, why? And I learned it is the centralized nature of Ontario's power grid, and the lack of demand management that we have here. Because of that, anyway, I became fascinated with electricity regulations, and all of that. And that eventually led to me becoming part of the Ottawa renewable energy cooperative, where I learned through hard knocks the problems of the electricity system, the predatory protective regulations, and this new idea called distributed energy resources. Anyway, long and short, I finally realized that we needed to do something at home. And that came about eventually to us putting solar on the house when certain regulations changed. I wrote the article so that I could share my experiences of how the Ontario electricity system works, what we can do about it, and I wrote it for the local community newspaper, the VISTAs, I live in Alta Vista. And through my work at Oreck and my own interests in this house and making it more efficient and cheaper to run, I learned an awful lot and that information should be spread, I thought, okay, Dick,   Dan Seguin  05:24 In your article, you mentioned the challenges you and your neighbors face during the durational storm that hit Ottawa in 2022. And the tornado in 2018. How did these experiences influence your decision to invest in solar and other distributed energy resources specifically?   Dick Bakker  05:46 Well, specific? A lot. They were instrumental. So I've lived in this house for 30 years and Alta Vista, we've been out of power for longer than five days, four times. In the 98 ice storm, the 2003 trees in Ohio that fell over and shut down North America, 2018 Tornado, and the 2022 Derecho. And then there was also another big ice storm in the spring of 23. But we'll leave that aside, it didn't affect us too much. So after the 2022 Derecho, my neighbor and I were discussing what had happened, were both out for 10 days, and he was beside himself because he didn't have anywhere to go. They want to get off the grid completely. And he knew I was involved in the Ottawa, renewable energy cooperative, or Rec. And I told him, You can't go off grid because it's not worthwhile. It's not effective, you're getting a subsidized price of electricity, which didn't, he didn't like hearing that. But I said, you're just we're just not paying enough for our electricity. We're getting it so cheap, it doesn't make sense to put solar on your roof. Besides, we both had trees in our cell site. So that was then I explained to him the centralized nature of the grid. 60% of our power comes from three nuclear sites. Bruce Darlington and Pickering. Pickering being 14%. The pension funds like to invest in big centralized power plants, big shiny objects that the world can see. And the long lines that bring the power from way over there to our little corner is like a cash stream that the incumbents want to keep. They're not interested in distributed energy resources, or D are spread around. But that's where we should be going that time in 2022. Knowing what I knew of the regulations and the orientation of the provincial government, I couldn't see ever having the potential to put solar on your house. Sorry, I couldn't see the financial justification of putting solar on the house. And on top of that, the present government is subsidizing our electricity bills to the tune of 7 billion a year five and a half billion of that is going to general subsidies to the middle class and upper class not targeted to the poor. So at some point that's going to rise. The rating agencies will correct that by threatening to downgrade Ontario's credit rating but all that to say it's still subsidized, so it's not worth putting it on. Then in 2023, January, the Ontario government came out with some changes and started encouraging net metering and local generation.   Dan Seguin  08:28 Okay, now, did you also discuss the changing landscape of Ontario's electricity rules, specifically mentioning the Ontario Energy Boards directive in 2023? What changed that, in your opinion, helped to facilitate the adoption of solar power and what challenges still exist for homeowners today?   Dick Bakker  08:51 Thanks, Dan. That directive from the Ontario Energy Board and 23 was was a game changer for the province. I don't think they realize what potential they unleash them. So from 2018 When the Conservative government took power, they had a big grid only mentality. They wanted big power plants and long lines to deliver the power to the homes and the rules around net metering, which is the only way you can put solar on your house and stay connected to the grid. That's where you generate power, consume it yourself, and trade credits for your over summer for your summer overproduction for your winter consumption or purchases from the grid. So that pricing scheme was basically rigged against the homeowner because homeowners were forced to go to the tiered pricing scheme. So just on that situation, and up until 2023. Net metering wasn't very cost effective because of the pricing, but it could work. Technically, the grid acts as a battery so you're never out of power. So that rule kept me way from thinking of solar on my house. Also, I had trees to the south of the house. So the best place to put the solar panels wouldn't be productive. I don't want to cut the trees down, because that keeps my air conditioning costs low, and they're nice. But then in 23, the province changed the rules around net metering, and came up with an ultra low overnight rate. So the key thing about net metering, they said the local distribution companies would have to give the net metering customer the option to pick their rate class. So you go to a time of use rate if you wish. And then you get value for your time value of electricity. So if you're producing an high rate, you get the high rate in your credits. Okay, so that's good, then they came up with an ultra low overnight time of use rate, third rate class to encourage every user to charge at night, not during the evening dinnertime when everybody's turning on lights and eaters and all their devices. So they want to reduce consumption during the peak hour, and increase consumption at the low hour. And if you produce solar during the four to 9pm, period at 28 cents, that's what you pay, you get credits for 28 cents, that is much better economics for the homeowner, the end user and the solar producer. That's when I realized that my house was actually ideal because I've got a very low sloped roof. The South Side is full of trees, but the north side is clear. And the North side's going to produce more during the four to eight o'clock pm in the summertime at 28 cents. So one hour of that can offset 10 hours at the 2.8 cents for the low rate. So that was one thing. The other thing is I have an EV. We have heat pumps. We just installed a heat pump water heater, so I can time shift my consumption to the low overnight rate, I think it's pretty good. I still think the cost of electricity is going to rise more. So my return on investment is only going to improve because putting all of this in is an insurance policy against that rising cost of electricity. You also asked what are the continuing challenges? The challenges for solar? on the residential side are buildings and trees. How's the building built? Which way are the roofs pointing? Where are the trees? What kind of shading do they throw? But the good thing is that in the summertime, the sun is very high in Canada, so the sun will come straight down more or less. And in the wintertime when there's no snow on your roof. Or even if there's a little bit of snow on the roof. Solar production is marginally better because it's cold. So the physics is better. So there's still lots of opportunity for solar even in this cold northern climate. The challenges are of course buildings and trees to a certain point the supply chain there aren't enough installers, electricians to do all the work that should be done can be done hydro Ottawa, a staff just to get the installations done the upgrades for the grid. But hydro Ottawa needs Ottawa residents to spend this money on their own Diyar so that you can meet your new targets for the year. So I think people who do this on their own are doing it for themselves, but indirectly they're doing it for the betterment of the overall grid, driving down the cost of electricity. Solar does not drive up the cost of electricity when producing nuclear plants drives up the cost of electricity. Okay.   Dan Seguin  13:40 Could you maybe provide more details on the cost and capacity of your solar panel system? What were the economic aspects of your investment, including any government incentives or rebates that may have influenced your decision?   Dick Bakker  13:56 So in my specific installation, I have 37 panels in total. 24 of them are on the north slope and 13 panels on the south slope. So total DC kilowatt of 14.43. That's going through a nine kilowatt inverter. I have no panels on the south slope because there are three big trees there. If I had panels there, it would probably be a third smaller for the same generation. So over 12 months, I expect to generate about 10,246 kilowatt hours. That's 78% of 2020 two's consumption and my electricity consumption includes 90% of our driving because I have an Eevee and a plug in hybrid Evie 90% of our driving 100% of our cooling 40% of our heating a little more than 40% this year because it's a warm winter and 100% of our lights and appliances. So I've got a gas station on my roof and I've got a furnace on my roof effectively because of the ultra low overnight time of use rate. I am confident that with time shifting I can cover 100% of my electricity purchases, not my connection charges 100% of my electricity cost with something like 78% of my electricity kilowatts, because of the time shifting between ultra low and peak rate, the overall cost was $30,478 for the equipment, plus HST electricity upgrade to 200 amp service, some internal wiring changes, and I reached angled under the panels on the north and east, I didn't do the South because it doesn't quite need it effectively, I future proof my house for 30 plus years of electricity, I've given myself 30 years plus of electricity, price insurance and forced savings. And I predict that the credit rating agencies at some point will force the province to reduce the subsidies we're giving to the middle and the upper class and electricity costs. And that'll drive up the electricity rates a little bit, not massively, and I'll be protected from that. or whoever's living here because I'm getting old. So I think the house value of homes that have solar are going to hold their value better than a new kitchen cabinet or a new, new whatever that the new owner pulls out and replaces, you know, you're not going to be replacing solar on a roof if it's reducing your utility bills.   Dan Seguin  16:23 Okay, now our batteries, shifting your energy use away from daytime usage, or other distributed energy resources a consideration?   Dick Bakker  16:33 Well, that's a very good question, because the one thing I haven't done in the house yet is put a battery and a disconnect Island. And that's the next thing I'm going to look at during the summertime, I do these things one at a time to make sure they work and see how they operate. So the next thing will be a battery probably in the garage, if it's appropriate. And the not sure the proper technical term islanding device to allow me to operate separate from the grid. And if I ever buy another car, it'll be an Eevee with to a charging, so that I'll be able to charge my house and the battery over the course of the year, so the battery will be there for a disaster. But over the course of the year, I'll be able to draw power from the solar on the roof, and from the grid at the low rate stored and discharge it to the grid during the peak rate. So that makes my neighbor's grid a little more resilient. And in a crisis, I can be Island as opposed to the noisy gas generators that are sitting around my neighborhood.   Dan Seguin  17:37 Shifting gears a bit now as the director of the auto renewable energy cooperatives since its creation in 2009. Can you share how it works? And what are some of the projects that your coop has built?   Dick Bakker  17:54 Sure, certainly. So OREC is a for profit, renewable energy Co Op that enables residents of Ottawa to be restricted to Ontario by certain rules that I won't get into. So it allows residents of Ottawa and mostly Eastern Ontario but Ontario to benefit from distributed energy resources in their own region, we build our own renewable energy generation. Presently, solar and wind, energy conservation assets, commercial building, lighting installation, retrofit projects that keep the electrons jobs and profits local. So we have 22 solar systems in place now, most of them or the feed in tariff contracts. Three of them are net metering projects, one at the Museum of Science and Tech, two at the French Catholic High School Board, Mere Blue and Paul Desmarais. And then 18 other feed in tariff contracts where we have a contract to sell the power to the grid. At a net metering project. We sell the power to the building. Then we also have two wind projects down in southwestern Ontario and three energy retrofit projects. We had five but two of them have finished their contractor. So the solar projects are on housing coops, burns, schools, museums, factories, and two of them are I'd say medium sized ground mounts, 500 kilowatt ground mounts, the two wind projects. One is a 2.3 megawatt project at Tiverton, just outside of the Bruce nuclear plant and a little funny story I like to tell everyone is that the Bruce nuclear plant doesn't supply power to the neighborhood. All the electricity from Bruce nuclear goes to Toronto on the transmission lines because they connect it to the distribution grid and Temperton that blows all the light bulbs so they feed Toronto and then it trickles all the way back to Tim Burton. The wind project that we have outside of Tim Burton is a standalone turbine and it feeds the distribution grid. So should heaven forbid should Bruce nuclear go down? Some of the people will have electricity coming from our wind turbine. The people that are working at Bruce nuclear will have power at home, not because of the nuclear plant. The second wind turbine is an 800 kilowatt project in Zurich directly south of there. That's a wonderful area for wind. Most of the wind projects in that area are large projects owned by American pension funds, feeding Toronto, all of the power is going on the transmission lines. So getting back to Oh, Rick in general. So we have solar wind and lighting retrofits at the IRA center, condo, and housing coops. All of our projects are revenue generating with proven technologies and solid counterparties. So pretty comfortable with the security of those assets. The board is made up of pretty experienced people, engineers, lawyers, business development, accountants comms people. I'm a bit of a generalist. But I have worked in telecom and technical fields my whole life, not as an engineer, we have 980 members, 500 of them, about half of them have invested over $11 million in equity and debt in our project since we started. And we've paid dividends every year since 2013. When our first project came online, we had repaid to our members over 3.5 million in dividends, interest and capital repayment with very little outside debt, we'd rather pair members than banks, no offense banks, but we want to keep the money within the family within the community. Our main function is to act as an investment cooperative for our members. So we spend most of our time looking for projects to build and or buy, and then raise the community capital to build, operate, repeat, get more projects, raise more capital, pay out the dividends and capital. But we do have to spend an awful lot of money on advocacy work to change the regulations, or maintain whatever regulations are, to promote distributed energy resources of all types. But the second core function that we want to do more of is utilize the knowledge of our 1000 members and create them. It's happening already organically, but we want to have more regular information sessions between our members who are doing things like I just did. We have the largest concentration of any 1000 People in the Ottawa Valley in the province. I think of people who have D er installed in their homes. So we have a lot of end users, battery users, people with knowledge of heat pumps and stuff like that. So we are a group of friends with knowledge of the ER.   Dan Seguin  22:34 Okay now, Dick, when did things really take off with the co-op? And are members seeing dividends?   Dick Bakker  22:42 Well, that's a good question. Because the first offering that we raised was in 2012. And we didn't know how it was going to go, it actually went better than we expected, our minimum requirement was to raise half a million dollars. And in those nine weeks that we had, we raised $970,000, and more cash than we actually needed for what we had to do. And ever since then, we've we're now on our 10th Raise, each raise has gone better than expected. We've always raised more cash than we had projects at that time. So for a period there, we were building up too much cash and didn't have enough projects for them. So projects come more harder than the money or the members, the membership has grown very well. And the equity in the cooperative has been very good. And I'm also proud to say that we've paid dividends every year, since 2013. In the last couple of years, it's been 4%. We'd like it to be higher, but we've had to build everything from scratch without any outside cash. We've just started our latest raise, it's going to close on August 28, I believe. And we're looking for new members with new equity, and that equity can be RRSP or TFSA. It's an investment in the portfolio of 27 existing projects, and the new projects that we're going to be building in the coming year.   Dan Seguin  24:11 Now, let's talk about the changing relationship between electricity consumers and producers. How do you see this evolving in the coming years? And what role do you think individuals and communities will play in the broader energy transition?   Dick Bakker  24:32 This is going to be the biggest change in our society in the coming years. I think we're going to move from being ratepayers with very little agency beyond paying our bills and turning off lights to prosumers or producer consumers who have the ability to produce electricity for conservation, which is what I'm doing or for profit and or for profit when the regulations in Ontario Are you allow hydro Ottawa to buy excess power from homeowners? Right now you can't. So we'll be able to conserve and profit from our assets on our roof. And we'll also be able to actively manage our consumption, again for conservation and profit. So right now we're able to reduce our demand and shift our demand from peak load to low load. But in the future, I'm pretty sure that Ontario will follow California and New York and allow for aggressive demand response programs. And what we'd like to do at some point in the future, as OREC is allow our members to pool their batteries and solar panels and air conditioners, so that we can turn down consumption as the grid gets choked or or constrained. So we just saw what happened in Alberta, they had no demand management program, they turned down some gas plants for renovation in the peak of winter, and then they got hit with a big demand. During a cold period. The only way they got out of their problem was begging their customers to turn down their home heating systems. The citizens responded, but the downtown office towers left their lights on all night. That's absurd. So going forward, I think that the LDCs will be paying people to turn down their demand, because we need the grid to be balanced. We don't need excess generation or excess demand or under demand, we need everything balanced. So a megawatt is as good as a megawatt.   Dan Seguin  26:52 Okay, thank you for that, in your opinion now. What is the city or province doing well, and what improvements need to be made? Now you gotta behave?   Dick Bakker  27:04 I'll try to behave. How long do we have? I don't want to rant. But it's hard not to. On the city site. If there's a climate emergency act like there is one, people should not be buying coffee from an idling car. Housing is energy, stopping natural gas expansion. The Better Homes program is a wonderful program of the city. Because it addresses the upfront costs of retrofitting and DTR and solar and all those things. It ties that cost to a 20 year loan fixed to the House tax bill, not to the person. I'm 68. I may not be in this house for 10 years, I tend to be here longer, but my intention and reality may be different. So we need to have the cost of long term assets spread over years. The Better Homes program says that the city should be encouraging solar and small wind for resilience purposes. Every large group should have solar and there should be wind turbines scattered throughout Eastern Ontario, not just in rural areas in batches of 50. There should be a couple of wind turbines in urban Ottawa with the proper setbacks. That's the city in the province. Every month Ontario's paying out $1.3 billion in gasoline and diesel costs. There's lots of money for the energy transition. You just have to shift it around. Let the nuclear plants run their course, don't shut them down early, but don't pour money down a sinkhole. We just announced today Pickering expansion, well Pickering retrofit, it's the oldest nuclear plant in North America. The province is in a pickle because they know the nukes will be late. The small modular reactors aren't small modular. They are big reactors, they can only go on the transmission lines. That demand is all over the province at the end of the distribution lines where we live and work and EVs and heat pumps are so just let the nuclear plants slow down or wear out. The Donsky Report to the Independent Electricity systems operator said the lowest cost of new energy in the provinces D er of all types. It's just regulations that are stopping it and it makes the province more resilient. So the province can have every city have a similar program to Otto as the Better Homes program. Secondly, remove the Ontario electricity rebate that's putting $5.5 million dollars of taxpayer money into the pockets of people who leave their lights on and put that money instead in the distribution lines allow every kind of virtual net metering in the province especially community solar gardens so that citizens could own the solar on a swimming pool hockey rink. Any facility that is used for a disaster recovery facility should be generating power day to day and then have the ability to island in a crisis and resilience See should be the first order of the electricity grid, proper costs but resiliency and localized and generally liberalize the rules around generation and distribution. Okay,   Dan Seguin  30:10 Does the co-op or its members have an objective to promote or advocate for renewable energy and distributed energy resources in the community or with local governments? Yes,   Dick Bakker  30:23 In every way, as a co op, and with other coops for community scale projects, 100 kilowatt to one or two megawatt is the size of projects that is natural for us. That's the kind of thing that citizens are going to be interested in and seeing and owning, but we are going to work in the bigger projects on the transmission side, but we're advocating for that all the time, spend a lot more time helping our members to act as individuals with information and examples, the whole idea of friends with knowledge to get them to put in their own home systems. So yes, we spend way too much time advocating on behalf of the ER.   Dan Seguin  31:03 Okay, now, are you seeing your co-op's focus areas reflected in government policy, either municipally or provincially? How do you ensure your voices are heard?   Dick Bakker  31:17 We're starting to see a focus on D er, but I'm not yet seeing action, hard, hard action on the ER except for a few exceptions. Hydro Ottawa with the IESO is right now focused on solar DERs as a conservation measure, there's a bunch of regulations around it. I won't get into that right now. So that's good. And the dusky report and the ultra low time of use rate, those are all very good things. But today, they've just announced the massive expenditure on Pickering, which locks us further into the centralized focus of the province. The orientation of all electricity grids is to build big things far away that will break at some point. We're here in Ottawa, and we see all these federal buildings, there's only a few of them that have sold on them. The federal government doesn't do a good job of buying from small organizations like us. So we've had lots of discussions with the feds, but they want to do massive things that the reporters can write about. We're advocating as ourselves and with other coops nationally and provincially in every province, because that's where electricity and Co Op law resides. And we have formed a national association called the Community Energy cooperatives Canada, which is based in Saskatoon right now and has 25 coops from across the country. The fastest growing area of renewable energy coops in Canada is Alberta because they have the most liberalized power grid. So that'll be our national voice. But it'll be a voice at the federal and more importantly, at the provincial level, because that's where electricity lives. We work a lot with the European res Co Op, who have been very successful in Europe to get the EU to pass a directive that says every citizen of the EU has the right to own, operate, store, share, and save their own renewable electricity. So if we get the federal government to encourage that, all they can do is bribe, encourage and embarrass the provinces. If we could get the federal government to pass a directive like that. That's EU directive 2018 -201. If anybody's interested, we get that kind of directive from the federal government. That'll put pressure and embarrassment on the provinces to loosen up their grids. Alberta and Nova Scotia have moved the furthest along in this area, Ontario and Quebec and Manitoba and Saskatchewan are the big laggards but we have to move that way and oh wreck with our friends in the other coops can push that. We're all voters. We're all voting with our money and our ballots, and the last thing, banks will notice the difference.   Dan Seguin  34:03 Lastly, Dick, we always end our interviews with some rapid fire questions.Are you ready?   Dick Bakker  34:12 Yes, sir.   Dan Seguin  34:13 Okay, what are you reading right now?   Dick Bakker  34:16 Well, two books, one is called treeing energy by Bill Nussey. It's all about the wonderful economics of Home DER technologies. And the other is by my favorite author Guy Vanderhaeghe, August Into Winter. And not a book but fascinating about Saskatchewan and rural Saskatchewan and Manitoba crime scene set in 39. With the Spanish Civil War in the coming world war two is the backdrop. It's great.   Dan Seguin  34:44 What would you name your boat if you had one? Or do you have one?   Dick Bakker  34:47 There ain't no easy road. Those are the words of a song I love called Jericho by Fred Eagle Smith. My wife gave me a paddle with this phrase on it a few years ago as a birthday present.   Dan Seguin  34:59 Next, who is someone that you admire?   Dick Bakker  35:01 Peggy my, my wife, mother of my children, business partner, best friend and a no BS problem solver.   Dan Seguin  35:09 Okay? What was the closest thing to real magic that you've witnessed   Dick Bakker  35:15 Birth of a child who grows into an adult who has a child. Now,   Dan Seguin  35:19 Now, as a result of the pandemic? Many of us are guilty of watching a little too much TV or movies. What is your favorite movie or show? What are you watching right now?   Dick Bakker  35:31 I'd have to say the Danish movie Borgan. It's a Danish TV series on politics and the trade offs and the personalities that shows the human side of difficult decision making. It's great.   Dan Seguin  35:46 Lastly, what is exciting you about your industry right now?   Dick Bakker  35:51 Well, the electricity industry has got the possibility to democratize energy to revitalize communities and especially rural communities. So with renewables and DDR and cooperatives, we can keep the electrons' jobs and profits local. Okay,   Dan Seguin  36:10 Dick, our listeners, if they want to learn more about you, how do they connect?   Dick Bakker  36:15 Probably the best way is to go online and check. www.orec.ca or orec website.   Dan Seguin  36:24 This is it. We've reached the end of another episode of The thinkenergy podcast. Thank you so much for joining me today. I hope you had a lot of fun. Cheers.   Dick Bakker  36:33 I did. Thank you very much, Dan. It's wonderful.   Dan Seguin  36:37 Thanks for tuning in for another episode of the thinkenergy podcast. Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review wherever you're listening. And to find out more about today's guests or previous episodes, visit thinkenergypodcast.com I hope you'll join us again next time as we spark even more conversations about the energy of tomorrow.  

