GoEnergy

Author: Steve Sabean

  • OEB’s Energy Sandbox

    The OEB is launching the OEB Innovation Sandbox, where utilities and other companies in the energy sector can get regulatory advice or seek relief for new ideas, products, services and business models that demonstrate the potential to provide benefit for consumers.

    No longer can companies look to lower their energy costs on price alone. New technologies and new sources are becoming economically viable options.

    The OEB Innovation Sandbox is designed to help advance innovative projects related to electricity or natural gas service, whether they offer long-term efficiencies, cost savings, customer service improvements or provide consumer value in other ways.

    https://www.oeb.ca/newsroom/2019/oeb-innovation-sandbox-seeks-ideas-benefit-consumers

    https://www.oeb.ca/_html/sandbox/index.php

  • Frigid Weather Causes Gas Curtailments And Power Peaks

    Natural gas futures are down 8 percent for the near month showing that frigid temperatures do not necessarily translate into higher term prices. Severe cold weather does however affect the daily usage and price of natural gas and electricity.

    Enbridge called a gas curtailment that began on Sunday, January 20th and extended the curtailment for an extra day to include Tuesday, January 22nd. Large interruptible contract customers (Rate 145, Rate 170 and Rate 9) are affected for the term of the curtailment. No Curtailment Delivery Service (CDS) is allowed, meaning that natural gas must be turned off at the facilities. If required, an alternative energy source must be used. Typically, CDS is allowed during an Enbridge curtailment period. CDS permits facilities to purchase incremental supply which allows them to continue burning natural gas during the curtailment period. CDS gas is available through GOenergy and other energy suppliers.

    Ontario electricity demand has also increased during the January cold spell. Class A customers are warned that the Ontario demand is approaching the number 5 peak. Long range forecasts continue to predict a colder than average second half of the month. The hourly price (HOEP) is very high today making it a good day to reduce the amount of electricity used.

  • The Future Is Now For Distributed Energy Resources

    Distributed energy resources (DERs) are electricity generation and storage assets that are directly connected to a local distribution system or connected to a host facility within the local distribution system.

    DERs can include combined heat and power (CHP), battery storage, small natural gas-fuelled generators, electric vehicles, solar panels and wind. These resources are typically smaller in scale than the traditional generation facilities that serve most of Ontario’s demand.

    An increasing amount of DERs are from renewables. Most of the contracted DERs installed in Ontario are solar (2000 MW)

    Output from DERs offset the need for supply from the province-wide system. A growing number of communities have indicated a preference for DERs to address regional demand growth or to replace aging assets. DERs may also present opportunities to optimize overall system investments and provide a range of grid services.

    2019 could be the year when utilities focus on adding new distributed energy resources to their demand response programs, creating Integrated Distributed Energy Resource systems that efficiently match supply with load.

    Distributed energy resources, demand response, peak reduction, efficiencies and savings are converging and can all work together with a planned, holistic approach.

    Sources:

    https://www.utilitydive.com/news/2019-demand-response-outlook-the-rise-of-distributed-resources/545397/

    http://www.ieso.ca/en/Learn/Ontario-Power-System/A-Smarter-Grid/Distributed-Energy-Resources

  • Federal Carbon Pricing Program

    On Oct. 23, 2018, the federal government confirmed that Ontario will be subject to the federal carbon pricing program, which is comprised of two components: (1) Beginning Jan. 1, 2019: An output-based pricing system (“OBPS”) for industrial facilities producing greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions above a certain threshold; and (2) Beginning Apr. 1, 2019: A federal carbon charge applied to fossil fuels (including natural gas) used within a jurisdiction subject to the federal carbon pricing program.

    As part of the federal carbon pricing program, there are costs associated with GHG emissions from natural gas used in homes and businesses. The federal carbon charge will assign a value to each tonne of GHG emissions, measured in carbon dioxide equivalent (“tCO2e”), beginning at $20/tCO2e (3.91 cents/m3 for marketable natural gas) on Apr. 1, 2019 and increasing annually in April by $10 to $50/tCO2e (9.79 cents/m3 for marketable natural gas) in 2022.

    Source: Union Gas factsline

  • Enbridge And Union Gas Amalgamate

    Enbridge Gas Distribution and Union Gas amalgamate into one single utility effective Jan. 1, 2019. The legal name of the newly combined utility will be Enbridge Gas Inc. Starting Jan. 1, 2019, the new legal name will be reflected on customer invoices and any new contracts. Existing contracts in the Union Gas Limited name will remain valid.

