What's On

Book your calendar for the 2010 PowerLogic ION User's Conference on October 22, 2010 at the Toronto Congress Centre, 650 Dixon Rd. This conference is open to all users and integrators of ION and PowerLogic meters and energy management software. For more information or registration please see www.langford-assoc.com

 Ontario News

Mandated CDM - The Minister of Energy and Infrastructure has issued a directive to the OEB to amend certain electricity distributors’ licences to include a requirement to achieve reductions in electricity consumption and reductions in peak provincial electricity demand by the amounts specified by the Board, through the delivery of CDM programs, over a four year period beginning January 1, 2011. The total CDM targets to be allocated to respective distributors are 1,330 MW of provincial peak demand persisting at the end of the four year period; and, 6,000 GWh of reduced electricity consumption accumulated over the four year period. For details see oeb.gov.on.ca

Who Pays? - Ontario Regulation 66/10, entitled “Assessments for Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure Conservation and Renewable Energy Program Costs”, was recently introduced. Called the Special Purposes Regulation, the regulation establishes the 'special purposes' for which assessed amounts are collected from licensed distributors for expenditures made by the Ministry for energy conservation and renewable energy programs i.e. distributors are required to pay assessed amounts for programs run by the MEI with the costs then passed on to customers. The C.D. Howe Institute has published a study challenging the constitutional validity of the Special Purpose Regulation. For full details see gowlings.com

Recovering Costs -The OEB has issued its report Rate Protection and the Determination of Direct Benefits under Ontario Regulation 330/09. The Green Energy Act introduced a mechanism whereby some of the Board-approved costs incurred by a distributor for the purpose of connecting a renewable energy generation facility to its distribution system may be recovered from all provincial ratepayers rather than solely from the ratepayers of the distributor making the investment. This regulation sets out the framework for the determination of the amount which may be recovered from all provincial ratepayers. For full report see oeb.gov.on.ca

The Return of Bill C-15- Bill C-15 was introduced in the House of Commons on April 16 and is the federal government’s fourth attempt to update Canada’s regime of civil liability for nuclear incidents. It currently appears likely that the Bill will not receive quick legislative passage. In connection to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, Nathan Cullen, the NDP critic for energy and natural resources, recently appeared in the media stressing the need for more stringent environmental assessments as well as the need for clear energy company liability with respect to environmental disasters. While the Liberal and Bloc have been supportive of passing this legislation, their positions with respect to this legislation and the notion of increased liability for nuclear companies may change as a result of the manner in which the politics surrounding the Gulf of Mexico oil spill continue to play out. Forfull briefing see gowlings.com and Energy

Industrial Accelerator - The OPA has launched a new energy-efficiency program for large industrial companies that are directly connected to the electricity transmission system. The Industrial Accelerator is a five-year program that provides financial incentives to speed up investment in electricity-saving projects. Participating companies will contractually commit to achieve specific conservation targets within a set period of time and to maintain them over the term of the contract. Financial incentives will cover up to 70% of eligible capital costs. For full details see powerauthority.on.ca

More Radiation Testing - A memo sent to workers of Bruce Power on June 18 and obtained by the Canadian Press informed employees that due to alpha contamination discovered last year, the company would test other workers. Last November, contamination was discovered in the reactor vault where up to 563 people had been working. The company eventually concluded that 195 workers had been exposed and ordered testing. After tests, the findings revealed the levels did not exceed the safety standards prescribed by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. However, as a result of that experience, the company said it will be testing 40 other employees at one of its stations, Bruce A. For full story from Canadian Press see ohscanada or for details on initial contamination see brucepower

Selling Off Assets-A “white paper” that recommends selling chunks of Ontario’s liquor, lottery and electricity corporations—raising up to $12 billion—will be debated by Premier Dalton McGuinty’s cabinet as early as the end of June, the Star reported this month. Liberal insiders say the study urges the government to meld the LCBO, OPG, Hydro One, and the OLG into one “super corporation.” It proposes 20 per cent of “SuperCorp” would then be sold – at least half to favoured institutional investors, such as the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, with the remainder available to individuals in an initial public offering. For full story see thestar