As demand for electricity increases, the need to diversify supply is also on the rise. In Episode 120 of thinkenergy, Lesley Gallinger, CEO of Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), unpacks what's driving the transformation of the province's power system, the potential opportunities, and the obstacles standing in the way. From hydrogen innovation to resource procurement, listen in to learn how the IESO is helping Ontario navigate to a cleaner, reliable, and affordable energy future. Related links ●     Lesley Gallinger on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-gallinger-784a194/ ●     Lesley Gallinger on Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/lmgallinger ●     IESO website: https://www.ieso.ca/ ●     Hydrogen Innovation Fund: https://www.ieso.ca/en/Get-Involved/Innovation/Hydrogen-Innovation-Fund/Overview ●     Powering Ontario's Growth report: https://www.ontario.ca/page/powering-ontarios-growth To subscribe using Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinkenergy/id1465129405 To subscribe using Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7wFz7rdR8Gq3f2WOafjxpl To subscribe on Libsyn: http://thinkenergy.libsyn.com/ --- Subscribe so you don't miss a video: https://www.youtube.com/user/hydroottawalimited Check out our cool pics on https://www.instagram.com/hydroottawa More to Learn on https://www.facebook.com/HydroOttawa Keep up with the Tweets at https://twitter.com/thinkenergypod _________________________________________________________ TRANSCRIPT: Daniel Seguin: This is Think Energy, the podcast that helps you better understand the fast changing world of energy through conversations with game changers, industry leaders and influencers. So join me, Dan Seguin, as I explore both traditional and unconventional facets of the energy industry. Hey everyone, welcome back. In 1902 electrical pioneers met for the first time in Berlin now Kitchener, Ontario to discuss wiring Ontario's customers together to form a provincial electricity grid. Ontario's electricity grid, like all grids around the world was designed as a one way street, to generate, transmit, and deliver electricity to customers. It's no secret that nowadays new technologies are shaking up the way we produce and use electricity. Back then, these pioneers likely couldn't have imagined that the electricity grid would become a two way interactive system capable of supporting variable supply from renewable energy or accommodating electric vehicles, energy storage, home generation, and a host of other innovations. As the demand for electricity grows, Ontario's supply is diversifying, evolving and transforming at a speed we haven't seen in this industry. One thing is for certain, it's going to be one electrifying ride. On today's show, we're diving into the heart of Ontario's power system and shining a light on the organization that manages the province electricity sector. As we mentioned before, we are at the forefront of a power revolution. Of course, we need someone driving the ship to provide guidance on how Ontario's power system adopts a cleaner and more interactive machine. So here's today's big question. What is driving the transformation of Ontario's power system? And what are the potential opportunities and challenges? Joining us today is Lesley Gallinger, president and chief executive officer of the Ontario Independent Electricity System Operator. Under her leadership, the IESO oversees the safe and reliable operation of Ontario's bulk electricity system, ensuring affordable electricity is available when and where people need it. Lesley, so great to have you join us today. Now, your knowledge and experience of the electricity industry is extensive. Can you talk to us a bit about what drew you to a career in energy sector? And what led you to your current role? Lesley Gallinger: Well, thank you for that, Dan. It's great to be here, and I have spent the majority of my career in the electricity sector after spending the first third in a different sector. I certainly benefited from working all across North America and in Europe, for some very sophisticated multinational organizations with very talented team members. However, I always had this interest in electricity. And just for a funny story, my first grade school in Ontario was Sir Adam Beck, so I wonder if that was a bit of foreshadowing. But in reality, I had friends and colleagues in the sector who spoke quite passionately about the impact they were making with the work they were doing. And I was attracted to that. And sure I had some skills that I thought would be transferable. And the role that I have now embodies all of that, as we at the IESO are helping inform and execute on energy policy on electricity policy, specifically that will support Ontarians as we transition to an electrified and decarbonized future. I honestly couldn't imagine a better role to be in at this moment. Daniel Seguin: At a high level Lesley, what is the Independent Electricity System Operator and what is it responsible for with respect to Ontario's power system? Lesley Gallinger: The IESO works at the heart of Ontario's electricity system, ensuring that electricity is available where and when it is needed. We monitor Ontario's demand in real time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, balancing supply and demand and directing the flow of electricity across the provinces transmission lines. We also oversee the electricity market, which includes putting mechanisms in place to increase competition and ensure cost effective supply. And finally, we also plan the electricity system by working with indigenous communities, with municipalities and stakeholders to forecast demand and secure enough supply to meet Ontario's needs as far as 20 years out. Daniel Seguin: Okay, very interesting. Finally, looking forward to your answer on this one here. Can you walk us through how you oversee and manage the electricity systems such as determining the type of supply required to meet demand for electricity in the province? In the short, medium, and long term? Lesley Gallinger: Yeah, thanks that that is a good and big meaty question. So we've spoken a lot about where we are now. So after having years of surplus electricity, Ontario is entering a period of growing electricity needs and demand is expected to increase by an average of 2% annually over the next two decades due to electrification and economic growth in various sectors, including residential, agricultural, and mining. One way that the IESO helps meet these growing needs is by securing new supply. In the short term, we have the annual capacity auction that we conduct that allows existing resources to compete. This is cost effective and allows the IESO to adapt to changing supply and demand conditions on a year by year basis. We also look at three to five year commitments for other resources, this timeframe provides more certainty while ensuring it doesn't get locked into commitments that no longer reflect those changing needs of electrification. And finally, in the long term, we look 20 years out to secure resources that require significant upfront investments in order to give suppliers the confidence they need to make those investments. So it's a bit of a layer cake with those three timeframes. Daniel Seguin: Great segway here. Okay. What do you see as the IESOs role in the future planning of the evolving electricity grid and your role in supporting the changing energy needs of the decarbonized economy? Lesley Gallinger: As Ontario's electricity system planner, we certainly have the long view. Our role is to ensure that Ontario's current and future energy needs are met both reliably and affordably. Our corporate strategy calls out three main ways in which we do this we ensure system reliability while supporting cost effectiveness, we're driving business transformation within the IESO and also driving and guiding the sector's future by working closely with indigenous communities, municipalities and stakeholders. On the decarbonisation front, our main role is to enable technologies that will help us decarbonize. There's lots of emerging energy resources that can help us build a zero emissions electricity grid and the IESO ensures that these resources can all participate in Ontario's electricity system and markets. We're procuring new resources under our flexible resource adequacy framework. We recently announced the procurement of over 800 megawatts of energy storage, which is the largest energy procurement energy storage procurement in Canada to date, that combined with 250 megawatts of the Oneida battery storage project, the IESO, with these projects, is taking steps to integrate this valuable and flexible resource. And in last December's publication of pathways to decarbonisation, we explored ways in which Ontario can move forward to an emissions-free electricity system. The Ministry of Energy consulted on our pathways report, and recently on July 10, very recently, announced a series of actions in its report powering Ontario's growth. And those actions include collaborating with Bruce Power and Ontario Power Generation on pre development work to to consider potential new nuclear generation reporting back on the design of our second long term procurement, which will acquire new non-emitting resources supporting a Ministry of Energy consultation on a post 2024 Conservation Demand Management Framework and assessing additional transmission needs to support new and growing generation and demand in the province. So quite a list of workforce ahead that we're very excited to undertake. And as our system operator for the province, we're certainly at the center of all of this. There'll be a continuing need for coordination with the broader electricity sector in order to plan an orderly transition to a decarbonize grid, there will also be an increased need to revisit how we plan the electricity system. The IESO is looking forward to working with the electrification and energy transition panel to identify ways to adapt and evolve existing frameworks in order to increase transparency and ensure communities and stakeholders are more aware of what we're doing and why. This work, the work of the EETP also takes a broader economy wide view, which reflects how the electricity sector is becoming increasingly dependent on other sectors like industry and transportation. So you know, in short, a lot of work and some very exciting work ahead. Daniel Seguin: Follow up question here for you. Now, some Ontarians are concerned about moving to variable renewable energy sources like wind and solar, while others are concerned about continuing use of natural gas. What have you uncovered in your work about these issues? And what would you like residents of Ontario to know? Lesley Gallinger: Yeah great question Dan, every type of generation has its own strengths and drawbacks based on its unique attributes, which is why Ontario maintains a diverse supply mix that can adapt to changing system conditions quickly. Renewables such as wind and solar are not emitting when they generate electricity, but they're also intermittent, meaning how much electricity they produce can change rapidly in response to weather conditions. And to help with this, the IESO is looking into hybrid facilities that combine renewables with energy storage. By 2026 we'll also have about 1300 megawatts of energy storage on the grid, which will help more efficiently integrate renewables. We're also going to start designing our second long term procurement which will focus on acquiring non-emitting resources and we'll be engaging on this with stakeholders and communities as we go. Natural gas, for example, has the main advantage that it can respond quickly to change in demand and system conditions, making it an important resource for us as we seek to maintain reliability. Ontario's demand fluctuates constantly throughout the day, and having access to natural gas can help us respond to sudden changes and maintain a balance across the system. It's also very important to recognize and something I'd like to emphasize for your listeners that overall emissions from Ontario's electricity sector are extremely low, the sector accounts for about 3% of the provinces total emissions. While this may increase slightly in the future, the continued existence of natural gas on the grid is an important resource to help us transition and it'll enable the near term electrification of other sectors which in total will drive down Ontario's emissions. Daniel Seguin: Okay Lesley, how will the efficiency upgrades at existing natural gas facilities contribute to meeting the growing demand? And what is the plan for these facilities as emerging technologies mature and the reliance on natural gas decreases? Lesley Gallinger: Yes, and as I mentioned in my earlier remarks, Ontario's definitely entering a period of increased demand and so with many existing contracts expiring, and nuclear plants undergoing refurbishment or scheduled to be decommissioned, coupled with increasing electrification of other sectors, the province is going to need more power in the immediate future and the natural gas expansions can help with this. In our pathways to decarbonisation report, we looked at the questions the minister posed to us, we looked at a moratorium scenario that would phase out natural gas over time as newer non-emitting resources come online, and in the report we concluded that we could be less reliant on natural gas in Ontario by the year 2035 and completely phased out by 2050. Efforts were made to align this report with clean electricity regulations, and that recognizes that the contribution of natural gas may be restricted over time, but for the meantime, we have you know, the important transitional resource needs, the natural gas fulfills. Daniel Seguin: Okay. In May of 2023, the IESO announced that it was moving forward with the largest procurement of energy storage in Canada. What can you tell us about these storage projects and their benefits? Lesley Gallinger: Yeah, this was a very exciting announcement for us the energy storage projects we announced in May were for grid connected battery storage systems, which will be an important step towards the transition to a non-emitting supply mix, and will support grid reliability. The procurement was the culmination of the work we've done over the last several years to understand the potential of battery storage to provide supply and reliability services to the grid. The biggest advantage of energy storage is that it can charge during off peak hours when the provincial electricity demand is low and then inject energy back into the grid during peaks when demand is high, which makes it very flexible and a resource that can help us optimize the efficiency of other resource types. And we also see battery storage as a key enabler of decarbonisation. It will help us to integrate more renewables such as wind and solar onto the system, but also get more out of our current nuclear and hydro fleet. By charging during these off peak hours energy storage can use up any surplus green power from Ontario's existing nuclear and hydro facilities. Daniel Seguin: Now, how does this procurement help ensure system reliability during nuclear refurbishment and support the overall energy transformation in Ontario, Lesley Gallinger: The procurement will help with the transition away from natural gas and it's certainly about maintaining reliability at a time when multiple refurbishments are underway. In particular, the Pickering generating station is scheduled to go out of service mid decade and so right around that time, those energy storage projects are expected to be online. Certainly the timelines of the procurements were aligned understanding what the system conditions would be at that time, Lesley, I'd like to dig into your fascinating pathway to decarbonisation report just a bit. Ontario has one of the cleanest electricity system in North America, contributing only 3% to the provinces greenhouse gas emissions, that doesn't sound like a lot. So why is it important to eliminate the remaining 3% of emissions from the grid? Yeah, another another really interesting question and the subject of a lot of conversations we've been having we know that electricity use is going to increase in the coming years driven by an economic growth and electrification across other sectors. Transportation is becoming increasingly electrified as our industrial processes such as steel smelting, and as the pace of electrification speeds up the efforts and investments being made by businesses and households to electrify will increase society's reliance on electricity as a fuel and electricity is only as clean as the resources we use to make it. So that 3%, if we don't tackle that remaining 3%, we will see an increased reliance on less clean generating sources. I mean tackling climate change is certainly an economy wide effort and clean electricity is a fundamental enabler of those climate change solutions. Daniel Seguin: Thanks for that, Lesley. Now, I have a follow up question for you. The IESO presents two scenarios to address decarbonisation, what are they and what key assumptions and drivers were discovered with your analysis? Lesley Gallinger: So our first scenario was the moratorium scenario where the IESO so looked at restricting the procurement of additional natural gas. And this assessment showed that a moratorium would be feasible beginning in 2027, and that Ontario could be less reliant on natural gas by 2035. At that point, the system would not require additional emitting generation to ensure reliability provided that other forms of non-emitting supply could be added to the system in time to keep pace with demand growth. The second scenario is our pathways to decarbonisation scenario, this scenario assumed aggressive electrification of the transportation and industrial sectors, and that attaining a completely decarbonized grid would be possible by 2050, while balancing reliability and costs, so you can see a lot of variables came to play in that second scenario. Daniel Seguin: Perfect. Thanks, Lesley. Now, what are your thoughts on where Canada stands on its road to meet the 2035 and 2050 targets?  Lesley Gallinger: Yeah, I think that's, you know, that's what we're all looking towards and bridging the work of today with the needs of a futurized decarbonized world will be challenging and complex, a collaborative approach across all sectors of the economy will certainly be necessary to achieve this. From Ontario's perspective, we're in a strong starting position, our electricity system is already close to 90% emissions free, most of the generation coming from Hydro and Nuclear resources. And in our pathways report, we identify that for Ontario, at least, a moratorium on natural gas could be possible by 2035, and a fully decarbonized electricity system by 2050 provided that new non-emitting supplies and surfaces online. So we certainly had those goals in mind for Ontario as we created that pathway so decarbonisation work. Daniel Seguin: Now Lesley, in your opinion, what are the biggest challenges facing the electricity industry in Canada today? And what are the biggest opportunities? Lesley Gallinger: Yeah, I anchor on the word orderly because I've used it a lot. The biggest challenge I see is managing the significant transformation that's underway. And doing it in an orderly fashion, electrification is requiring the electricity system to expand and produce more power, while decarbonisation puts pressure on the grid to rely more heavily on low carbon resources, many of which are still in their early days of development. Across the country. Every province is faced with similar challenges. The recently formed Canadian Electricity Advisory Council will provide advice to the Minister of natural resources on ways to accelerate investment and promote sustainable, affordable, reliable electricity systems. And I have the privilege of being on this panel. It's exciting work with colleagues from across the country, many of whom come from provinces in very different stages of decarbonisation. We're sharing best practices and all working towards similar goals. For Ontario, we're entering a period of emerging electricity system needs starting in the 2020s. These electricity and energy capacity needs will continue through to 2040. So demand is expected to increase at nearly 2% per year as I mentioned earlier. All of this presents incredible opportunities for Ontario's communities, new technologies are creating economic growth opportunities and setting the stage for Ontario to build a highly skilled workforce to push to decarbonize will have significant impacts on economy wide emissions reductions, and building the electricity grid of the future also presents opportunities to collaborate and strengthen relationships with indigenous communities and municipalities. Back to my first comment, the pace of this change is a vital consideration. We need to strike the right balance between decarbonizing the grid, while it's still ensuring electricity and energy remain reliable and affordable. If we go too fast, the cost may impede electrification, if we go too slow, we're not going to have the supply available as demand increases. So it really is about thinking this through orderly and it's an all hands on deck challenge. Daniel Seguin: Okay, moving along here, maybe you could walk us through some of the scope for what's required to decarbonize Ontario's electricity system. What does an achievable pathway to net zero look like? Lesley Gallinger: Yeah, that's the work of the IESO on a regular basis. I mean, I can't underscore my last point enough, which is that it's vital that the transition occurs in an orderly manner, we absolutely need to act but we need to act in a carefully managed way that balances decarbonisation with reliability and affordability. Large infrastructure such as hydroelectric plants and nuclear facilities and transmission lines can take 15-10 years, sometimes more to build, significant investments in capital and materials and labor will be required to build out a fully decarbonized system. And one study I read estimated that 14,000 strong labor force participants, that are that are currently working on our electricity infrastructure would need to increase by a factor of six. So you know, that's a huge investment in training and getting people ready to build all the things we need to build. Indigenous communities and municipalities also have a voice in how and where new infrastructure is located. So meaningful and transparent discussions about siting and land use will be needed. And while many technologies will be needed to decarbonize the grid already known, some are not known and not commercialized yet. And so those are low carbon fuels small modular reactors still in development. At this point, it'll be important for Ontario and for Canada to continue to invest in these and other other innovations as well in supporting the pathway. We need energy plans to be approved and new infrastructure needs to be planned, permitted and cited. Regulatory and approval processes such as the environmental impact assessments need to be resourced, appropriately and streamlined to enable all of these builds to happen. We also need the supporting transmission infrastructure to be planned and built on on similar timelines as demand growth and as new supply comes online and underlying all of that we need to carefully manage the costs to ensure the actual impact on total energy costs is affordable, and that they do not diverge significantly, Ontario from those of our neighbors in Manitoba and Quebec and in the US. So lots of again, lots of facets, but work that can be itemized now and definitely plan forward. Daniel Seguin: Cool. What are some of IESO's, no regret actions that can be taken to help meet those growing demands? Lesley Gallinger: Yeah, I think the minister anchored on some of those in his Powering Ontario's Growth report, Ontario can certainly continue to acquire new non-emitting resources and incentivize energy efficiency through our Save on Energy programs. sector partners can also begin planning and citing for new potential projects, partnerships between municipal, provincial and federal governments will also be key and we need to continue to develop those relationships now, while we're also revisiting the regulatory frameworks that may hinder and prevent progress. Last but certainly not least, we must track our progress in an open and transparent way. There's no one way we can say decarbonisation happens. It's a gradual change that will take place over many years, and will require lots of little steps to make progress. And certainly the government's recent response to our reports puts in motion some of those actions including asking us at the IESO to explore opportunities to enable future generation in northern Ontario and reducing the reliance on natural gas generation in the GTA. The ministry has also asked the IESO to begin consultations on a competitive transmitter selection framework for future lines with electricity supply expected to continue to grow over the next 20 to 30 years, you know, that's what we're doing now, you know, in terms of planning, but we're also we're also working to secure new capacity and leveraging our existing assets. So that is through our very thorough resource adequacy framework, which was put in place that outlines our strategy to get that new supply in the short, medium and long term. A key piece of this is competitive procurements and the processes that have been used to date including the annual capacity auction, and but you know, there's also work being done that we're leveraging by our energy efficiency and demand response programs that that get back to what individuals and what individual businesses can do to support decarbonisation. We've got market renewal going on. We've got medium and long term procurements. So lots of action underway. All of them no regret that can that can be continued to to meet this demand.  Daniel Seguin: Now Lesley, with electricity supply expected to grow the next 20 to 30 years, what is the IESO doing to secure new capacity? And how is it leveraging existing assets? Lesley Gallinger: Yeah, great question. So in terms of generating new supply or acquiring new supply, that's really our resource adequacy framework. It outlines, you know, the work we're doing both in the short, medium and long term to competitively procure new resources. We've recently done the procurements for batteries and for natural gas, upgrades and expansions. We'll be launching our next procurement very shortly and designing the one after that. So it's that layer cake approach that I mentioned. We've also, you know, can can anchor back in the strides we've taken in the current procurements to secure we've had great resources come to bear and participate in those procurements, so we're very hopeful that future procurements will also be very successful Daniel Seguin: Now hoping you can help demystify this next one for our listeners. What is the Hydrogen Energy fund? What is special about hydrogen, and how do you think it will support Ontario's reliability needs and decarbonisation? Lesley Gallinger: Yeah, it is, it is a new word and a new way of thinking for for a lot of folks. So let me dig into that. But the goal of our hydrogen Innovation Fund is to investigate, evaluate and demonstrate how low carbon hydrogen technologies could be integrated into the grid. The new program will enable the IESO to test the ability of hydrogen to support grid reliability and affordability, but also the role it can play in broader decarbonisation. Hydrogen has the potential to reduce electricity sector emissions, but it could also be used as a replacement fuel in other more fossil fuel intensive industries such as transportation.  From the electricity sector's perspective, hydrogen has the potential to provide several essential services, it can smooth the output from renewable resources such as wind and solar, it can be blended into natural gas to reduce total emissions and could be used to offer several services such as peaking generation, grid efficiency and storage. But all that being said, it's not an ultimate solution. While hydrogen can be used to generate electricity producing it also requires electricity. So the integration of hydrogen like all new resources will require a balanced approach, one that can make more efficient use of our existing electricity system assets which the Hydrogen Innovation Fund will help with the interest in the fund has been very high. The IESO has received more than 25 applications. The projects are in flight now are undergoing review right now. And we should be in a position to announce the successful projects in September. Daniel Seguin: Lesley. Let's now look globally, what are other countries doing right, that Canada should consider emulating or even adopting?  Lesley Gallinger: Yeah, I think I think this is, you know, very important. We very much focused on on Canada or in you know, in our case, Ontario for answers. And the IESO is just one of many electricity system operators worldwide. And I certainly am always keeping an eye on what other countries are doing. However, every jurisdiction has unique circumstances, which include laws, regulations, geography and politics that can sometimes make comparisons difficult. In North America, specifically, Ontario is a leader in many ways and the pathways report is a very well thought out approach. And so I think that's an area of interests that others have looked to us, that, coupled with our experience of phasing out coal fired generation, we're in a good position really to set examples for other jurisdictions looking to do similar work, and certainly in conversations with my IESO counterparts around North America, we're having robust discussions and learning from each other.  Daniel Seguin: Well, looking to the future of this industry and Canada's approach, what is giving you hope? Lesley Gallinger: Well, electricity is being looked at to support decarbonisation of other sectors and to support economic growth. That's hugely exciting to see the broad impact our industry is having on society. And as we engage with broader audience, the collaborative spirit across the sector, across the province and across the country, we're seeing... certainly gives me hope that Ontario can achieve decarbonisation through an orderly transition that balances that decarbonisation desire with reliability and affordability that are at the heart of our mandate.  Daniel Seguin: Lastly, Lesley, we always end our interviews with some rapid fire questions. Are you ready?  Lesley Gallinger: I'm ready. These were some of the more difficult questions, Dan. So I'm certainly ready for these.  Daniel Seguin: Okay. What are you reading right now?  Lesley Gallinger: So I just finished reading a really great book, how big things get done by bent flyvbjerg. And I think it's making the rounds really good book on large projects, and what we can learn from past failures in large projects, which will be important information for Ontario.  Daniel Seguin: Cool. Thanks for sharing. Now, what would you name your boat if you had one? Or do you have one?  Lesley Gallinger: Well, I have a very, very small boat, and I have yet to name it. But now now that you've got me thinking about that the wheels are turning. At the moment, it's new, so I'm just learning to park it. And when I say park, my my partner rolls his eyes and says "you mean dock" and I say no, Park. So next time we speak Dan, I'll have a name for the boat.  Daniel Seguin: Very good. Who is someone that you truly admire?  Lesley Gallinger: I think this was the most difficult question. There are people I admire in many aspects of my life. And I certainly wouldn't want to single out anyone or miss out on another person. But if I can be a bit general, given the role I'm in, I'd have to say it's the people who have the vision and foresight to see what's coming in the future and to plan and build those large projects and large infrastructure investments needed to get there.  Daniel Seguin: What is the closest thing to real magic that you've witnessed? Lesley Gallinger: Well, I am a lover of being outdoors, so perhaps for me it would be on the morning after a deep snowfall on the trails around my friend's property being the first snow shoes out on the trails on a Sunday morning. It's so quiet and so beautiful and it just feels magical.  Daniel Seguin: Now what has been the biggest challenge to you personally, since the pandemic began? Lesley Gallinger: I think for me, it would be helping my mom stay connected to to our community as as an elderly widow in her own home. It was a lot of one on one contact for me with her and making sure that I could connect her to a broader social network. So she didn't feel so isolated. And I think that was, you know, well worth the challenge. But it was a it was a challenge.  Daniel Seguin: Okay. We've all been watching just a little bit more TV or even Netflix lately. What is your favorite show?  Lesley Gallinger: So I spend very little time watching TV and when I do or, or Netflix, and when I do, it's mostly documentaries. I want to give a call out for a course I'm taking right now online, which is the closest thing to TV, I'm taking the University of Alberta's indigenous Canada course, which has been for me tremendous value in helping me understand indigenous worldviews and perspectives. But I did just watch a Netflix series on the Tour de France, which was a fascinating look at the teams and tactics as well as the effort that the athletes endure over that 21 days.  Daniel Seguin: Okay, cool. Now, lastly, what is exciting you about your industry right now?  Lesley Gallinger: Oh, my goodness. My teams have heard me use this before everything everywhere all at once. We have an opportunity as an industry right now to guide generational change and to have an impact on the environment and the economy far past our working lives. And that is incredibly exciting.  Daniel Seguin: Well, Lesley, this is it. We've reached the end of another episode of the Think Energy podcast. Thank you so much for joining us today. If our listeners wanted to learn more about you, or your organization, how can they connect?  Lesley Gallinger: Thank you. Yes. www.ieso.ca. Our website has a wealth of resources to help listeners become more energy literate. And to understand the work we do. And you can find me on LinkedIn at Lesley Gallinger.  Daniel Seguin: Again, thank you so much for joining us today. I hope you had a lot of fun. Cheers.  Lesley Gallinger: I did! The questions were tough, but very interesting and they certainly got to the heart of the work that we do at the IESO. Thank you, Dan, for for your interest in our work and for asking those questions that allow me to speak and highlight the work of the incredible professionals that work at the IESO. Daniel Seguin: Thanks for tuning in for another episode of the Think Energy podcast. Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review wherever you're listening. And to find out more about today's guest or previous episodes, visit think energy podcast.com. I hope you will join us again next time as we spark even more conversations about the energy of tomorrow.

