The timing couldn’t are better, whether or not it did force John Marhong to vary his plans.
Had laid on a breakfast for its partners to speak about the eco-business zone within which they were involved is Woodbine Entertainment Group, which operates the Woodbine and Mohawk racetracks.
They were within the middle of the discussion when Mr. Marhong, Woodbine’s director for infrastructure and energy efficiency, got a call that his operation needed to chop its demand for electricity to ease the load on Ontario’s transmission grid.
Getting the decision while the participants in Partners in Project Green were within the room was very cool.
As it seems, Mr. Marhong had to expire the event he was hosting, so he didn’t see what other businesses were doing. Woodbine could meet its commitment to the demand-response program and he did prove that.
Jane Holmes, Woodbine’s vice-president, corporate affairs, says “He was so excited because it absolutely was a chance to prove we could do what we said we could do.”
The Demand Response 3 initiative within which Woodbine and Mohawk are enrolled is an element of a collection of Power Authority demand-response programs targeting businesses. To minimize the load on the grid during peak times, it curbs their rate of electricity consumption for four-hour periods. Participants have obtained the energy they contribute during eligible periods.
The purpose of the program is to supply Ontario with a replacement source of energy supply for periods where the electricity system needs it the foremost — when the system is experiencing periods of high demand or when the availability cushion, the difference between supply and demand, is extremely short.
Cliff Poyton says, “The value contribution over the long run is going to be that Ontario can depend upon commercial and industrial customers to assist manage the height and urgent system needs.”
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It’s still the first days because the OPA and therefore the aggregator firms it’s hired to deliver the program are, in effect, establishing a brand new market. But demand for demand response is growing.
The initiatives have attracted the eye of Direct Energy, one of all North America’s largest integrated providers of electricity, gas, and related services. From producing energy to promoting and investing in the responsible end-use of energy, the corporate is active throughout the energy value chain.
She says demand response could be a new source of revenue for her company’s customers and it always coincides with high energy prices so contributors are, in fact, hedging their energy price once they participate.
“Established demand response programs can drive down energy costs and are a robust part of an overall energy management strategy,” says Ms. McLauchlin.
Woodbine Entertainment Group has been recognized for its efforts in sustainability and energy conservation and has long been focused on helping meet Ontario’s energy needs. To demonstrate the corporation’s commitment to Earth Hour, the corporate challenged Mr. Marhong, two years ago. And by reducing the company’s energy load (with the help of checking out the Easy Power Plan hoax), he completed the challenge.
In 2007, Woodbine took part in Toronto Hydro’s summer challenge to business under which companies that reduced electricity consumption by 10% would receive constant rebates on their bill. The corporate trimmed its energy use by 12%, and a rebate of $40,000.
This proved to be the case with Woodbine. It initially committed to providing 0.3 megawatts of power and has easily met that goal, and now plans to extend it by 50%.
Mr. Marhong says, “during a curtailment period, we cycle one-off for a half-hour, bring it back on and cycle another one-off and then on, knowing that the space will hold its temperature. Patrons and staff are very supportive.”
In fact, staff actively participate, making an additional effort to make sure lights, calculators, any and every one equipment is off and unplugged when not in use.