    Source: Union Gas Factsline

  • Worst December Rout On Record

    Mild January weather is curbing demand as natural gas production hovers above last year’s level. However, sustained cold weather later in the season could send prices soaring.  Analysts are split on their outlook for prices. Of 15 respondents, 8 were bullish, 2 bearish and 5 neutral according to Bloomberg News.  Above normal temperatures are expected to last through January 18th.

    Source: TD Energy

  • Proposed Carbon Tax is 3.91 cents/m3 on Union Gas utility bills beginning January 1st

    Excerpt from Union Gas enerline – In accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, the federal government is expected to implement a carbon pricing system in Ontario effective Jan. 1, 2019. It is anticipated that, as a natural gas distribution company, Union Gas will have an obligation to bill and collect these federal charges from its customers. To meet this effective date, Union Gas has requested approval of interim rates for Jan. 1, 2019 implementation. Differences between the interim and approved rates will be captured in deferral accounts to be cleared at a future date.

    The customer-related “federal carbon charge” (as applicable) will be a separate line item on the bill. Customers who have registered and received exemption certificates will not be charged the customer-related charge. The facility-related “facility carbon charge”, which applies to all customers in each rate class, will be included in in-franchise delivery rates and ex-franchise transportation rates.

     

    https://www.uniongas.com/business/communication-centre/newsletter/enerline/2018/october-16-2018-enerline

  • Canada’s Climate Plan

    The Government of Canada produced a website to summarize where Canada’s emissions come from. According to the site the primary polluter is industry at 40% of greenhouse gas pollution, followed by transportation (25%), forestry, agriculture and waste (13%), home and buildings (11%), and electricity generation (11%).

    Included on the site is a map showing details of what the Canadian Government is doing to reduce emissions.

     

    https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/weather/climatechange/climate-action/pricing-carbon-pollution.html

  • Electricity Shortfall Looming In Ontario

    The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) released a report stating that Ontario faces an electricity shortfall within five years. The report includes the Conservative government’s recent cancellation of renewable energy projects.

    The IESO forecasts the projected summer peak shortfall will be about 1,400 megawatts in 2023 and 3,500 megawatts later in the decade. The shortfall is primarily the result of closing the Pickering nuclear plant, and refurbishments of the Darlington and Kincardine nuclear plants. The cancellation of 758 renewable projects is also significant.

    There are many ways to prevent an electricity supply gap in Ontario:

    1. import electricity from neighbouring provinces/states
    2. boost capacity of natural gas plants
    3. build more renewable plants

    Another way to ensure adequate supply is to reduce demand. The IESO report assumes that current demand reduction programs (i.e. Class A and Demand Response) continue and increase considerably over the next 15 years. This is a positive statement ensuring that the ICI Class A program that helps reduce global adjustment costs will continue.

    The addition of large-scale battery projects and generators can also boost supply generation locally and assist in reducing peak demands.

    The IESO is in the early stages of redesigning the market to reduce the reliance on fixed contracts and introduce competition.

    Source: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-ontario-faces-an-electricity-supply-problem-report-says/

  • October Ontario Electricity Peak Demand Predicted To Be Low

    Temperatures are expected to be near normal averages for October which means there is a low risk of displacing the current top five ICI peak demands.

    The IESO recently published an 18-month outlook assessing the reliability of the Ontario electricity system over the short term: October 2018 to March 2020.

    Within the report, the IESO is predicting that peak demands will continue to face downward pressure. Conversely, after a significant decline in 2017, overall power demand has been trending up over the first part of 2018. Demand is expected to continue rising for the next 18 months.

    Also within the IESO report, the forecasted demand peak throughout winter 2018-19 under normal weather conditions is 21,334 MW. This is not a high enough demand to offset the #5 ICI peak of 21,885 MW. However, under extreme weather conditions, the IESO is predicting a peak of 22,261 MW which is enough to displace one of the current top five ICI peak demands.

    Ontario Demand on January 5, 2018, 5-6pm EST was 20,906 MW which became the official #4 ICI demand peak.

    ICI base periods run from May 1st to April 30th each year.

    ICI peaks are confirmed using Adjusted Allocated Quantity of Energy Withdrawn (AQEW) peaks. These values are published 20 business days after the trade date.

    Source: http://www.ieso.ca/sector-participants/planning-and-forecasting/18-month-outlook