„Lieliska Rotko centra izstāžu sezonas atklāšana. Galvenajā lomā - keramika un tās autori. Krāšņa, noslēpumaina, suģestējoša; formā- iespaidīga un pārsteidzoša, saturā - rosinoša. 4. Latvijas Keramikas biennāles konkursa izstāde "Martinsona balva" ir notikums, kas jāredz!” Tā  aizvadītās nedēļas nogalē, pēc Daugavpilī Marka Rotko mākslas centrā  atklātās Latvijas Keramikas biennāles konkursa izstādes "Martinsona balva", publiskajā telpā un klātienē savas emocijas pauda apmeklētāji. Šogad "Martinsona balvai" kopumā tika saņemti 685 pieteikumi no 71 valsti pārstāvošiem māksliniekiem. Godalgas piešķirtas desmit no tiem, labāko autoru darbi skatāmi izstādē. Atgādinām, ka zelta godalgas ieguvējas nacionālajā kategorijā keramiķes Sanitas Ābelītes personālizstāde „Terra” skatāma izstāžu zālē "Rīgas Mākslas telpa" Intro zālē vēl līdz 30. septembrim.  

How to look after young plants in spring is the topic on this week's episode of Master My Garden podcast.  Yet again up to the 14th of April 2022 we have had a horrible start to the month weather wise with wind, lots of rain, chilly days, and night frosts these are far from ideal conditions for the seedlings we have sowed and minded for the last few weeks.  If you want to check out the weather in your local area of Ireland check out the below website and tap on the nearest weather station to you.https://www.met.ieSo, John looks at how to mind all those seedlings you have been minding and growing on your windowsill or greenhouse. At this stage, your seedlings are really looking for more space and looking to get into the ground, but the weather and the different weather threats such as frost, hail, heavy showers, and wind can all severely damage and even kill your precious little seedlings. So, what can we do to ensure we can make sure they reach their full potential over the coming months?    So here is what we can do to protect our seedlings:   ·      Bring them outside during any mild days to toughen them up. ·      Use frost fleece and after a night's frost do not remove the following morning until noon. · Use bio netting/ environmesh this will protect from hail, heavy showers, and wind when you get your seedling out into your beds. This netting allows water and air through, so it is a healthy environment inside for plants. ·      Feed them with seaweed fertilizer this will help them to harden up and will toughen the cells of the leaves and stems.  ·      Earth up potatoes as they start to peep out of the ground  There will be a blog post on this episode very soon on my website. This blog and previous blogs along with all podcast episodes are available on my  Website :https://mastermygarden.com/   If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know.  Please like and follow Master My Garden on the following channels   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/ Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/ Twitter:https://twitter.com/tweetsbyMMG or email info@mastermygarden.com  Until next week Happy gardening John Support the show

