The five-year program, which will provide financial incentives for making investment in electricity-saving projects, will have the participating companies commit to meet 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 of the project and OPA will also help in the industrial installations required for the implementation of the project.
Within Ontario’s industrial sector, which comprises of more than 20,000 small, medium and large companies responsible for approximately one-third of all electricity use in Ontario, 45 companies directly connected to the transmission system are eligible to participate in the Industrial Accelerator program.
These include pulp and paper, iron and steel, mining, auto assembly and parts, chemicals, petroleum refining, smelting and refining, and cement companies.
OPA expects the energy-efficiency projects to reduce the demand on the electricity system from some of Ontario’s electricity consumers and generate electricity cost savings as high as 30%.
The Ontario Power Authority will administer the program, which is estimated to create 5,500 net jobs over seven years.
Colin Andersen, CEO Of OPA, said: “With the launch of this program, eligible, large industrial electricity consumers in Ontario have access to financial resources to help them make significant energy-efficiency improvements.
“This program, in collaboration with Ontario’s suite of energy-efficiency programs, will maintain long-term system reliability through tangible, cost-effective, energy-reduction measures.”
