As recent power instability issues on Prince Edward Island bring attention to system shortcomings, the provincial government will be launching pilot projects aimed at better managing the electrical grid.
Homes and businesses in western P.E.I., and Summerside in particular, have been experiencing ongoing power issues this week due to damage at a Maritime Electric substation.
P.E.I.’s second-largest city operates its own utility but relies on Maritime Electric to transmit supplemental power it buys from New Brunswick.
Islanders have been asked to conserve energy for three straight evenings, and on Thursday, Maritime Electric continues to ask customers across the Island to avoid using big appliances during peak hours.
Derek Ellis, the province’s director of sustainability, told the legislature’s standing committee on natural resources and environmental sustainability on Thursday that concerns about P.E.I.’s electricity grid have been a “hot topic.”
As more Islanders switch to electric heating and transportation, encouraged by government incentives designed to reduce P.E.I.’s carbon footprint, the increased demand is putting additional pressure on the system, he said.
“We’re in the process of seeking a proponent now to help implement some pilot measures that can help shift demand [to] off-peak times, using the existing infrastructure that we have,” Ellis told MLAs.
Demand response programs in development
Andy Collier, acting senior manager of energy policy and programs at Efficiency P.E.I., also spoke to the committee. He said he hopes a request for proposals (RFP) will be issued next week to look for someone to design and deliver those demand-response programs.
“Demand-response programs in that RFP would be things like replicating the thermal storage technology that Summerside Electric uses in their Heat for Less Now program,” he said.