  Canada is at the forefront of the global energy transition, leading with the goal to be net zero by 2050. To get there, the electricity sector must be decarbonized by 2035, from coast-to-coast, province-to-territory. So what does that transition look like close to home? How will customers be impacted in the near future? The Ontario Energy Board's Harneet Panesar, Chief Operating Officer, and Carolyn Calwell, Chief Corporate Services Officer & General Counsel, share their insight on thinkenergy episode 108.   Related links   Carolyn Calwell, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolyn-calwell-648318b0/ Harneet Panesar, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harneetp/ Ontario Energy Board: https://www.oeb.ca/ Engage with Us, OEB digital engagement platform: https://engagewithus.oeb.ca/ Energy Exchange: https://www.energy-exchange.net/ Adjudicative Modernization Committee: https://www.oeb.ca/stakeholder-engagement/stakeholder-engagement/adjudicative-modernization-committee   To subscribe using Apple Podcasts To subscribe using Spotify To subscribe on Libsyn --- Subscribe so you don't miss a video: YouTube Check out our cool pics on Instagram More to Learn on Facebook Keep up with the Tweets on Twitter --------- Transcript: Dan Seguin  00:06 This is ThinkEnerfy, the podcast that helps you better understand the fast changing world of energy through conversations with game changers, industry leaders, and influencers. So join me, Dan Seguin, as I explore both traditional and unconventional facets of the energy industry. Hey, everyone, welcome back. The world is going through a major energy transition driven by a multitude of reasons. political policy, economic prosperity, environmental urgency, social change, Greta Thornburg, technological advancements and innovation to name just a few. Canada is at the forefront of the energy transition movement and certainly seen as a leader on the world stage thanks to its aggressive target, to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Of course, the country's other closer Net Zero target is the decarbonisation of the electricity sector by 2035. emissions free electricity grids in every province, and territories across Canada in just under 12 years. For many provinces and utilities, the race to transition their energy sectors began years ago, in Ontario, where the electricity grid is already more than 90% emissions free. This was in part due to the provincial shutdown of all coal plants between 2005 and 2014. It's no longer business as usual for energy providers, how we've operated for more than 100 years is neither viable nor sustainable. It's becoming clearer and clearer that for the Net Zero future to be reality, we must go further, still eliminating and remaining emissions from our provincial grid to make wait for the electrification of our grid, our vehicles and yes, our houses and buildings. But with all of the unknowns in our evolving energy future, there needs to be a steady hand to help guide the way forward. Enter the provincial regulator, the Ontario Energy Board, energy utilities are more closely regulated than many other industries because of their unique characteristic surrounding energy supply, and delivery. So here is today's big question. Given that the electrical grid needs to be emission free by 2035, what does the energy transition look like here at home in Ontario? What can customers expect in the near future? Today, my special guests are Carolyn Calwell, Chief Corporate Service Officer and General Counsel, and Harneet Panesar, Chief Operating Officer of the Ontario Energy Board. Welcome to the show, Carolyn. And perhaps you can start by telling us a bit about yourselves, your background, and why you chose to join the Ontario Energy Board.   Carolyn Calwell  03:39 Thanks, Dan. I'm a lawyer by training. I started off in private practice at a big firm and then I moved into the public sector, first at the municipal level and later at the provincial level. Shortly after I began working for the Ontario Provincial Government, I got into energy when that ministry merged with the one I was hired to. And that gave me the opportunity to work on the energy file in progressively senior legal positions, while also serving some other ministries. I eventually became an assistant deputy minister at the Ministry of Energy with a broad portfolio that touched on things like distribution, transmission, agency oversight, indigenous energy policy issues, all kinds of things, lots of fun with a lot of challenging files, and always with great people to work with. So then, when the restructuring of the EOEB came along, I got excited about where the OEB  was gonna go. On a personal level, I saw an opportunity to work on things from both policy and legal perspectives as the chief Corporate Services Officer and General Counsel. And I saw the chance to learn some new skills in the corporate services side of things. And I also saw an opportunity to learn the role of the regulator and get a new perspective on files I'd worked on. So most enticing though, was the opportunity to make some changes a lot like her nude, so I was thrilled by the opportunity to come over.   Harneet Panesar  04:54 Alright, thanks, Dan. So in terms of my background, maybe I'll open it up by saying you know, Today as we talk, I'm hoping to bring three different perspectives, and three different hats that I can wear. And the first one is that a utility, you know, I've spent about 14 years working for Hydro oOne, which is Ontario's largest transmission and distribution company. And I did nine different roles across the organization. And most recently, just before I left, I was Director of Strategy and Integrated Planning. My team looked after the investment plan, the overall capital that the utility was looking to spend, I had the strategy Research and Development Innovation team. And I also had a team that focused on reliability, which is a very important outcome for utility. So we focused on metrics benchmarking studies, and I had a really cool team. I'm an engineer by background. So I find this fascinating, I had a team that did post event investigations. So when equipment fields, we bring in massive cranes, pull them out, and dissect them to see what went wrong, and try and see if there's any systematic issues that we could look to solve across the system. I also had a team that looked after the modernization of the joint use portfolio, which is the use of the poles that are looking to attach other things aside from electricity, infrastructure, it could be things like fiber and telecommunication things or other things that, you know, cities and municipalities might want to attach to poles. And lastly, we also looked after secondary land use for hydro and corridors and pathways for things like parking, lots, parks, pathways, things like that. In June of 2021, I got a phone call about the opportunity at the Ontario Energy Board to join as Chief Operating Officer. And really, it was about modernizing the regulators. And the value proposition of that was huge. And it was just something I can see, it was exciting to know that that was taking place with someone who's in industry. And I saw some of the work that Susanna was doing. And so it was a no brainer. It was something that I wanted to do. And so I joined the Ontario Energy Board June of 2021. And so I'll bring the regulator perspective, obviously, in the conversation. And the third perspective is that of academia, I've been teaching energy, energy innovation, energy storage courses to Master's students, at the university level. And I think it's important when we talk about energy, we look across borders, we don't just get confined with current practices or policies or rules and regulations. Sometimes when we're trying to explore innovative ideas, we need to broaden that scope. And so I'll look to sometimes also bring in some of the academic view of what's happening in this space, too. So those are sort of three perspectives and from our background.   Dan Seguin  07:22 So, Carolyn, for those that don't know, what is the Ontario Energy Board, and what does your organization do?   Carolyn Calwell  07:33 the Ontario Energy Board, or the OE B is the independent regulator of Ontario's electricity and natural gas sectors. An important part of our mandate is to inform consumers and protect their interests with respect to prices, reliability, and quality of electricity and natural gas services. We have oversight over roughly 60% of the electricity bill, and we influence a large part of natural gas bills. We work closely with companies that work in the sector, distributors, transmitters, generators, and with associations like the Ontario Energy Association, the Electricity Distributors Association, CHEC. And of course, with the Independent Electricity System Operator and the Ministry of Energy, we're really just one piece of a much bigger puzzle.   Dan Seguin  08:13 Harneet, there's been a lot of discussion lately about the energy transition in our industry. What does that mean? Exactly? And how will the Ontario Energy Board support the transition?   Harneet Panesar  08:31 Sure, and maybe I can begin this one by even just focusing on the word energy transition, you know, it sounds nice and clear, cotton sounds like there's a linear glide path to this transition, that's going to happen. But you know, it's multifaceted. It's very complex, huge capital dollars are going to be required, it's gonna be a need for a lot of collaboration and how we move forward on it. So it's a very complex transition that's underway right now. And let me also talk to you about it. From what are some of the drivers, you know, a lot of times we talk about transition, we talk about the innovation behind it. And we also focus on what are the catalysts behind some of this change? And we often frame our conversation using four D's and I know in the industry, there's a debate whether there's three days or five, I think we've taken middle ground here, so let's go with our four D's. So the first one is Decarbonisation. You know, as you look globally, or you look federally you look even down to the consumer level, there are commitments being made and choices that are deliberately being made with regards to emissions and and a goal and targets that are being said with regards to decarbonisation. One of the sectors that I know that's going to be really impacted by this is transportation. They have the ability to make some significant changes in terms of the release of greenhouse gasses, and we're seeing a massive shift from combustion engines to EVs (electric vehicles). And so what does that mean? That means a huge need for electricity to also feed these. And maybe I'll also just take a pause and say that, you know, when I talk to other jurisdictions in Ontario, we're quite fortunate, a lot of our generation here is non-emitting, about over 90% of our generation is not emitting. And sometimes we take that for granted, you know, I talked to some of our colleagues down south, or even across the country, they can only dream to get to where we're at in the near future. We're pretty lucky to be where we are from that perspective. And so when we look at what we need to fuel these vehicles, we're going to need a grid that has the ability to supply this type of demand. So what is the EOB doing about it? There's a couple of things. The first one is we've got a couple of industry working groups that are really helping to lead the charge on making clear decisions on what is the process, you do some of this stuff. One of them is the DER connection review workgroup. And I'm excited to say that, you know, we've, we've broken up this work into tranches, and we've made some substantive releases already on changes that we've proposed to our distribution system code. These are really there to help reduce burdens, and, and really help bring on adoption of things like EVs. And I should also back up and just say, you know, when I talk about DER connections, DER stands for Distributed Energy Resources and EVs fall within that category, too. We also know that the grid will need to be able to supply this power, we have a working group called the Regional Planning Working Group that is focused on making sure that regions have what they need to be able to supply this type of energy. And that includes providing them guidance with what they need to look at when it comes to planning for that future. And how do we fill that all in? Well, we also updated our filing requirements. And so our filing requirements are really there to articulate to applicants that come forward to the Ontario Energy Board with their applications to say, look, this is what we need from you. And we've been pretty clear that we've updated our requirements to include things like electric vehicle integration, adoption, into their load forecasting and planning, we need to make sure that utilities are putting the building for the load that's required, based on the Evie adoption in the province. The next D is Digitalization. No, back in the day, our distribution system was just poles and wires, and maybe some fuses. But it's become a lot more complicated. We've deployed a lot more grid modernization in the system, a lot more innovation, and a lot more non-wires, alternatives, and different ways of investing in solving problems that the grid was having. And so what role does the Ontario Energy Board have in that? Well, number one, prudency is something that we expect utilities to take into account when they're building out their investment plans. So we're to check for prudency and make sure that the liability service quality and cost is all kept in mind. The other aspect is, you know, as we digitize the system, there are other risks that come with it, and we need to make sure we're managing them. There are new risk factors that get created from a cybersecurity perspective. And obviously, the Ontario Energy Board plays an important role. You know, we established the Cybersecurity Advisory Committee a number of years back that helped build Ontario's cybersecurity framework, which is something we expect utilities to look at, and also report annually on how they are ready and mature to respond to detect and deal with cybersecurity threats. The last two days, and maybe I'll just kind of shorten this by bringing them together. It's around decentralization and democratization. But the role of consumers is changing. And the investments and the choices that they're making are also changing. You know, the fact that you can go to a shopping mall and go pick up an Eevee, and maybe even a battery pack. These are, by definition, consumer products. Now, they're no longer utility grade investments, like Pull Top investments, switch gears, things like that, the role that they're playing is important. And so going back to our DER. Working Group, it's important that we make sure that we look at the integration of these types of consumer choices into our grid. So that's, that's maybe a roundabout way of looking at all of our structures and the innovation that's taking place and the catalysts that are fueling the energy transition there.   Dan Seguin  13:53 Carolyn, I'd like to hear your thoughts on what you believe is driving the energy transition.   Carolyn Calwell  14:00 Thanks, Dan. I see this largely the same way Harneet sees it, but I would say it maybe a little bit differently. I agree that the four Ds are the catalyst for the energy transition decarbonisation and the move to net zero emissions, the need to deal with and respond to climate change. Digitalization in my mind reflects the growing internet of things and the need for new tools and technologies that allow us to use energy differently. We've talked about decentralization and Harneet mentioned the move away from grid scale, utility planning to decentralized resources, whatever technology or weather wherever they may sit on this system. And her need also mentioned democratization about the changing expectations of customers and their relationship with energy. And in my mind, that just leads to increasing customer choice. So, you know, I think there's tremendous opportunity in all of this, and of course, tremendous challenge. But I think what's exciting is that there's broad consensus that this is a time of extreme change, and there's an imperative to actually make that change. So at the end of the day, it's pretty exciting.   Dan Seguin  15:05 Okay, our need, what does the electric future look like from an industry perspective, and from a customer perspective?   Harneet Panesar  15:15 So let me first look at the customer perspective. And maybe even the term customer, I think, is looking to evolve. As we look at energy markets around the world, we know that consumer choices and how consumers interact with their energy is changing. And even the role of consumers is changing. You know, the term prosumer is also one that is often used in which consumers aren't just consuming power, but they're producing them. And so therefore, the Pro and the prosumer. You know, that's an important aspect of how the grid may evolve. And we're certainly seeing changes in perspective, talked about decarbonisation, just a few minutes ago, that will also create a higher dependency of reliable power while managing costs. So you know, going back to our discussion around EVs, you know, nowadays, if there are reliability issues, utilities will get phone calls. And you know, that hear about power, power off situations where the lights aren't working, or ice cream is melting, or the air conditioner just isn't going. But just imagine the dependency that gets created when you know, I've got to go to work the next morning, and I couldn't go because I couldn't charge my vehicle, you know, the dependency on the grid is gonna grow. But I think there are a lot of opportunities in this type of environment. Also, you know, if Carolyn, for example, is working from home and doesn't need her vehicle, well, maybe I can take 20% of her battery, and then perhaps you're on vacation, and maybe you don't need part of your vehicle, I could maybe take 30% of your battery, you know, I've got 50% of the charge. And now I've got an opportunity to actually use my vehicle. The shifting of how sort of load and suppliers is going to be looked at on the distribution side, I think is exciting. We're seeing a lot of these micro grids around the world interact on these sort of transactive markets. But at the end of the day, you know, the value proposition for consumers is shifting look, I've now got a vehicle that has charge and lets me get to where I need to go. And both you and Carolyn have now gotten some dollars in your pockets for helping me out by supplying some of the energy that you didn't need. This is a real shift. I think that's happening from the consumer perspective and multiple different facets. From the industry perspective, I think we're going to need a lot of help and dependencies on industry to help guide us through this energy transition, you know, there's a lot of capital that is going to need to be spent, there's going to be a lot of steel that's going to be required for Transformers or pole tops, and, and even steel towers and conductors, there's a lot that's going to be required from a supply chain perspective. But there's also growth, I mean, this is an opportunity, there's a lot of growth that's going to take place in the economy for jobs. And we also know that there's gonna be industry in terms of labor markets, to be able to help supply and build the infrastructure that we're going to need for the future. And that includes maybe in adapting some of the skill sets. And I've been speaking to colleges and universities over the last year, and they've been asking, you know: what does the energy industry need in terms of the skills or the shortages? Is there an evolution of the skills that are required, and with all the transition and change that are taking place? I think the labor markets are also important to us to make sure that they're up to speed with helping us get to where we need to be. I think the last aspect maybe I'll cover off in terms of the industry is, I think there's a lot of new players that are entering the energy market, which we haven't seen traditionally, in the past. I've talked about automotive manufacturers moving away from combustion engines to electric vehicles. I think they're going even further by opening up subsidiaries focusing on energy. It's a pretty bold move for the automotive industry to be forming these massive subsidiaries. But even on the technology side, you know, we're seeing companies like Microsoft take stronger and larger positions within energy. So I think we're seeing a shift. And even in industry, I think we're seeing a lot of new players that are joining in.   Dan Seguin  18:52 Okay, so what's the greatest risk to the electricity grid, Harneet?   Harneet Panesar  18:57 So when I think about risk, and you know, I often reflect on that word, because I think when you look at risk, it usually is a reason for why adoption of things like innovation just gets repeated. And even in the energy industry, we've got a wide variety of entities that have different risk appetites. And some of them, you know, stakeholders, shareholders, customers may not be looking to them to take the greatest risk. But what we do know is that there are entities that thrive on the risk reward model. And I think it's important that we look at risk blending, we talk about risk. And why do I bring this all up? The need for collaboration is so important when we talk about moving forward in this transition. You know, in Ontario, I'd say we've got the most complex energy market in North America. I've got 800 Almost licensed entities, and I've got 60 local distribution companies fairly complex that's on the electricity. And we've also got gas distributors. It's fairly complex. So in terms of what is the one of the greatest risks I think alignment and how we move forward. The risk in this would be misalignment. You know, there's no room to backpedal, we need to collaborate and work together and make sure that there's no room to backpedal, and that we move forward collaboratively. So misalignment, I think, could be a risk, but we're making sure we're doing whatever we can. And I know there's various entities within the energy sector that are trying to make sure we're working together, you know, we're holding hands and might be taking penguin steps to make sure we don't slip here. But I think when you hold hands, we'll get a bit more firmness. And we can take bigger, bigger steps forward.   Dan Seguin  20:33 Harneet, what kinds of major investments and other considerations need to be made to deliver the energy transition to the province?   Harneet Panesar  20:43 So when I look at some of the studies that have just recently passed, the IESO released their Pathway studies. And we know that when they looked at generation and transmission, it's gonna require hundreds of billions of dollars, some fairly substantial investments on that front, the other side to this whole thing, and going back to the sort of consumer side is, you know, the tail end of the delivery of power is also going to require a huge influx of dollars. So the distribution system is going to require a lot, I will say that, you know, within our province, you know, we've got a lot of aging infrastructure that we also need to deal with. So it's not just about the forward move around the energy transition, but we also need to look at the assets that we have, the age of them, the condition of them, and really make sure that as we're spending the money, we're still holding things up. While we're also moving forward. You know, there's a lot of advancements in the system, in terms of the dollars that we've spent on the distribution system, primarily, I'd say, on deployment of capital open fields. But we're also seeing a lot of shifts on how some of that technology is now being utilized out into distribution systems. I know that, you know, we talked about dependency on the system. The minister has also asked us as part of his letter of direction to us to help provide recommendations going forward on resiliency and responsiveness and cost efficiency. And I think that's an important consideration that we need to look at when we build out capital plans and look at how we're going to build out the future. Extreme weather events are impacting our grid and energy system, the infrastructure, so the energy systems are vulnerable to that. And we need to make sure that we're resilient and we're able to respond to things like that. And lastly, you know, the other aspect around a lot of the investments that we just talked about, again, is around cybersecurity and the importance of making sure that we're ready for any of those types of issues too.   Dan Seguin  22:28 Carolyn, I read that the Ontario Energy Board's new legislated mandate is to facilitate innovation in the energy sector. How will you do that?   Carolyn Calwell  22:41 A mandate to facilitate innovation with regard to electricity was added to our legislative objectives in 2020. And this put innovation squarely in the mix for us. I thought it signaled to the energy sector a need to take new approaches to doing business, and to think about the services they provide to customers. And it signaled to the OEB that we also need to think about new approaches and new ways to do business. And so we've tried to do that through programs like our innovation sandbox, where we've encouraged local distribution companies to come to us with ideas about how they want to make change, and to test those ideas out in a safe regulatory environment where we can talk through the barriers and hurdles that they face or that they perceive to see what what really stands in their way. We've tried to do this through work like ours in our framework for energy innovation, where we asked the sector to come together to talk about distributed energy resources and how we go about dealing with the questions that they pose. What does it mean for utilities to use them? What barriers are there? So we've tried to take new approaches to having conversations about different types of innovation, and to encourage others to come to us to talk about these things. The change to our objective occurred at the same time as a restructuring of the governance of the OEB. And I think that really underscored for us our change mandate. But when we talk about innovation, our Chief Commissioner would remind me, very wisely Anderson, that our objective has always existed in balance. So innovation is never our only driver. It's one of several others, which include informing consumers and protecting their interests, promoting economic efficiency and cost effectiveness across the sector, and promoting electricity conservation and demand management. So there's a lot going on for us and for everyone in the sector in addition to innovation.   Dan Seguin  24:36 Okay, now, let's talk about the Innovation Task Force. With the report now released, where does it all go from here? Can regulation and innovation coexist and even flourish?   Carolyn Calwell  24:53 I think regulation and innovation have to coexist. We've been talking about change a lot this afternoon. I I don't think we have any choice. But to innovate. Our innovation task force was about strategy and governance, and this was an initiative by our board of directors to ask about disruptive change in the sector and its implications. And to make sure that the OEB was positioned to prepare for that change. The work involved jurisdictional scanning, looking at broad disruptive technologies and trends across the globe, and to look at what other regulators were doing about it. And that certainly provided inspiration for us. And at the same time, we curated experts working at global national and provincial levels to help us understand disruption in the sector, what they were seeing and what they were working on. So all of that informed the strategy that our Innovation Task Force adopted. And what we're trying to do with that is now map out what the OEB is doing about the energy transition. We've got a lot of projects and go and a lot of things that touch the energy transition, but don't necessarily do that directly. People need to understand how those fit together, and how they actually get at the big policy question of the day. What are we doing about climate change and about the energy transition? So what we've tried to do through our engagement with our website is map out the different projects, how they come together, and what people can expect about where they're going. If listeners haven't checked it out, I really encourage you to look at the OED "Engage with us" web page and see all that we have going on and what the next steps are across these projects. There's no shortage of work here. And we're asking a lot of people to come together to meet with us and try to make it work.   Dan Seguin  26:33 Harneet, on the topic of electric vehicles (EVs), what about supporting mass EV adoption? What can you tell us about the proposed ultra low overnight price plan for electricity? And how will it help get more EVs on the road?   Harneet Panesar  26:52 Sure. Thanks, Dan. And when we look at things like ultra low overnight price plans, I think it's also important for us to reflect on the fact that I think I'm sure he's made some good choices in terms of deploying the right capital. Over the years, you know, we sometimes take for granted that we have what is known as AMI, which is Advanced Meter Infrastructure. The fact that we have smart meters deployed across the province, is huge, because it enables us to do things like these price plans. You know, I talked about other jurisdictions, not everyone has smart meters like we do, and therefore don't have the ability to actually even implement price plans. But let me tell you why it's important and why having some of these plans is helpful. Utilities often build to meet peak demand, whenever the demand is there, they're trying to make sure that they have the infrastructure required to meet it. And by introducing pricing plans, which create the right incentives and choices that can help leave to sort of behavioral changes from a consumer perspective, that will ultimately also help utilities manage how they build their system. And what that means is they'll be able to not just build the peak but better manage peaks. You know, if we're able to utilize the system when it's not at peak or it's not fully utilized, there's available capacity generation available. There's no bottlenecks in the system. That's when we want people to use power. And so generally, you know, overnight is when the system is a little bit quieter, and we're able to actually, you know, supply a lot more power. And so for folks like myself, who have an electric vehicle, you know, I have no problems charging overnight. In fact, it's fantastic. And having the right incentives to keep people charging overnight means that we take any additional peaks on the system during the day that might occur away. And ultimately, that also means that it helps keep rates lower, because utilities don't need to invest additional capacity, because they're better able to manage when people are consuming their power. So price plans like the ultra low overnight plan is one way of curbing the behavior and incentivizing sort of the right approach on when we want people to be using the grid to feed things like their electric vehicles.   Dan Seguin  29:03 Okay, now, how does natural gas fit into the energy transition to a carbon free future in the province? What strides are being made in the natural gas sector or Harneet?   Harneet Panesar  29:18 So I think it's an important question. And it's something that we think about quite often at the Ontario Energy Board. You know, natural gas has a lot of potential to replace some of the higher emitting fossil fuel energy sources that are still being used for mostly industrial processes here in Ontario. And to maybe give you an example, you know, one of our natural gas distributors is working with steel mills, to try and replace some of their coal usage with natural gas, which would also bring down some of their greenhouse gas emissions. But you know, when you talk about Net Zero and sort of the net zero future, it's obviously going to involve things like large reductions and even eventually eliminating the GHG emissions from the US to greenhouse gasses, and that's gonna require a couple of things. It's gonna require a combination of energy conservation, some electrification, carbon capture and storage, and even a shift to use things like orangey, which is renewable natural gas, and even other new fuels like hydrogen. There's already work that's underway. Enbridge has been investing about $120 million a year. And this is really around some of the conservation programs. And we also just had a recent decision that the will be rendered. And in that we're going to increase the amounts that are going to be spent. And this is also going to include a new home energy efficiency program that's going to be offered by Enbridge gas, and it's going to be in partnership with Enercon, which is Natural Resources Canada, you know, thinking about what are the next steps, the OEB has also convened a group of experts to help identify and evaluate future opportunities for natural gas conservation. And really, finally, I just want to make sure, I know, acknowledge that, you know, millions of residential, commercial industrial consumers, we've got three and a half million gas consumers who depend on natural gas to heat their homes and run their businesses. And the OEB is going to continue to support these consumers by ensuring natural gas is delivered to them safely, reliably and responsibly.   Dan Seguin  31:14 Okay, again, this one's for you Harneet. Ontario is Canada's most populated province, can you tell us a bit about how you ensure Ontarian voices are heard, and included in your decision making?   Harneet Panesar  31:30 Yeah, so we've got 5 million electricity consumers I just mentioned, we've got three and a half natural gas consumers. So we've got a fairly large consumer base. And it's really important that we hear what Ontarians have to say. And so we've done a couple of things. And let me run you through them. The first one Carolyn, alluded to earlier, which was around making sure people could engage with us, we actually opened up a new platform and launched it, and it's called engage with us. And if you ever wanted to join it, just Google, we'd be engaged with us. And it really lays out all the various initiatives and work streams and programs that the Ontario Energy Board is undertaking. It gives timelines, it has documents, it even has a friendly smile of some of our staff that are helping lead the work along with their emails, so you can contact and reach out to us, it's one way of us making sure that we're transparent about all the work we're doing. And we're engaging with tumors, and taking in any input that they may have. So that's one way the other, the other piece that I think is really important is listening to the customers themselves. About a year ago, just shortly after I joined the Ontario Energy Board, I started a program called voice of the customer. And it was an important program for me, because one of the one of the teams that I have within my shop is responsible for the call center, they take in the calls, the emails, and the chats. And it's one thing to see all that data on a dashboard, or you know, in a PowerPoint slide deck, it's another thing to actually get on the horn and actually hear the voices of consumers, understand their sentiment, hear the emotion, hear their voices. And it was really important for me to be able to do that. And so we set up this program, and it's a monthly occurrence in which myself and my peers, the executive team, we get on the call, and we hear the voice of the customers, we hear what they're saying to us. And so that's one other way that we connect with our consumers. The other thing I'll note is that, you know, our adjudication process is a public process. And, you know, we look forward to having Ontarians participate in that we do also have consumer interest groups, part of that. But we also look to utilities to make sure that as they're building out their plans, that they're engaging with consumers, they also have a role to engage with them and make sure that they're delivering what consumers want. I'll also just put in a bit of a plug that, you know, I talked a little bit about our call center that handles the calls and emails and chats, we get almost 10,000 interactions. And these are really important data points for us. And you know, I created a part of the organization about a year ago called Operation Decision Support, to really help us make data driven decisions. And so collecting information from our calls is very vital. But the point I want to make is that we also have a chat function, which also won an award about a year, year and a half ago. And it's not fed by robots. It's actually the same agents that would also pick up your calls and also respond to emails. So the message you get is very aligned and consistent. We're very proud of, you know, our ways of being able to communicate with our consumers.   Harneet Panesar  34:19 Okay, now it's your turn, Carolyn, let's talk about the OEB's two stakeholder committees. What are the energy exchange and adjudication of the modernization committee all about?   Carolyn Calwell  34:34 Our stakeholders are critical to us. And so we've made some deliberate efforts to create structures to engage them. Energy Exchange is a form of CEOs and senior leaders. And it's really a tremendous platform where we receive advice about our priorities and direction. We've tried to use that forum, not just to talk to people but to hear from and to engage them on questions. Is that we're struggling with? What should we focus on? How should we go about our work? What matters to them, because it's important that the regulator, not just tell everybody what to do, but also listen to the sector that we work in. So this advice has been really critical for us. And it's really helped us on work, for instance, around the letter of direction that we received from the minister, as we've tried to figure out how to unpack that letter, to figure out what the priorities are within it, and how to actually deliver against it. The adjudication modernization committee is made up of regulatory experts, and they give us advice and provide feedback on all things that you indicate from rules of practice and procedure and filing requirements, to advice about intervenors. This has a specific focus to consider best practices and approaches to adjudication. And what's particularly helpful I think about this group is that they have a direct line with the Chief Commissioner. So it's a way for her to talk to stakeholders, and hear about what matters to them on what happens in the hearing room, and everything that goes around. So these are just two examples of how we engage with our stakeholders. But we value tremendously the various working groups, forums, meetings that we call that people participate in, because we know we ask a lot of people we know we demand a lot of their time and a lot of their thinking. But this is all part of the communication that we need on the two way street, so to speak. And, and we really do value everything that people give us in these various forms.   Dan Seguin  36:31 SoI'll ask you both. What is Ontario doing right, right now, that gives you hope, either provincially, or from the energy sector itself?   Carolyn Calwell  36:47 I'll jump in on though, you know, we've spent the afternoon talking about some of the challenges that the energy sector faces and that, you know, that really society faces. And these are big, big challenges, daunting tasks ahead of us. But what gives me hope is that there are some tremendously smart people in our sector and a real commitment to work together. So we're all in this together, we all have a role to play. And I truly believe that we'll make progress.   Harneet Panesar  37:19 Well, I totally agree with Carolyn. I mean, you know, this notion of collaboration coming together and working together, I think we're doing a lot of things right. From that perspective, even this podcast, you know, being here and talking to you and connecting with your listeners, hopefully, that brings a bit of a circle back to us and people reaching back out to us, we need to, you know, no one can be operating in a black box, you need to collaborate and work together. The only other thing, maybe I'll say, in terms of what we're doing what we're doing, right, and I'm going to put on my proud Canadian engineering hat on here and say, look, we've been pioneers in the energy space for decades, you know, when it came to hydroelectric generation in southern Ontario, to even the CANDU nuclear reactors, I think Canadians have been doing a lot to pioneer push the energy sector forward. And you know, advancements and technologies even like SMRs, I think is, is a proud moment for Canadians and leading the charge and how energy is now sort of delivered, you know, bringing energy sources closer to where they're being consumed. And these are game changing types of investments and technologies that, you know, Ontario is making. So definitely a lot of things, things of pride. And I think a lot of things that we're doing right, Dan,   Dan Seguin  38:23 Carolyn, and Harneet, we always end our interviews with some rapid fire questions.Are you ready?   Carolyn Calwell  38:33 Ready to go.   Dan Seguin  38:36 Harneet, maybe you could start us off by telling us what you're reading right now?   Harneet Panesar  38:42 Okay, well, I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that every night I read Paw Patrol and Peppa Pig for bedtime. That's not my bedtime at someone else's bedtime. But in terms of myself when I put my feet up. Now I just picked up a book. It's not new on the shelf. It's just new to me. I haven't had a chance to really go through it, but it's a book by Rupi Kaur or R-u-p-i, last names core K-A-u-R. And it's a political novel and the book is called The Sun and Her Flowers.   Dan Seguin  39:09 Okay,what about you, Carolyn?   Carolyn Calwell  39:11 I'm reading some essays from MFK. Fisher in the Art of Eating. It's fantastic. Very funny.   Dan Seguin  39:19 Okay, Carolyn, who is someone that you truly admire?   Carolyn Calwell  39:24 Retired Chief Justice Beverley McLaughlin has to top my list.   Dan Seguin  39:27 And what about you, Harneet? Who do you truly admire?   Harneet Panesar  39:32 I would say it would be my 99 year old grandfather, who was a retired Air Force engineer from the Royal Indian Air Force who lived a very colorful life full of incredible stories and journeys. And as always a source of inspiration for me.   Dan Seguin  39:51 Okay, we've all been watching a lot more Netflix and TV lately. What are some of your favorite movies or shows?   40:01 For me, Madness is coming up. So my TV is dedicated to women's NCAA basketball.   40:08 I'm a bit of a foodie. And I have a bit of a travel bug. So I like traveling and eating. And so there's a series called Somebody Feed Phil, which brings sort of traveling and food together and a little bit of comedy. So it's a nice casual watch. So we've been watching a lot of that.   Dan Seguin  40:23 Lastly, Harneet, what is exciting you about your industry right now?   Harneet Panesar  40:30 For me, it's changed. And, you know, maybe I'm a creature of change. It's sort of where I thrive. But it's exciting to see us move forward and in the directions we are in. So for me, change is really what's exciting. I'm proud to be part of it. I'm looking forward to what the future brings with it.   Dan Seguin  40:50 Okay, what about you, Carolyn, what's exciting you?   Carolyn Calwell  40:54 I couldn't agree with Harneet more, change is exciting. I think there's a tremendous opportunity ahead of us. I think we're gonna see the world shift, and I'm eager to be part of it.   Dan Seguin  41:04 Well, Carolyn, and Harneet. This is it. We've reached the end of another episode of The Think Energy podcast. If our listeners want to learn more about you, or your organization, how can they connect?   Carolyn Calwell  41:20 They can find us on LinkedIn or at OEB.ca. And we're eager to hear from everybody.   Dan Seguin  41:28 Again, thank you both so much for joining me today. I hope you had a lot of fun.   Carolyn Calwell  41:34 Thank you so much for having us.   Dan Seguin  41:38 Thanks for tuning in for another episode of the Think Energy podcast. Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review wherever you're listening. And to find out more about today's guests or previous episodes, visit thinkenergypodcast.com I hope you will join us again next time as we spark even more conversations about the energy of tomorrow.      

