May 25, 2021 – Ottawa is investing over $900,000 for two smart grid projects in Alberta that aim to “enhance the energy grid and reduce greenhouse gas emissions”.

The first investment of $495,000 is for FortisAlberta Inc. to support the Waterton Energy Storage Project.

“This project will serve as an enhancement to the reliability of the electricity service for our customers in the somewhat remote community of Waterton in a way that also protects the environmentally sensitive landscape in the area,” explained Todd Dettling, FortisAlberta Inc.

“Thanks in part to the support of Natural Resources Canada, we are able to creatively meet this challenge using a battery energy storage system and a solar photovoltaic system in a novel microgrid application,” added Dettling.

The second investment of $413,250 is for Lethbridge Electric Utility to enhance its distribution network by using conservation voltage reduction (CVR) software technology in its metering system to conserve energy and reduce demand on the energy grid.

“Investing our capital dollars and our staff’s innovative leadership in data and power systems has allowed us to become the first jurisdiction in Canada to offer the enhanced grid efficiency enabled by [CVR] smart grid technology,” said Stewart Purkis, P.Eng., City of Lethbridge.

“Funding from [NRCan’s] Smart Grid Fund has made it possible for us to demonstrate that this technology can reduce electrical energy consumption and greenhouse gases across our entire customer base without having to ask them to change their behaviour,” continued Purkis.

Funding for these projects was provided by Natural Resources Canada’s Smart Grid Program, which helps utilities reduce pollution and optimize electricity use while encouraging innovation.