New Hydro - TConstruction of OPG's $2.6-billion Lower Mattagami Project, the largest northern hydroelectric generating construction project in 40 years, has begun with an expected capacity of 440 MW. The project has four parts: rebuilding Smoky Falls Generating Station and adding new generating units at Harmon, Kipling, and Little Long generating stations. For details see powerauthority.on.ca and opg.com

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Product Spotlight…- Hospital and Healthcare Unique Needs

Hospitals and healthcare facilities energy-related concerns can include everything from utility rate volatility to fuel cost increases to maintenance of environmental conditions, all of which requires energy and budget. Balancing the necessity for cost containment while providing the highest level of healthcare possible can make a key issue like increasing energy efficiency a challenge. Quick fixes like low-energy consumption devices, such as compact fluorescent lighting, can be a logical place to start when energy costs suddenly spike. For others, an energy audit may expose areas of inefficiency and recommend changes. While both are valid approaches, the goal should be continuous improvement, which can only be accomplished through a comprehensive and strategic energy management plan that takes into account the healthcare industry’s unique needs, along with the specific nuances of an individual facility or complex. For full article see powerlogic.com

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Schneider Electric - Service Packs

The ION Enterprise 6.0 free Service Pack 1 has been released in multiple languages. Service Packs are files that are applied to an ION Enterprise system to get additional features, improve reliability and remedy known issues. Service Pack 1 offers an improvement on product quality with a focus on localization and web reporter. New device drivers now provide support for E5600 meters. It also includes enhanced device drivers for PM800/CM3000/CM4000 device types to support a new Healthcare specific ION Enterprise offer called the Emergency Power Supply System solution. For further details see global.powerlogic.com

An update is available for the PowerLogic Tenant Metering Software (TMS). This service pack is for TMS1.5. The TMS1.5 SP1 can be downloaded from the powerlogic.com website under downloads.

Trojan - Wet Transformers

Wet transformers - with unacceptable water levels in the oil and cellulose insulation and poor dielectric values - are an area of increasing importance for utilities and industries. Trojan Dry-Out Systems specializes in the manufacture of energized transformer water contamination Analysis and Dry-Out Systems. Analyse prior to removing the water provides temperature, relative saturation and water in oil ppm values over the temperature load cycle and provides an accurate starting point. For specific case analysis see dryoutsystems

ERLPhase -ISO 9001

ERLPhase Power Technologies has been awarded a renewal of ISO 9001:2008 certification, including an expansion of scope to include Manufacturing processes. This certification covers the major processes ERLPhase has developed to ensure quality for our customers, including assembly, test, receiving inspection, equipment calibration, supplier selection and supplier review. Based on an external ISO audit by Intertek, the auditor found no non-conformities and noted a team environment that embraces our Quality System. Quality for our customers is a cornerstone of our company culture, and is considered a personal responsibility of all employees. For details see erlphase.com

Did you know…

Vermont Opens the Door -On June 4, 2010, outgoing Vermont Governor Douglas signed into law An Act Relating to Renewable Energy that removed the prior 200 MW limit on the size of a hydroelectric facility considered “renewable”. In becoming the first American state to recognize large scale hydro-electricity as a qualified renewable energy resource, the Vermont government cleared the way for Vermont power authorities to sign a long-term power contract with Hydro-Quebec.

The Canadian Government has long held the position that discriminating between imported electricity based on the scale of the hydropower generation facility is a violation of NAFTA obligations, (there being no difference whatsoever in the actual imported product). However, such obligations generally lie with the national government, rather than the sub-national (state, provincial or municipal) level.

Vermont’s decision to recognize hydroelectricity energy generation of any capacity as renewable energy adds a further complication in the already complex situation in Washington DC regarding a federal Renewable Portfolio Standard. The Vermont decision also complicates the future tactics and strategies of Canadian governments. While the enactment by Congress of a new national RPS that qualifies large-scale hydro would be the ideal result for Canada, Vermont’s move suggests that the next best result for Canada may now be the Kerry/Lieberman idea of no national standard. For details see gowlings.com

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