Iesoļojot gavēņa noslēguma daļā, priesteris Arnis Maziļevskis iesaka pārdomāt, kā uztvert ciešanas par kaut ko skaistu un svarīgākais - neiedomāties tos esam arī par dzīves jēgu.

Array Cast - February 17, 2023 Show NotesThanks to Bob Therriault and Adám Brudzewsky for gathering these links:[01] 00:01:20 APLSeeds '23 https://www.dyalog.com/apl-seeds-user-meetings/aplseeds23.htm[02] 00:02:26 KXCon https://kx.com/events/kx-con-2023/[03] 00:04:30 plrank.com https://plrank.com/[04] 00:05:30 Michael Higginson ArrayCast Episode https://www.arraycast.com/episodes/episode46-michael-higginson Iverson Centenary https://britishaplassociation.org/iverson-centenary-december-2020/[05] 00:06:30 Lower Canada College https://www.lcc.ca/ IBM 2741 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_2741 Anderson Jacobson serial modem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anderson_Jacobson Gilman and Rose - An Interactive Approach https://apl.wiki/Books#APL_―_An_Interactive_Approach Leap Year https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar#Accuracy APL implementation Leap Year https://tryapl.org/?clear&q=≠%E2%8C%BF0%3D4000%20400%20100%204∘.%7C1600%201700%201800%201900%202000%202100%202200%202300%204000&run[06] 00:13:53 Larry Breed https://apl.wiki/Larry_Breed Scientific Time Sharing Corporation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_Time_Sharing_Corporation STSC promotional video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjgkhK-nXmk 666 BOX https://www.jsoftware.com/papers/APLQA.htm#666box[07] 00:17:20 University of Toronto https://www.utoronto.ca/ Arthur Whitney https://aplwiki.com/wiki/Arthur_Whitney I.P. Sharp and Associates https://apl.wiki/I.P._Sharp_Associates[08] 00:18:23 360 Assembler https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_System/360_architecture#Instruction_formats Eric Iverson https://aplwiki.com/wiki/Eric_Iverson[09] 00:22:40 IESO https://www.ieso.ca/[10] 00:22:50 Smart Meters https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_meter[11] 00:23:30 Kdb+ https://code.kx.com/q/learn/brief-introduction/[12] 00:24:30 First Derivatives https://fdtechnologies.com/ KX https://kx.com/ KX Sensors https://kx.com/solutions/energy-utilities/[13] 00:27:52 George Hotz https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Hotz[14] 00:36:56 ⎕ec https://abrudz.github.io/SAX2/SAX61.pdf#page=790[15] 00:41:20 APL Programming Language https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APL_(programming_language) Blackberry RIM https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlackBerry_Limited Rise and Fall of Blackberry https://www.businessinsider.com/blackberry-smartphone-rise-fall-mobile-failure-innovate-2019-11[16] 00:45:45 Ken Iverson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_E._Iverson Guy Steele https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_L._Steele_Jr.[17] 00:55:12 Nick Psaris ArrayCast Episode https://www.arraycast.com/episodes/episode42-nick-psaris-q[18] 00:56:23 Right Parenthesis ) https://apl.wiki/System_command Quad ⎕ https://apl.wiki/Quad_name[19] 00:57:16 APL2 https://aplwiki.com/wiki/APL2 Axiom System https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/800136.804446 Trenchard More https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trenchard_More Jim Brown https://aplwiki.com/wiki/Jim_Brown[20] 00:59:28 SHARP APL https://aplwiki.com/wiki/SHARP_APL Roger Moore https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Moore_(computer_scientist) Richard Lathwell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_H._Lathwell[21] 01:04:15 Array Models https://apl.wiki/Array_model[22] 01:04:50 Strand Notation https://apl.wiki/Strand_notation[23] 01:06:05 J Programming Language https://www.jsoftware.com/indexno.html[24] 01:18:02 q Programming Language https://kx.com/academy/ Type of https://apl.wiki/Type[25] 01:21:13 Haskell Programming Language https://www.haskell.org/[26] 01:24:30 ⎕ML Migration Level https://apl.wiki/Migration_level[27] 01:25:50 Oxide and Friends https://oxide.computer/podcasts/oxide-and-friends Java Pubhouse https://www.javapubhouse.com/episodes[28] 01:27:26 British APL Meetings https://britishaplassociation.org/[29] 01:35:06 contact AT ArrayCast DOT COM

Markham interviews Mark Winfield, professor of environmental studies at York University, about the Simultaneous release of three reports last week about Ontario's electricity system for the future: IESO's Annual Planning Outlook, Conservation and Demand Management Framework Mid-Term Review, Pathways to Decarbonization.

El ingeniero Francisco Oliva Moros, CEO de IESO, habla respecto al crecimiento exponencial que ha registrado la industria manufacturera de exportación en los últimos años.

