Once smart meters are installed throughout Ontario, they can be used by small businesses as tools to manage electricity consumption, according to North Bay Hydro's chief operating officer.
Smart meters, also known as interval meters, give customers a comprehensive report on their electricity consumption throughout the day, said Todd Wilcox. Conventional meters simply keep a record of how much electricity is used in a month.
Because those using smart meters are charged more for consuming electricity at peak times, and less for non-peak times, businesses are forced to be more vigilant about how electricity is used, he said.
“Technology is a way for us to control costs. For example, programmable thermostats are excellent. When you leave at 5:30 pm, your ventilation and air conditioning system cycles down automatically,” Wilcox said.
“In the summer, when it's really warm outside, you can choose to set the temperature inside a little warmer and reduce your electricity consumption.”
North Bay Hydro is set to install the first smart meters in Northern Ontario starting in May as part of a pilot project.
The utility is looking for 10 small business and 20 residential customers to test out the technology for a year.
Participants will not notice a change in their bills for now, said Wilcox.
North Bay Hydro just wants to study how customers respond to receiving more information about their electricity consumption, he said.
“What we're trying to do is install the meters and record consumption, and analyze different pricing options that are available. We want to use it as an education process to make people familiar with what their profile looks like throughout the day.”
Smart meters are read by the utility either through a wireless receiver attached to towers or a technology which passes the information through a daisy chain of contact from meter to meter, he said.
As of the end of February 2008, 1.1 million smart meters had been installed in the province. The provincial government wants all electrical customers to have a smart meter by the end of 2010.
Customers at 13 utilities in southern Ontario, including Hydro Ottawa and Milton Hydro, have already received smart meters over the past two years, but this is the first time they have been tested in the north.
At one southern utility, the use of smart meters had an effect opposite to what was expected. Electricity consumption actually went up six per cent while customers' bills stayed the same because they learned to avoid peak periods, said Wilcox.
Provincial legislation needs to be passed before utilities with smart meters can start charging more for electricity at peak times, he said. The legislation will likely be passed by the summer, Wilcox said.
The general population of customers in North Bay will start receiving smart meters in 2009 and 2010, a move which is expected to cost as much as $6 million over three years, he said. Customers have been paying a small monthly fee since 2006 to help pay for the eventual installation of smart meters.
The utility already uses a device similar to smart meters with 35 industrial customers, which consume large amounts of electricity, said Wilcox.
Smart meters are being introduced in the province in part to reduce the impact of seasonal peak electricity demand, said Sylvia Kovesfalvi, spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Energy.
On the hottest and coldest days of the year, people use a lot more electricity, and power sometimes has to be purchased from other jurisdictions at great cost, she said.
If customers had smart meters, they would be much more aware of how they could reduce their electricity consumption, Kovesfalvi said.
The province is also trying to encourage a culture of conservation, she said.
“Between now and 2025, Ontario needs to build almost a whole new electricity system. We're looking at replacing about 80 per cent of our current generating facilities as they retire over time, and expanding the system to meet future growth,” said Kovesfalvi.
“While building the supply is important, so is conservation. Part of that commitment is introducing new tools like smart meters that can help.”