Energy storage means more than just batteries. There are many different technologies that could offset peak electricity consumption periods, ultimately preventing the need for expensive, emissions-heavy infrastructure that could lead us away from our clean-energy goals. Justin Rangooni, Executive Director of Energy Storage Canada, joins thinkenergy to explain how energy storage can help meet demand spikes, the importance of supporting wide-scale deployment of renewable energy sources, and much more.    Related links https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-rangooni-5063b542/ https://www.energystoragecanada.org/   --- To subscribe using Apple Podcasts To subscribe using Spotify To subscribe on Libsyn --- Subscribe so you don't miss a video: YouTube Check out our cool pics on Instagram More to Learn on Facebook Keep up with the Tweets Transcript: Dan Seguin  00:06 This is thinkenergy, the podcast that helps you better understand the fast changing world of energy through conversations with game changers, industry leaders, and influencers. So join me, Dan Seguin, and my co host, Rebecca Schwartz, as we explore both traditional and unconventional facets of the energy industry. Hey, everyone, welcome back. Today we're going to talk all things energy storage in Canada. We're welcoming back a guest we had on the show in 2020. To see what are some of the recent developments and insights in the energy storage industry that have occurred since our last discussion.   Rebecca Schwartz  00:51 Well, when I think of energy storage, I immediately think of batteries, you know, like Duracell, the Energizer Bunny, or even the battery pack in our cell phones- and mine that dies way too often. Honestly, it's pretty cool how we can just carry around these little capsules of energy anywhere we need or want.   Dan Seguin  01:09 It's actually a good comparison. But instead of charging your smartphone or powering your flashlight, energy storage is being leveraged on a whole other scale that could hold the key to many of our environmental and energy goals. According to urban insight, energy storage has been identified as the key to climate change mitigation. But globally, only 3 to 4% of electricity generated by utilities is being stored. They estimate that to limit global warming to below two celsius, energy storage capacity needs to triple overall by 2050.   Rebecca Schwartz  01:55 Recently, an article was published by Energy Storage Canada about our country's evolving electricity grid, and how energy storage and distributed energy resources are putting increasing expectations on our electricity grid to be more adaptable.   Dan Seguin  02:11 Power grids, by their very nature are designed for the fluctuation in electricy demand throughout the day by increasing and decreasing supply when necessary. Energy storage could offset peak electricity consumption periods like in the afternoon, and in early evening when people are returning from work or school. Not to mention our hot and humid summer days when everyone is running their air conditioning units.   Rebecca Schwartz  02:42 Storing energy and integrating it when it's needed into the system would prevent more expensive and potentially emission heavy infrastructure from being built.   Dan Seguin  02:52 So here's today's big question- what are ways countries like Canada can speed up its storage capacity to suit its demand? And are we on track to make it happen in time?   Rebecca Schwartz  03:09 Energy Storage Canada is the national voice for the energy storage industry. They are the only association that's dedicated to advancing energy storage in the country. Justin Rangooni, the Executive Director at Energy Storage Canada is here to talk about how Canada is and isn't charging up the energy storage revolution.   Dan Seguin  03:30 Nice to have you back, Justin. Let's dive in because I'm anxious to chat with you about what has changed within the energy storage industry here in Canada since we last spoke in back in November 2020. So let's kick this off with this question. What's been the most significant change in your industry since we last spoke in 2020?   Justin Rangooni  03:55 Thanks for the question. Great to be back in two years felt like not even that long ago. So it's really good. Good. Good. Good to chat again. So a lot has happened since we last chatted. So I think when we last spoke, it was all about talking about how at Energy Storage Canada we are trying to talk with decision makers in Ontario and the rest of Canada, about the benefits energy storage provide the system. Reliability, affordability, what have you and all the various services that energy storage can provide. So it's a matter of, of really educating decision makers. So flash fast forward, fast forward two years to today. It's more now, what's really changed is that the decision makers have now recognized that and now as they're doing their system planning and will focus in on Ontario specifically, is as they're talking about system planning and what is going to meet capacity needs and what's going to be used for any decarbonisation efforts. Energy storage is part of that conversation. It's part of that calculus. And this is exactly what we wanted to see and that's what- that's what's really changed. It's now part of that calculus in terms of what's going to happen next.   Rebecca Schwartz  05:03 How important is energy storage and supporting wide scale deployment of renewable energy resources so that Canada can meet its net-zero goals?   Justin Rangooni  05:11 I think the best response would be I found a new analogy. And it was from the New Yorker in a recent article that talked about the old energy storage provider in terms of optimizing the grids, the assets that are already on the grid. So what they talked about is when in situations when the wind is blowing, the sun is shining, the hydro, the water is flowing, the nuclear plants are humming, energy storage allows electricity grid to inhale. And then when the sun's not blowing, or the winds, that winds not blowing, or the sun's not shining, or the water is not flowing, or the nuclear plants aren't humming, what energy storage allows the grid is to exhale, and deliver that electricity to homes and businesses and to charge devices. And so that's what energy storage can do is to optimize.   Rebecca Schwartz  05:56 All right now, is there concern though, that energy storage will affect the grid? Like cause instability or create potential imbalances of supply? And is this maybe where energy storage and renewable energy intersect?   Justin Rangooni  06:09 Well, I think what energy storage does is solved some of those problems. What it does is, if it's part of the solution, the overall solution in terms of balancing the grid and optimizing what you have, energy storage can do that. Because one of the benefits of energy storage is that it's portable. It can be it can be situated anywhere in the province or in the country, and of every size and of all the various technologies available, there's lots to choose from. And as system planners can use that as a Swiss Army knife to make, make it work where it has to so we can balance the grid and optimize the assets and provide reliability. So energy storage is is that solution provider for the energy system.   Dan Seguin  06:47 Okay. In your opinion, Justin, what's impeding the wider adoption of energy storage across Canada's provinces and territories?   Justin Rangooni  06:57 So I think one of them, would it be just an- I think we talked about this two, almost two years ago. It's just a matter of for some systems, operators and governments in certain jurisdictions now, in terms of changing their mindset into away from traditional generation, traditional poles and wires, to see what energy storage and other DER types or non wire solutions can provide to the system. Credit to Ontario and Alberta. And we're seeing this a bit in Nova Scotia. And obviously, in Quebec, they're understanding the role now that energy storage and other non wires alternatives can provide. So they're developing roadmaps, they're reducing regulatory barriers, and they're creating the market mechanisms to really enable energy storage, I think other provinces across the country who are a little bit behind will start to follow suit, as well.   Dan Seguin  07:47 Okay, another question here. I think it's safe to say that the economics of storage is improving, and in some cases, has reached cost parity with conventional technology alternatives. Are the high upfront costs a factor that's discouraging more investors? Or is there something else?   Justin Rangooni  08:08 I wouldn't say it's- I think what's discouraging investors necessarily with would just be the certainty of where that, where the market mechanisms are going to be for energy storage. So in the US, you have, I think, almost a dozen states, who have a energy storage procurement or energy storage targets. So that's sending a signal to the to the sector and investors that we're looking for energy storage, we're looking for non wire alternatives to put on the grid. So what that's I think that's the biggest thing that others are looking for in Canada is, where's that certainty? Where's that? Where's the path forward for energy storage in the country? So I think in Ontario, we're starting to see that with their capacity needs that are coming up, people are looking at it and saying, okay, energy storage can definitely fill that role. So they're seeing the interest in that. So you're seeing a lot more interest in Ontario for the role of energy storage.   Rebecca Schwartz  09:03 All right, Justin, if you had to break it down super quick for someone, what would be your elevator pitch for why we should integrate energy storage into a broader system framework? So if you had one minute to convince them that energy storage is the missing link to accelerating our path, to net-zero, what would you say?   Justin Rangooni  09:20 So I won't do the analogy again. But if it was the first time of the elevator, that first I would use the inhaling/exhaling analogy. But what I would say quickly is simply that energy storage is a solution provider. It provides different solutions depending on what the need is. If you need it for reliability reasons to make sure that the lights are going to be on energy storage can play that role by saving that energy when it's needed. Storing the energy when it's when it's when it's needed, and then issuing it and then also for affordability reasons to defer investments and new generation or new poles and wires. There's a lot of different reasons for energy storage, but again, I think that analogy is the best one I've seen so far.   Dan Seguin  10:04 Some might not like me for this next one. But here goes Justin, how can energy storage help meet demand spikes, and also reduce or even eliminate the need to maintain or build new gas plants, which are among the dirtiest generators on the grid here in Ontario.   Justin Rangooni  10:27 So where energy storage can play that critical role is storing electricity when it's generated at times when maybe you don't need it. So instead of curtailing or spilling water, or unnecessary or maybe importing it, or exporting it at a loss for that excess surplus generation, energy storage can step store that electricity. So when there's peaks in demand, and energy storage can, you know use that the system planners can use the electricity that is stored during those peak demands, and to really start leveling out that need for the new peaker plants or existing peaker plants for that matter. So it's really storing the energy for a future use. And that's, that's why we're so excited about energy storage.   Dan Seguin  11:12 Now, in an article you wrote in 2021, you reference that the Independent Electricity System Operator was undertaking a study on the potential phase out of Canada's gas generation. You noted that energy storage Canada was keen to participate in the study. Has there been any movement? What are you hoping to achieve?   Justin Rangooni  11:39 So what happens is we last talked is the IESO did kind of, I would call it a preliminary report, on their decarbonisation efforts or the phase out of natural gas. And a lot of stakeholders took issue with it because of the some of the assumptions that were made. And even the Minister of Energy, looked at it and said, you know what, go back and develop the path. So we are eager to see what that path will be now coming out in November, I think the report is due from the IESO. And what we would like to see is a various, a long range of assumptions and scenarios that really get us to that proper path that is cost effective and reliable. The first path kind of just used one scenario. But I think there are very much very different paths to achiev net-Zero in Ontario and in Canada, and what energy storage can provide because there's different technologies because it could be short duration, or long duration, could be pumped storage or flywheels, or batteries, or what have you. And it can be in different locations, throughout the province or throughout the country. There are many different pathways to get there. So that's what we would really like to see in that report. Show us all the different scenarios; show us the cost effectiveness so you have a wide menu, a variety of a menu to choose from. And we think it can be done. In fact, energy storage, Canada will be issuing a report, working on a report right now, that will be done later this year, with regards to how much energy storage will be required in Canada to achieve net-zero by 2035, that the federal government targeted. Because we're hearing a lot of other numbers of saying how we're gonna get there. So we're trying to say as well how much energy storage is going to be required to make that happened. So we look forward to sharing that report with you in the next few months.   Rebecca Schwartz  13:22 All right, Justin, are you seeing policy or regulatory movement at the municipal, provincial or federal level, to help facilitate energy storage into future plans? And could you talk a bit to what's encouraging you and maybe touch a little on what's discouraging you?   Justin Rangooni  13:38 So I would say encouraging is the example set out in Ontario and Alberta. They they took a concerted effort credit to the Alberta System Operating and credit to the Ontario's IESO for developing a roadmap to say, okay, we know energy storage is coming. So what do we have to do to get our house in order with market rules with regulatory rules with system tool upgrades? So they've really set out a nice path? Obviously, maybe discouraging, we would say and Ontario is okay, you're not, maybe you can get a little faster in terms of really that opportunity of value stacking all the all the values that energy storage can provide, we probably want to see that timeline accelerated a little bit, but at least it's out there. We and we hope that this could serve as a good signpost for other provinces to follow. And we're seeing that hopefully in Nova Scotia, and hopefully maybe we'll see that in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick, what have you trying to say? What is that roadmap to really enabling energy storage because we know it's coming.   Dan Seguin  13:38 Now, let's tackle a catchy subject. Cost. How does energy storage protect provinces, cities, utilities and customers against rising demand and energy costs?   Justin Rangooni  14:50 So I would probably hark back to our report that we did in the summer of 2020 by Power Advisory for Ontario. We looked at and said well, how if there were at least 1000 megawatts of energy storage on the grid, what would be the impact for ratepayers. And what the power advisory report concluded was with with at least 1000 megawatts of energy storage on the grid, it would save ratepayers approximately $2 billion over the over the next decade. And what they looked at was ways that it was saving ratepayers money. It was deferring invest poles, a traditional poles and wires investments, maybe they don't have to be made right now you can defer some of those. Avoidance or deferral of new power generation, which is costly. So it's, it's those mainly two and again, it's also price, perhaps arbitrage, too where we're seeing, with some larger commercial industrial customers, who have behind the meter storage installed, and are avoiding the high demand times by using the energy storage and it's stored behind the meter to save, save on cost as well. So that's where we're looking at the really the what, what energy storage can provide in terms of affordability issues. And as you mentioned before, the costs of energy storage are going down. And we're talking about batteries, we're seeing a continued decline, and forecasts are showing a decline continuing for the rest of the decade. But again, as with other technologies of energy storage technology, it's all a matter of when do you want to- where do you want to use it and what benefit it's providing?   Dan Seguin  16:19 Justin, is it fair to say that most renewable energy, like wind and solar, may require daily energy storage to maximize their benefits and secure against seasonal shortfalls in Canada, when the wind doesn't blow as much like in the summer, and the sun doesn't shine as much like in the winter?   Justin Rangooni  16:41 So yes, I think energy storage could definitely optimize that variable, renewable generation. And depending on what the technology you're looking at, it could even be done, you know, hourly too if you have a certain batteries are co-located, or are very close to those the wind and solar assets as well. And again, energy storage also provides that benefit to all forms of generation, it's a matter of storing what's on the grid and the system operators using the tool that energy storage provides to say, well, we don't need all this power that all our generation assets are producing. So we're going to utilize this battery, these energy storage resources, we have to store that excess energy, and then to release it when it's required. So again, if why we're so excited energy storage, because we're just talking about batteries, there's batteries, there's pump storage, there's flywheels, or compressed air, there's thermal storage, there's a lot of possibilities. And they all can play a critical role in optimizing wind and solar assets, and hydro and nuclear assets as well.   Dan Seguin  17:42 Now I have a follow up question for you, Justin. What's your prediction based on the current trajectory on how much of all energy use in Canada's 2050 future could be stored at any given time? And why is that important?   Justin Rangooni  18:00 So it's probably hard to forecast that number. Now, our report will put a number on what is the minimum to achieve net-zero by 2035. So we will have a number, a national number and broken down by the provinces as well, to see what that number is. But really, it all depends on what the system planner is using the energy storage for. Now, you could have big giant, big energy storage projects, that could be in the almost 1000 megawatts, all the way down to smaller energy storage projects with or in the single digit megawatts or less. So it really depends on what the system planner wants to utilize those energy storage projects for. So it's really tough to tell, I think an example would be right now in California, they have about 3000 megawatts of grid scale connected storage, their peak demand is almost 30,000. So 10% in California, right now, is energy storage, meeting that peak demand. And that's only growing. So again, I think it all depends on what the system planner is looking and the jurisdiction and a lot of factors. But as we're seeing in California, energy storage is playing an increasing critical role to meeting energy needs.   Rebecca Schwartz  19:07 Okay, so we've talked a lot about the many applications for energy storage beyond just cost reduction. And I'll go ahead to name a few just now. So we've talked about battery storage, increasing capacity, improving reliability, supporting renewable integration and deferring transmission upgrades. So because of its versatility, and its ability, battery storage, some might say it could be the true Swiss Army knife of grid solutions. What would you tell our audience is the best feature of battery storage? Or maybe what's most impressive secret feature that others aren't aware of?   Justin Rangooni  19:44 That's a great question. So I'm gonna do my little public service announcement. And I do this for a lot of decision makers to and others. Well, we alked about energy storage, we should talk about more than just batteries. I know it's easy just to say battery storage and a lot. A lot of a lot of people do that and it's understandable. But again, there's a lot A lot of different energy storage technologies, Energy Storage Canada, we're technology agnostic. So we represent batteries and all the different chemistries of battery, not just lithium there's zinc and there's other chemistries. We also talk about pumped storage and flywheels, thermal storage, mechanical storage, what name you there's, there's a lot of different energy storage technologies coming. So maybe that's part of the secret is that there's so when we talk about energy storage, is that there's so many different technologies there that can be used of different sizes, of different characteristics. And one thing I would say a bit of a secret, probably, that is a secret, but just something we should all remember is the portability of energy storage, this can be put anywhere, depending on the technology, it doesn't have to necessarily be in a certain part of the province or the country that has a good natural resource. It can be put anywhere that the system planner needs it. So as we're talking about even utilities, on the utility distribution side, they'll look at their distribution network and say well, where can energy storage work here? And then obviously, the IESO is looking at it from the grander scheme, the prvoincial scale, and saying well, where does it make sense? And so that's the, that's probably the best kept secret of energy storage, and it can be put anywhere.   Dan Seguin  21:10 Having gone through two years of pandemic, what has been the impact of this pandemic, on the energy storage industry? Have there been opportunities that perhaps you weren't aware of before?   Justin Rangooni  21:26 That's an interesting topic. I think, what, obviously, the pandemic has been tough on all sectors with supply chain issues, so that that energy storage is no different from what we're seeing in other jurisdictions as well. But what I think it has allowed system operators and governments to do is to think of other ways how to decarbonize how to provide reliability service, how to make the system more affordable, and has allowed them to start thinking a bit about more innovative solutions, like energy storage, and other non wires alternatives. So the pandemic has allowed that opportunity for more positive thinking, and we're starting to see that in other in Ontario, and and throughout Canada.   Rebecca Schwartz  22:06 All right, we would love to hear your thoughts on vehicle to grid and vehicle to building systems. And if you think that they'll become mainstream when regulatory barriers are lifted.   Justin Rangooni  22:14 So with that one, I think we've worked with some great partners like Plug'n Drive, and others, and there's a few of our members like Peak Power, who are very interested in the vehicle to grid initiative. And where we see a lot of potential obviously, is, with the increased electrification, they hope we'll have a lot more EVs on the road, is we look at that and say, well, your electric vehicle could be your battery for your home, it could be a battery for the local distribution company, if they wanted to utilize it. So in terms of your question of vehicle to grid and what it can do, I think sky's the limit in terms of the innovation, that this could be a real game changer in terms of providing needed electricity when it's required or properly optimizing it. So it's great that people are- utilities and and others are looking at electric vehicles more than just for transportation. It can also power your home, it could help power the distribution network. It's really exciting possibilities.   Dan Seguin  23:15 Okay, here's a bonus round question for customers. What's something you want the average electricity customer or homeowner to know about energy storage? Is there a place for them at the table for them to adopt this tech and help reduce climate change or their own emissions now? What are your recommendations?   Justin Rangooni  23:40 Great follow up to the last question. I think in the next- the short term answer to that one is to look to electric vehicles. That is your best way as the average homeowner in terms of your own decarbonisation efforts, really, is to get that electric vehicle. And again, with vehicle to grid, there could be a lot of possibilities that can even be more decarbonizing to the grid as well. So I would say to the average homeowner, the car battery electric vehicle can be a storage device for you to be a storage device for your utility, a lot of possibilities. So that I would say and then maybe further on in a few more years time, I think you could start seeing some residential energy storage of devices in the home as well. Again, playing with the the electric vehicle, you have in the car, maybe you have some solar panels on your roof, or again, the utility is seeing that the residential energy storage is a great tool for the utility to use. Again, there's a lot of possibilities down the road for the average homeowner but I'd say you know, electric vehicles are here. There's a lot more I would say go pop, go look at Plug'n Drive's website, go look at your local utility, talk to them, and go to your car dealership and see what electric vehicles are out there.   Rebecca Schwartz  24:53 All right, Justin, as you know, we always end our interviews with some rapid fire questions, and we've got some new ones for you. Are you ready?   Justin Rangooni  25:01 Okay, let's go.   Rebecca Schwartz  25:02 What are you reading right now?   Justin Rangooni  25:04 Oh, okay, so I am reading the fiery trial about Abraham Lincoln's evolution of his thinking on slavery, pre Civil War and during Civil War, and obviously afterwards a bit.   Rebecca Schwartz  25:18 If you had to name a boat, if you had one, what would you name it?   Justin Rangooni  25:21 That's a hard one. The only thing that comes to my mind is Boaty McBoatface. That's all like that's, that's it.   Rebecca Schwartz  25:27 Who is someone that you admire?   Justin Rangooni  25:30 So I should say my parents by now I'm talking to Hydro Ottawa. So my answer will be Bryce Conrad.   Rebecca Schwartz  25:35 What's the closest thing to real magic that you've witnessed?   Justin Rangooni  25:38 Oh, I would say the Toronto Raptors winning the NBA championship. I didn't, I didn't think that would have happened in my lifetime. So it was really magical to see and hopefully we can see it again.   Rebecca Schwartz  25:48 What's been the biggest challenge to you personally, since the pandemic began?   Justin Rangooni  25:52 Oh, thebandwidth with the kids were when they were home, with the spouse being home and working. Yeah, it was the bandwidth it was that was that was a challenge.   Rebecca Schwartz  26:02 Okay, we've all been watching a lot more Netflix and TV lately. What's your favorite show or movie right now?   Justin Rangooni  26:07 Oh, I think we watched Superstore and The Fffice on Netflix on perpetual, perpetual loop. It's a nice comfort watch.   Dan Seguin  26:15 Lastly, what's exciting you about your industry right now?   Justin Rangooni  26:21 Well, that's a great, great question to wrap it up on because I think it's this is an exciting sector to be in. I think we're catching the wave right now on some really big possibilities and opportunities for the sector. Because we're energy storage we can provide that value on the utility scale. And through to the distribution side and behind the meter to the residential. I think energy storage is really starting to take off and really becoming seen as a mainstream resource and a tool in our- in Canada's electricity system. So that's what's really exciting and really excited to see what the rest of the decade is going to bring for energy storage.   Dan Seguin  26:57 Well, Justin, this is it. We've reached the end of another episode of the thinkenergy podcast. If your listeners want to learn more about you and your organization, how can they connect?   Justin Rangooni  27:10 They can go on to energystoragecanada.org. We have a refreshed website, they can take a look and and find out some more information see all the work that we're doing see a page of our growing membership list, which includes Hydro Ottawa. Also they can attend our conference in October, it will be in person fingers crossed. Downtown Toronto is what we call it the only national conference focused on energy storage. So it's something if you're interested in storage. You don't want to miss it.   Dan Seguin  27:41 Again, Justin, thank you so much for joining us today. I hope you had lots of fun.   Justin Rangooni  27:46 I always do. This is fantastic. Thank you so much for having me back. Thank you, Daniel.   Dan Seguin  27:50 Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the thinkenergy podcast. And don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review wherever you're listening. And to find out more about today's guests or previous episodes, visit thinkenergypodcast.com. I hope you'll join us again next time as we spark even more conversations about the energy of tomorrow.  

El IESO Publio López Mondéjar, de Casasimarro ha logrado el galardón nacional del 38 Concurso Escolar del Grupo Social ONCE

Chris and Edgardo cover a lot of ground during this episode. Here are the references for a sample of the issues they discussed: Edgardo's new website that includes the electricity profiles of 24 OECD countries and whether, using which tech and at what price they have lowered emissions over the last 60 years is at (https://edecarb.org/) Edgardo noted the increasing recognition by many expert economists that "restructured" energy-only generation markets probably cannot facilitate the massive, long-term investment necessary for electrification, especially with the entry of (subsidized) renewables, is summarized here: (https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1389298276827021319.html) Chris and Edgardo discussed the most recent global electricity investment data from the IEA, including that for 2020's global $800 billion investment (including $300 billion of transmission and distribution), renewables made up 45% and nuclear only 5%. Nevertheless, the global total is less than half estimated ($2.3 trillion) amount for net zero by 2050 (https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-investment-2021) Nevertheless, Edgardo's preliminary statistical analysis suggests that renewables entry is associated with electricity price increases. One example is Germany's residential renewables surcharge, which totaled 25.6 billion in 2018 (https://www.iea.org/reports/germany-2020), which households appear to support, while in Ontario voters revolted, booting out the political party that introduced the GEA, with the incoming Government revoked the legislation and started subsidizing electricity prices, including $3.1 billion/year just for renewables https://www.ontario.ca/page/expenditure-estimates-ministry-energy-northern-development-and-mines-2021-22#section-6 Speaking of investment, Edgardo and Chris noted that Bruce had just announce the over-subscription of what is billed as the world's first “Green” nuclear bond for CAD$500 million. The “Second Party Opinion” (SPO) was provided by Cicero, which out of their three shades of green, gave it a “medium green” rather than a “dark green” set aside for wind and solar and the like, because of residual risks on proliferation, waste and radiation accidents: https://www.brucepower.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Second-Opinion-Bruce-Power-16July2021final.pdf Sticking to investment, Edgardo noted that in his most recent blog looking at the cost-benefit of refurbishing Pickering Nuclear Generation Station (PNGS) versus going forward with the IESO replacement scenario (https://www.ieso.ca/en/Learn/Ontario-Supply-Mix/Natural-Gas-Phase-Out-Study), the refurbishment scenario is a better financial and cost abatement cost option (https://edecarb.org/analysis/ontario-ix)

Today on Health in 2 Point 00, Jess and Matthew Holt talk about fundraising efforts this past week, as well as leadership issues within Talkspace. Papa raises 150 million dollars, bringing their total to 240 million. Sword raises 189 million dollars, with a secondary of 26 million dollars, bringing their total to 320 million dollars. Trevueta raises 105 million, and Trusted Health raises 149 million dollars. Ieso raises 57 million dollars. Talkspace had no growth in their third quarter, and their founding team left the company while their COO resigns after a review of conduct at a company offsite event.

Former President and CEO of Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator and new StrategyCorp Senior Advisor, Terry Young, joins the podcast to discuss the future of Canada's energy and electricity sectors. The podcast dives into pan-Canadian electricity and energy policy, climate change and COP26, the future of electric vehicles and cross-border energy trading, and more!

New considerations for innovating how electricity is generated, distributed, and stored are being made every day. This includes the development and implementation of distributed energy resources - a promising solution for increasing the integration of clean energy. How will distributed energy resources help us reach our climate change targets, and what changes will be needed in order for the grid to support them? Vice President of the Alectra Green Energy & Technology Centre, Neetika Sathe, is here with us today to give us the scoop. Related Content & Links:  Linkedin profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neetika-sathe-08ab644/ --- Transcript: Dan Seguin  00:51 Hey, everyone, welcome back. This is the ThinkEnergy podcast and today we'll explore and unpack distributed energy. I'm Dan Seguin.   Rebecca Schwartz  01:00 And I'm Rebecca Schwartz. You know, Dan, I've been thinking a lot about climate change.   Dan Seguin  01:04 Oh, boy, here comes another millennial rant.   Rebecca Schwartz  01:07 No, no, no, don't worry, I'm actually feeling grateful. Because when it comes to innovating, how we live and operate in order to stop and reverse climate change. Of course, Canada's goal is pretty ambitious and admirable. Canada's plans to be a netzero nation by 2050. I think it's pretty cool.   Dan Seguin  01:23 Absolutely very cool. And the City of Ottawa has also announced plans to be a zero emission city by 2050.   Rebecca Schwartz  01:31 To be honest, it feels like that's a lifetime away, since it's quite literally as many years away as I've been alive. But it's incredible news and evidence that our governments are committed to a decarbonized future.   Dan Seguin  01:42 and utilities! They're also gearing up at the front lines to align with these goals, especially in the electricity sector. New considerations for innovating how electricity is generated, distributed, and store are being made every day. This includes the development and implementation of distributed energy resources, a promising solution for increasing the integration of clean energy. Unlike the typical electricity journey, where it's supplied to customers from a centralized source, distributed energy resources are a means for customers to store their own generated electricity, which they can then choose to redirect the access back into the grid. Because this concept is quite different from how the grid was originally designed, a great deal of innovation and testing is required to ensure its continued reliability and safety.   Rebecca Schwartz  02:42 The people behind the Alectra green energy and technology center strongly believe in building a clean energy future and embracing new technologies. Now putting this belief into action, they have been leading the way for the development of emerging clean and customer friendly energy solutions, like distributed energy resources across their 1800 square kilometer service territory that serves approximately 1 million homes and businesses within 17 communities like Mississauga, St. Catharines and Hamilton.   Dan Seguin  03:11 So, Rebecca, here's today's big question: How will distributed energy resources help us reach our climate change targets, and what changes will be needed in order for the grid to support them? Vice President of Alectra green energy and technology center, the Neetika Sathe is here with us today to give us the scoop. Hey Neetika, welcome to the think energy podcast. Perhaps you can start us off by telling us a bit more about your role with electric Green Energy Technology Center.   Neetika Sathe  03:50 Hey, first of all, thank you so much for inviting me I can't tell you how excited I am to be here and for the opportunity to share my perspective and and the journey within the GRE&T Center. So for those of you who don't know, electric is the second largest municipally owned utility in all of North America, we serve over a million customers in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. within Alectra we launched the green energy and technology center in 2019 with a mandate to identify, evaluate and develop and accelerate emerging clean and customer friendly energy solutions. So think of us as the ground floor for innovation within Alectra, where clean energy ideas come to life.   Rebecca Schwartz  04:39 Thanks, Neetika. Now can you tell our listeners a bit about distributed energy resources, such as how they work and also provide a couple examples?   Neetika Sathe  04:48 Sure. So distributed energy resources, which we fondly call DERs are usually referred to smaller, clean generation units that are usually located within the customer's premises, the customer could be residential, or commercial or institutional. But typically those distributed energy resources are on the customer side on the other side of the meter, and interconnected with the grid. So to give you some examples, could be rooftop solar panels, wind generating units, wind turbines, battery storage, could be your lithium ion battery storage, smart heat pumps and even electric vehicles, basically, essentially any device that can be integrated and connected to the local distribution, system or grid that is within the proximity of the customer, and possibly owned, possibly operated by the customer.   Dan Seguin  05:58 Could you tell our listeners what makes distributed energy resources an attractive option? As we strive towards our net zero goals? Are they enough to help us get there.   Neetika Sathe  06:10 So netzero goals are rather lofty and extremely aspirational. So now the whole world is looking around trying to find those low hanging fruits that can get us to our netzero goals. The beauty of DERs is that they are largely clean, dispatchable, scalable, easy to integrate into the grid provided, we work on it upfront, if we catch the DERs. As an aftereffect, it's going to cause a lot of issues for the grid. So we have a generational opportunity to ensure that the ER is integrated properly into the grid. Because these are clean and sustainable, they hold a great promise in helping us reduce GHG emissions. And that would contribute towards net zero goals. So rather than talk at high level, let's take an example, solar panels on the roof to help meet the needs of a home, the same home could have a battery storage unit and electric vehicles. And going further, when when both is distributed energy resources are used to feed the local grid. So when there is a time of high GHG Emission emissions from the grid, we could switch over to these local DERs, we could ask the customers for their support to switch over to these clean local DERs and not need to switch on or power on the natural gas or any other fossil fuel large generation. And as a result, by the use of these DERs, we could eliminate GHG emissions from the energy systems.   Rebecca Schwartz  07:57 So what does having distributed energy resources look like from the customer's perspective? Do they necessitate any lifestyle changes? And what are some of the benefits.   Neetika Sathe  08:08 So traditionally, our customers have had a passive engagement. Typically, as customers, even when we go home, we flip the switch and we don't think about it what all is happening in the background to get those electrons into our home, to give us light or to power the TV or any other appliances. But as we are moving more towards a decentralized grid, as the technology options are coming up, as energy solutions are coming up with the DERs, the customer expectations are also changing. So they're literally being able to put the customer in the driver's seat, no pun intended as they drive electric. So they can now make the choice of when they want to use their own distributed energy resources. And when they want to purchase from the grid. So think of it as the customer becoming from a passive customer to a prosumer. Whereby they can be a producer of energy or a consumer of energy. And the choice is theirs. They make the call. So it's and the DERs of the customers could have they could have smart appliances, electric vehicle storage, solar roof or ground roof solar and and really being able to integrate all of this now does it mean any lifestyle change for the customer? I guess the trick is that all of this needs to be technology enabled. So think of it as a very high tech, yet high touch. In other words, the technology needs to do what the customers want. So the customer needs to continue having the lifestyle that they choose their choice. But the difference now is there is technology set in forget technology that enables them to have more choice than just the traditional electricity grid. So this is in stark contrast of the past, our electricity generation over centuries has been better customer has strictly been a passive receiver of energy,   Dan Seguin  10:25 Alectra's green energy and technology center has a number of pilot projects, such as this is a mouthful, folks, the York Region Non-wires, alternative demonstration project, and the powerhouse hybrid project. Can you tell us about the main intent behind these projects, and what your findings have been so far?   Neetika Sathe  10:49 So at the GRE&T Center, we always want to innovate with intention. And the intention behind the pilots is always look for Win Win Win solution, we're never satisfied with one win, it needs to be the first win has got to be for the customer. It's got to work for the customer, customer friendly, meaningful, purposeful, relevant, otherwise, it's not going to stick it'll just be a science experiment. The second win has to be for the grid, especially when you're talking with respect to DERs, the proliferation of the DERs, there needs to be a thoughtful and planned integration into the grid. And only then can you get a huge benefit out of the DERs for the customer and the grid. The third win is for all of society, and we're at times where climate change is no longer an 'if', and we're all looking for solutions that that we can that can make a difference within our generation, otherwise, the future generations won't have a planet to depend on. So our intention with all of the GRE&T center pilots, whether it's the IESO non buyers, alternative pilot, or the powerhouse of powerhouse hybrid grid exchange be working on multiple platforms and and solutions. It's got to be it's got to be a win across board.   Rebecca Schwartz  12:31 Okay. Now, can you tell us how projects like these are influencing and innovating the grid?   Neetika Sathe  12:37 The conversation is focused on the need for reform, transformation and regulatory change. But until you don't roll up your sleeves and actually work on it, you got to be able to get into the trenches. It's really difficult to forecast what all roadblocks and hot points you're going to gather along the way. So the whole idea is that when we're talking about the need for policy change, the need for regulatory change that we bring real time experience from our pilots into our discussion so that those discussions can be grounded in reality, otherwise, there is a lot of vaporware in the industry right now.   Dan Seguin  13:21 What are some of the biggest modernizations you foresee being made to the grid by 2050? How is digitisation influencing these processes?   Neetika Sathe  13:33 So the grid is going to get much smarter, wiser, more intelligent, and more connected. If anything, or industry is a little bit late to the party, and we've and we have the good fortune, or the luxury of learning from other industries where this disruption has already happened. Be in the taxi industry, the banking industry, retail industry, hotel industry, they're all being transformed by digitalization. And they're all banking on one basic fundamental shift in demographics - the openness for sharing economy. So whether it's an Airbnb or you look at Uber, you have democratization of their solutions, whereby a common citizen is willing to share their assets, or their comfort or their lifestyle, as long as they're getting rewarded and incentivized in a way that works for them. So in other words, you've got a car that's sitting around, you're only driving around 4% utilization of that asset, but then you've got a little extra time. You don't mind becoming an Uber driver. And you're you're gregarious, you like hanging around people. So it works for you and you make some money. Think of those kinds of concepts now coming into our energy world, whereby that's where, that's how the birth of the concept of transactive energy takes place, whereby I talked earlier about the customer becoming a prosumer. But now those prosumers with their own distributed energy resources, should be able to play in an energy market and give some and get some. So you may be able to give some of your comfort or your or your battery storage, because the grid needs it, but then the LDC may reward you back with some dollars or some loyalty points. In fact, we are teasing this very concept out with our grid exchange transactive energy platform,   Rebecca Schwartz  15:53 Supposing everyone suddenly started putting their hands up to have distributed energy resources, would it even be possible? What are the challenges that we'll need to overcome to start seeing their mainstream adoption all across Canada?   Neetika Sathe  16:07 So the answer to this question is very similar to a Facebook status update, it's complicated. The devil truly is in the details at the distribution feeder, or transformer level, or even at a green transformer at a street level, it is impossible to generalize across Ontario or across Canada. So it really depends on the state of the grid infrastructure. If the grid infrastructure has room, it's easy to add the DERs. But if the infrastructure is already at its limit, be a thermal limit, voltage, capacity, then you're going to run out of you're going to need to think out of the box solution. So I'll give you an example. On your street, if you've got, let's say 12 homes, if one of those neighbors buys electric and starts driving electric starts charging the car, when they come home at five o'clock, no big deal, your green transformer on your street will be able to take that additional 10-12 Whatever that kilo kilowatt load turns out to be. Now, but out of 12 of those homes, let's say five electric vehicles come along. Now that green transformer at five o'clock is going to go toast, it will burn down because we would have taken it beyond its capacity limits. So how do you ensure that you can add these DERs on the existing grid keep in mind the existing grid was never designed for this kind of additional load, right. But there is a need whether it is because of democratization or decentralization, people want those energy choices, then as the utilities, it's our job to ensure that we are able to onboard these distributed energy resources. And the way to do it is start thinking outside the box. For example, perhaps we stagger, we work closely with the customer, we engage the customer, we take their permission, so the customer needs to remain in the driver's seat, we take their permission, maybe some customers say I really don't care if I start charging at five o'clock, or you want to start charging me at nine o'clock, as long as my car is fully charged for my trip tomorrow morning to work. Yet some other customer may say my wife's expecting and I may need to rush to the hospital, so I want to override and I want my car charged right now no matter what the consequences are. So the beauty with DERs is the fragmented. Think of them, like these hundreds of 1000s of minions out there that you could literally you could you know, like you could run a virtual power plant, if you were only able to talk to all of them, If only you were able to monitor control and engage with the customer one on one with these. And that's where the power comes from. It's really the power of shared economy and put intelligence on top of it to be able to really engage on a two way conversation with the customer and harness the value from these DERs. So hence the need from a smart grid so that these DERs don't exert demand all at the same time. So you can stagger them, you can queue them up, you can toggle them, you can throttle them. There are so many different options. intelligent ways to work around the problem rather than just go to the basic let's just upgrade all the infrastructure which will be tremendously expensive.   Rebecca Schwartz  20:10 Do you perceive maintenance becoming an issue as the system becomes more decentralized?   Neetika Sathe  20:16 So there are there are pros and cons to decentralization. Definitely grid modernization will require some infrastructure cost and some maintenance cost - it's going to be a new regime, different from your traditional way of running the grid. And keep in mind right now our systems rest at night. And the peak usually happens within Ontario. It happens during summer, during sunny days, because our peak is mainly coming from air conditioning loads. However, if we go into deep decarbonisation, and we want to run in heating on electricity, we are quickly going to turn from a summer day peaking province to a winter night peaking province. So that's going to look very different. And I don't have the answer, what the repercussion will be on on the system maintenance, but it is going to be a very different kind of a grid to operate.   Dan Seguin  21:22 I'm wondering if you could expand on some of the features that make the home or business a better candidate for distributed energy resources? What are some of the determining factors.   Neetika Sathe  21:34 So it all depends on the needs of the individual home or business. So in some cases, it's very simple. If you want to put solar panels on your roof, you probably if you have a 15 year old roof, or 20 year old roof, you probably want to change your roof before you put the panels up. And if you've got a large tree that is shading your roof and you don't want to cut that trim that tree down your roof is probably not the optimum optimal place to put that solar. So it's some of it is very intuitive. When it comes to electric vehicles, for example, it really depends on how you what your driving patterns are. 60% of Canadian drivers are driving less than 60 kilometers a day. But law of averages does not work when you're looking at a specific person's needs. So if you are traveling across cities every day, you've got you're putting a lot of clicks on your car, and you only have one car within the family. Probably the current EVs are not a good fit for you. But having said that, models are coming up where the batteries battery sizes are increasing. And the infrastructure for charging on the road on route is also increasing. But if you are a household of two cars, and you you're you drive 50-60 to 100-150 kilometers a day, you actually are a fantastic candidate to drive electric and enjoy the benefits of a cleaner drive and a much more fun to drive experience. So it really depends on the specific DER and how it matches up with your lifestyle.   Rebecca Schwartz  23:22 Alright, so how might someone who was interested in adopting distributed energy resources for their homes or business get the ball rolling?   Neetika Sathe  23:30 Do your research. Learn whichever best way you learn for me I love hanging around people I learned best by talking to people. If you if you're looking for EVs talk to someone who's driving an EV if you learn better by you know going for test drives and going for demonstrations like go to, for example plug and drive has an experiential center in Toronto or go to any of the dealers and ask for a test drive. There are so many websites including Aletra we have a website where we put a ton of resources on EVs. Alectra.com/e-mobility, so there's a lot of information out there. You do you Whatever floats your boat, but do your research and start whetting your appetite to figure out how what kind of DERS will fit your lifestyle.   Dan Seguin  24:25 Hey Nitika we're just about done. How about we close off with some rapid fire questions? What is your favorite word?   Neetika Sathe  24:35 It's got to be collaborate.   Dan Seguin  24:38 What is the one thing you can't live without   Neetika Sathe  24:42 Probably oxygen.   Dan Seguin  24:43 What is something that challenges you?   Neetika Sathe  24:47 purposeful innovation - how to innovate with intention   Dan Seguin  24:51 If you could have one superpower, what would it be?   Neetika Sathe  24:54 The ability to travel across time.   Dan Seguin  24:57 If you could turn back time and talk to your 18 year old What would you tell her?   Neetika Sathe  25:01 I would say don't over analyze. It's, it's not the destination that's important. The journey is important, not the destination. And the most important thing is the people that you meet and go along at on the journey.   Dan Seguin  25:19 And lastly, what do you currently find most interesting in your sector,   Neetika Sathe  25:24 I came into the utility sector because I sniffed a generational opportunity. I was, I was at Nissan, launching the Nissan LEAF, the first all electric 100% electric car from Nissan. And that's when my eyes opened up to this huge possibility of, of the automotive sector making a difference actual make actually making a difference in, in our sustainability. And really, it's the it's the power of discovering the possibilities. I know it's, it's a cliched line, this is Alectra's slugline, but I so totally believe in it, collaborating and discovering the possibilities, we actually have a generational opportunity to make a difference. And for once our electricity sector, for the most part in Canada, at least definitely in Ontario. And as you mentioned in Quebec, we are the part of the solution. We are not the problem, we bring the solution. So that's what really really excites me about our sector.   Rebecca Schwartz  26:33 Well latika, we've reached the end of another episode of The think energy podcast. Thank you so much for joining us today. We hope you had fun. I sure hope you enjoyed this episode of The ThinkEnergy podcast. If so please head over to our iTunes SUBSCRIBE And leave us a review.   Dan Seguin  26:51 Now For show notes and bonus content visit ThinkEnergy.com. Also, be sure to tell your friends and colleagues about us.   Rebecca Schwartz  26:59 Thank you for listening

Šodien, teju vai speciālizlaidums par godu degvielas uzpildes staciju tīklam “Virši”, kuri, fanfārām skanot, iesoļo Baltijas biržā. Sarunu ar uzņēmuma "Virši" valdes priekšsēdētāju Jāni Vību un arī eksperta vērtējums - cik pievilcīgas ir šī uzņēmuma akcijas.  Biržā ir par vienu vietējā kapitāla uzņēmumu vairāk. Papīri ir sakārtoti un degvielas mazumtirgotājs AS "Virši-A"  drīkst savas akcijas tirgot Baltijas biržā. Parakstīšanās uz uzņēmuma akcijām startē šodien, 25.oktobrī, un ilgs divas nedēļas - līdz 5.novembrim. "Viršiem" viena akcija maksā 4,49 eiro, ja piesakās šonedēļ, tad tiek garantēts, ka vismaz simts dabūsi. Latvijas Radio bija iespēja aprunāties ar "Virši" valdes priekšsēdētāju un izpilddirektoru Jāni Vību par uzņēmuma nākotnes plāniem, kāpēc izvēlējās akcijas tirgot biržā un kur naudu plānots ieguldīt? Skaidrs, ka uzņēmums grib palielināt savu kapitālu, lai tā akcijas pērk, un iespējams uzņēmumam no tā būs labāk, bet vai pircējiem, tas ir investoriem, arī būs labums? Uzklausām arī mūsu ieguldījumu eksperta Kaspara Peisinieka domas. Piebildīšu, ka Kaspars pus pa jokam teica, ka degvielas uzpildes stacijas mūsdienās vairs nevērtē pēc degvielas kvalitātes, bet gan pēc tā cik tur ēdami burgeri, hotdogi un vai kafija dzerama.

In this episode we are joined by WTF? Carbondale and Adam Fletcher from The Copyrights to talk about Carbondale's first event. The event is sponsored by PTS, Tonic, Canna, Select, IESO, Natures Grace & Wellness, and Aeriz.

This special episode was recorded live at the first IESO engagement day of 2021, where Terry Young chats with James Scongack, EVP of Corporate Affairs & Operational Services at Bruce Power. They spoke about how the industry has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic; opportunities for existing and new resources to meet emerging needs in Ontario’s electricity system; and the importance of clarity and transparency with stakeholders.

Entrevista en Hoy por Hoy Tafalla con Carlos Gallego, profesor de Historia en el IESO "Valle del Aragón" de Carcastillo, sobre la presencia de las mujeres en la materia que se estudia en los centros educativos

We are living in unprecedented times, and small businesses in Canada are feeling the impact. We at CanadianSME want to make sure small businesses are equipped with the right knowledge and tools and are prepared for the new normal.Recently we had a chance to chat with Tabatha BULL, President and CEO, Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business.Tabatha is Anishinaabe and a proud member of Nipissing First Nation near North Bay, Ontario. She is the President & CEO of Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business working with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal businesses to help strengthen a prosperous Indigenous economy and Canadian market. Also, a member of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce board, Tabatha is committed to working with members to improve business competitiveness across all industry sectors. Prior to her current role as CEO, Tabatha joined CCAB in the fall of 2018 as Chief Operating Officer.Tabatha, an electrical engineer from the University of Waterloo, led the First Nations and Métis Relations team at the IESO, Ontario's electricity system operator. Supporting and advising Canada's energy sector, academics and organizations to ensure a collaborative approach with Indigenous leaders, communities, heads of industry and government, Tabatha sits as a member on both the Positive Energy Advisory Council and the C.D. Howe Institute's Energy Policy program.The Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) positions Aboriginal business at the focal point for strengthening Aboriginal communities, promoting progressive and prosperous relationships, and growing a new economy based on mutual respect and shared prosperity.CCAB provides an array of business development offerings, including certification for Aboriginal-owned businesses (CAB) and companies with Progressive Aboriginal Relations (PAR). TFAB (Tools and Financing for Aboriginal Business) connects Aboriginal entrepreneurs with tools, training and networks to strengthen and scale their businesses.CCAB builds bridges between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples, businesses, and communities through diverse programming, providing tools, training, network building, major business awards, and national events.Today we are discussing the changes that happened since the pandemic arrive, some of the initiatives that the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business has put in place to help small businesses during these challenging times challenges that Aboriginal Businesses will face post-COVID and her advice to entrepreneurs.

In this episode Matt Lensink chats with Pat Lo about the IESO, Canada's very first local electricity market, the importance of DER's and their value long term in Ontario's electricity system. They also share some innovative ideas on how to improve electricity affordability. CEM Engineering IESO

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses and industries across the globe have had to make significant changes to how they operate. Organizations across Ontario’s electricity are no exception, continuing to operate as essential services while ensuring the health and safety of employees—this includes generators, locality utilities and consumers. On the latest episode of the podcast, we spoke with Mike Crawley, CEO of Northland Power, Jim Hogan, President and CEO of Entegrus and Mark Schembri, Vice President of Supermarket Systems and Store Maintenance at Loblaw Companies Ltd. to better understand how they’ve been navigating their operations throughout the pandemic and what the future holds for their organizations in a post-pandemic era. We also sit down with Chuck Farmer, the IESO’s Senior Director of Power System Planning to learn more about the impact the pandemic has had on electricity demand in Ontario and the future outlook for the province.

Set fire to your hairPoke a stick at a grizzly bearEat medicine that's out of dateUse your private parts as Piranha baitDumb ways to dieSo many dumb ways to dieDumb ways to die-ie-ieSo many dumb ways to dieGet your toast out with a forkDo your own electrical workTeach your self how to flyEat a two-week-old unrefridgerated pieDumb ways to dieSo many dumb ways to dieDumb ways to die-ie-ieSo many dumb ways to dieInvite a psycho killer insideScratch a drug dealer's brand new rideTake your helmet off in outer spaceUse a clothes dryer as a hiding placeDumb ways to dieSo many dumb ways to dieDumb ways to die-ie-ieSo many dumb ways to dieKeep a rattle snake as a petSell both your kidneys on the internetEat a tube of super glueI wonder, what's this red button do?Dumb ways to dieSo many dumb ways to dieDumb ways to die-ie-ieSo many dumb ways to dieDress up like a moose during hunting seasonDisturb a nest of wasps for no good reasonStand on the edge of a train station platformDrive around the boom gates at a level crossingRun across the tracks between the platformsThey may not rhyme, but they're quite possiblyDumbest ways to dieThe dumbest ways to dieDumbest ways to die-ie-ieSo many dumbSo many dumb ways to die

On today's show, Host Peter Gossmann and Mark Joseph, Ontario declared in state of emergency. Guests Joe Oliver, Chair of IESO and Jim Scott President of Ground Effects discuss the impact of the emergency response to Covid 19. Boomer Desjarlais Owner of Top Notch Oilfield Construction and Howard Huy President of RZH discuss the impact of government inaction on the economy.

Corona virus and social distancing is heavily impacting local SA businesses. Owner of the The Grand Ballroom Don De Ieso joined David and Will to discuss. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The IESO recently released its first Annual Planning Outlook, a 20-year outlook for Ontario’s electricity system. Ontario is in a stable electricity supply situation after years of investment in new generation, with enough existing and available resources to meet the province’s needs for the next decade. On this episode, we sit down with Peter Gregg, the IESO’s President and CEO, live at the Ontario Energy Network’s annual luncheon to discuss the latest Outlook and how the industry can collectively address the new realities of Ontario’s electricity system.

Having best-in-class cybersecurity, at a time when cyber threats are increasing and growing in sophistication, is an essential part of the industry’s collective efforts to safeguard the reliability and resiliency of the electricity grid. On this episode, we sit down with Scott Jones, head of the Canadian Centre for Cybersecurity, to learn more about his organization’s role as Canada’s authority on cyber security, and to get his take on the importance of organizations in the electricity industry and beyond working together to shore up their cybersecurity defenses. This episode also features a discussion on how the IESO’s cybersecurity team is strengthening the grid’s resilience through collaboration with partners inside and outside the industry.

Indigenous communities are increasingly playing an active role in Ontario's energy sector, taking advantage of policies and programs that allow communities to manage their energy and generate revenue in a way that is consistent with their cultural and environmental values. On this episode, we sit down with Lucie Edwards, CEO Opiikapawiin Services LP (OSLP), to learn more about the important work her and OSLP are doing to support the Wataynikaneyap Transmission Project, which will connect remote Indigenous communities in NW Ontario to the power grid. We also sit down with the IESO’s Brett Smith, Senior Manager, First Nations and Métis Relations, to learn more about the IESO’s commitment to working with Indigenous communities to enable them to participate more fully in Ontario’s energy sector.

IESO GABRIEL GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ de TIETAR Los alumnos de 2º de PMAR del IESO Gabriel García Márquez de Tiétar nos hablan de las actividades realizadas en el centro con motivo del Día Internacional de la Eliminación de la Violencia contra la Mujer 2019. Marwan, Carolina, Ainhara, Sheila, Miguel, Miguel Ángel , Samuel y Pablo. La actividades han sido fruto del trabajo realizado en las tutorías por Laura, nuestra Educadora Social.

Electricity grids around the world are in a state of flux as advances in technology are rapidly transforming the way electricity is generated and distributed to homes and businesses, and is changing the way consumers interact with the power grid. On this episode, we sit down with Derek Lim Soo, CEO of Peak Power, to learn more about how advancements in technology are creating opportunities for consumers to actively engage with the electricity system, while also helping the broader electricity grid become more efficient and cost-effective. We also sit down the IESO’s Katherine Sparkes, Director, Innovation, Research and Development, to learn more about the IESO’s Grid Innovation Fund and Innovation Roadmap

Are you keen to learn the basics of AI and NLP? Are you looking to use NLP in your company? Could you? Should you? This week, James is joined by Valentin Tablan, SVP for Artificial Intelligence at Ieso Digital Health which delivers high-quality cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) online, for people experiencing common mental health issues. Valentin has spent nearly 20 years in the field of Natural Language Processing, Knowledge Representation, and Artificial Intelligence. His team apply advanced AI techniques to Ieso's vast dataset to determine which evidence-based therapy interventions are most effective. Under his leadership, Ieso has created the industry's first (real-time) AI-enabled tools that augment therapists' which in turn increases quality and improves clinical outcomes. Prior to joining Ieso Valentin was the lead scientist on the question-answering service that powers Amazon's Alexa smart assistant; he is now using that expertise to help computers familiarise with the way patients express themselves during therapy. Valentin holds a PhD from the University of Sheffield and is a multi-lingual language specialist. He is a frequent speaker on deep learning tools and techniques which can revolutionise healthcare applications, medicine and diagnostics. www.iesohealth.com www.twitter.com/vtablan https://www.linkedin.com/in/vtablan/ For more information and content, check out our website www.hs.ventures. You can follow us on Twitter @HSVenture, on Instagram @hs.ventures, on Linkedin at HS. and you can email us at info@hs.live You can get our host, Dr. James Somauroo, at www.jamessomauroo.com and you can follow him on Twitter @jamessomauroo, on Instagram @j_soms and on Linkedin at james-somauroo

Joe Oliver, Former Conservative Minister of Finance, Chair IESO, Independent  Electricity System Operator talks about Ontario's electricity is reliable and clean, but it's way too expensive.

April is National Stress Awareness month and today Jill Bennett talks to Idyli Kamaterou, a Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist about Research that reveals 73% of Under 35s in Surrey Have Stress. Idyli will talk about CBT, what it is and how it can help and how an online platform, Ieso, delivers this in a non threatening and confidential manner.  https://www.iesohealth.com/en-gb  

Flux Capacitor, the podcast about the future of electricity, Episode 002, featuring a discussion with Peter Gregg, the President and CEO of the IESO in Ontario.  Hosted by Francis Bradley, the discussion with Peter Gregg touches on the challenges of distributed generation, reliability, new technologies and emerging threats from the perspective of an electricity system operator. From the CEA team, Michael Powell checks in with interesting news about the future, and Shahrzad Simab drops by to talk about initiatives CEA is undertaking with our members and in cooperation with Natural Resources Canada on climate change adaptation.

This week we welcome Jay Stake to back to Iaqradio+. Mr. Stake joined us last year right after the Indoor Air Quality Association announced they were leaving the ASHRAE fold. We will preview the upcoming conference, see how things are working out, learn about plans for the future, review 2018 and preview 2019. A few friends of the show will be calling in to join the conversation.   Jay Stake is the new Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA) President for 2018-19. He is also the owner of J&J Consultants a total indoor air quality assessment company and President of Structural Sciences, Inc. Structural Sciences provides indoor air quality consulting services to the relocation industry throughout North America. Mr. Stake uses a network of 269 inspectors to assist with the relocation of clients in the network. The majority of the inspectors in his network are IAQA members. He has been a member of the IAQA Board of Directors for 3 years and prior served as Vice Chair of the IESO before it became inactive under the ASHRAE umbrella.

This week we welcome Jay Stake to back to Iaqradio+. Mr. Stake joined us last year right after the Indoor Air Quality Association announced they were leaving the ASHRAE fold. We will preview the upcoming conference, see how things are working out, learn about plans for the future, review 2018 and preview 2019. A few friends of the show will be calling in to join the conversation. Jay Stake is the new Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA) President for 2018-19. He is also the owner of J&J Consultants a total indoor air quality assessment company and President of Structural Sciences, Inc. Structural Sciences provides indoor air quality consulting services to the relocation industry throughout North America. Mr. Stake uses a network of 269 inspectors to assist with the relocation of clients in the network. The majority of the inspectors in his network are IAQA members. He has been a member of the IAQA Board of Directors for 3 years and prior served as Vice Chair of the IESO before it became inactive under the ASHRAE umbrella.

Jay Stake is the new Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA) President for 2018-19. He is also the owner of J&J Consultants a total indoor air quality assessment company and President of Structural Sciences, Inc. Structural Sciences provides indoor air quality consulting services to the relocation industry throughout North America. Mr. Stake uses a network of 269 inspectors to assist with the relocation of clients in the network. The majority of the inspectors in his network are IAQA members. He has been a member of the IAQA Board of Directors for 3 years and prior served as Vice Chair of the IESO before it became inactive under the ASHRAE umbrella. Mr. Stake is going to give us the scoop on the upcoming transition of IAQA away from ASHRAE and to the new management company Association Headquarters (AH) of Mount Laurel, NJ. Jay believes that IAQA has to be very open with its membership and do a better job of keeping them informed about plans for the future. He joins us today to tell listeners about the next chapter in the IAQA story.

Jay Stake is the new Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA) President for 2018-19. He is also the owner of J&J Consultants a total indoor air quality assessment company and President of Structural Sciences, Inc. Structural Sciences provides indoor air quality consulting services to the relocation industry throughout North America. Mr. Stake uses a network of 269 inspectors to assist with the relocation of clients in the network. The majority of the inspectors in his network are IAQA members. He has been a member of the IAQA Board of Directors for 3 years and prior served as Vice Chair of the IESO before it became inactive under the ASHRAE umbrella. Mr. Stake is going to give us the scoop on the upcoming transition of IAQA away from ASHRAE and to the new management company Association Headquarters (AH) of Mount Laurel, NJ. Jay believes that IAQA has to be very open with its membership and do a better job of keeping them informed about plans for the future. He joins us today to tell listeners about the next chapter in the IAQA story.

Jay Stake is the new Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA) President for 2018-19. He is also the owner of J&J Consultants a total indoor air quality assessment company and President of Structural Sciences, Inc. Structural Sciences provides indoor air quality consulting services to the relocation industry throughout North America. Mr. Stake uses a network of 269 inspectors to assist with the relocation of clients in the network. The majority of the inspectors in his network are IAQA members. He has been a member of the IAQA Board of Directors for 3 years and prior served as Vice Chair of the IESO before it became inactive under the ASHRAE umbrella.   Mr. Stake is going to give us the scoop on the upcoming transition of IAQA away from ASHRAE and to the new management company Association Headquarters (AH) of Mount Laurel, NJ. Jay believes that IAQA has to be very open with its membership and do a better job of keeping them informed about plans for the future. He joins us today to tell listeners about the next chapter in the IAQA story.

Sheeba Ibidunni is the US Director of Operations Development for Ieso, a Digital health company specializing in the online delivery of evidenced based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. In this episode, Sheeba provides information on Ieso’s development, research, and digital platform model. The benefits of online therapy through written conversation are numerous for both patients and providers.Want to learn more:Are you Licensed? Visit www.iesohealth.com/ICAre you a Resident? Visit www.iesohealth.com/resident

Sheeba Ibidunni is the US Director of Operations Development for Ieso, a Digital health company specializing in the online delivery of evidenced based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. In this episode, Sheeba provides information on Ieso’s development, research, and digital platform model. The benefits of online therapy through written conversation are numerous for both patients and providers. Want to learn more: Are you Licensed? Visit www.iesohealth.com/IC Are you a Resident? Visit www.iesohealth.com/resident

The IESO works within Ontario's electrical sector. Nicole Hynum and Darrell Corriveau tell us about their mobile-first, content-centric process. Read more »

Episodio número 3 de No es gimnasia donde hablamos de dos iniciativas muy interesantes para la promoción de la actividad física en la sociedad y la revalorización de la educación física, lo haremos a través de dos charlas con dos compañeros: Raúl y Tristán.http://carlosminguez.com/2016/05/21/3-iniciativas-la-promocion-la-actividad-fisica/Nuestro primer invitado es Raúl García Ciriero, profesor de educación física del IESO Las Vlluercas en Guadalupe (Cáceres). Raúl es el coordinador de un proyecto que lleva realizándose en su localidad desde hace 11 años el “Proyecto deportivo IESO las Villuercas“. Nuestro segundo invitado es Tristán González maestro educación física la Comunidad de Madrid, es uno de los encargados de desarrollar e incentivar la participación en un proyecto que cada año va creciendo más y más. Se trata de “El día de educación física la calle”, este proyecto trata de mostrar a toda la sociedad en qué consiste la educación física en la actualidad, tratando de eliminar esas ideas todavía presentes de que la educación física es una extensión del recreo, o que continuamos con la gimnasia sueca.Además, los organizadores del proyecto para que no tengamos excusas para no participar facilitan la documentación necesaria para llevarlo a cabo: permisos del ayuntamiento, la carta a los padres para las autorizaciones, nota de prensa, etcétera. Podéis encontrar todos los enlaces en la web: http://carlosminguez.com/noesgimnasiaTiming:00:39 – Raúl “Proyecto deportivo IESO las Villuercas”34:34 – Tristán “El día de la EF en la calle”Enlaces:Resumen del proyecto deportivo "Las Villuercas" http://bit.ly/1Uq2wvnArtículo del “Día de la EF en la calle (REEFD) http://bit.ly/26aI5I5Explicación del “Día de la EF en la calle (ppt) http://bit.ly/1ZZRgaGVideos de EF en la calle http://bit.ly/23jn4cpPodeis encontrar más enlaces en el post del blog: http://carlosminguez.com/2016/05/21/3-iniciativas-la-promocion-la-actividad-fisica/Puedes dejarnos tus comentarios en nuestro Blog en www.carlosminguez.com/noesgimnasia o contactarnos en nuestras cuentas de Twitter @noesgim y @carlosminguez También en el mail: noesgimnasia@gmail.comSi te gusta nuestro podcast, puedes ayudarnos dejando una reseña de 5 estrellas en iTunes o en la plataforma en la que nos escuches. Muchas gracias!!

Daniel Greenblatt is the founder and president of Envirotech Clean Air, Inc., an HVAC Systems cleaning and restoration and indoor air quality cleaning company in Stoneham, Massachusetts. Mr. Greenblatt has been helping building owners improve indoor air quality and energy efficiency for almost 25 years. He also has a long history of volunteer service to industry associations and currently serves on the Indoor air Quality Association (IAQA) and the Indoor Environmental Standards Organization (IESO) Boards of Directors. Mr. Greenblatt's company has been involved in some fascinating projects over the years and has learned a lot of lessons along the way. This week we plan to discuss some large projects and teams Mr. Greenblatt has been part of, a new NADCA document he has been assisting with, the new IESO soot standard and more. Don't miss this opportunity to LEARN MORE from an industry veteran and IAQ contracting pioneer Danny Greenblatt.

Daniel Greenblatt is the founder and president of Envirotech Clean Air, Inc., an HVAC Systems cleaning and restoration and indoor air quality cleaning company in Stoneham, Massachusetts. Mr. Greenblatt has been helping building owners improve indoor air quality and energy efficiency for almost 25 years. He also has a long history of volunteer service to industry associations and currently serves on the Indoor air Quality Association (IAQA) and the Indoor Environmental Standards Organization (IESO) Boards of Directors. Mr. Greenblatt's company has been involved in some fascinating projects over the years and has learned a lot of lessons along the way. This week we plan to discuss some large projects and teams Mr. Greenblatt has been part of, a new NADCA document he has been assisting with, the new IESO soot standard and more. Don't miss this opportunity to LEARN MORE from an industry veteran and IAQ contracting pioneer Danny Greenblatt.

Next up on IAQ radio we will be joined by Claudius Carnegie, PhD, P.E., CIE, CMR of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Dr. Carnegie was also recently elected President of the Indoor Environmental Standards Organization (IESO). We will discuss IAQ and facilities management and progress on the various standards IESO is developing.

Next up on IAQ radio we will be joined by Claudius Carnegie, PhD, P.E., CIE, CMR of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Dr. Carnegie was also recently elected President of the Indoor Environmental Standards Organization (IESO). We will discuss IAQ and facilities management and progress on the various standards IESO is developing.

This shows guests included Christopher Capobianco of Flooring Answers on concrete flooring issues (curing, vapor emissions, measurement methods) and flooring building science issues. Dr. Albert Snow of Turtle Clan Environment Testing discusses IEQ investigations the IESO standard for residential property screens for mold. and a return appearance by Scott Brown of Housemaster to discuss his position on french drains. We hope you can join us!

This shows guests included Christopher Capobianco of Flooring Answers on concrete flooring issues (curing, vapor emissions, measurement methods) and flooring building science issues. Dr. Albert Snow of Turtle Clan Environment Testing discusses IEQ investigations the IESO standard for residential property screens for mold. and a return appearance by Scott Brown of Housemaster to discuss his position on french drains. We hope you can join us!

Couldn't make it to the IAQA Annual Convention? IAQ Radio broadcast from Nashville bringing the most important announcements made from the official representatives. David Fetviet, President of Aerotech P&K, & IESO President with big news from IESO! Adam Andrews, Assistant Executive Director of the American IAQ Council with exciting news about a new program for entry level employees.

Couldn't make it to the IAQA Annual Convention? IAQ Radio broadcast from Nashville bringing the most important announcements made from the official representatives. David Fetviet, President of Aerotech P&K, & IESO President with big news from IESO! Adam Andrews, Assistant Executive Director of the American IAQ Council with exciting news about a new program for entry level employees.