Customer Energy Solutions

Canadians are electrifying their homes, vehicles and industries, for many reasons — from cost and reliability to health and climate benefits.

New demand is coming from sources like data centres supporting AI, cloud computing and digital services, electrification of heating and cooling systems, as well as EV adoption. Steel, cement and other heavy industries are transitioning from fossil fuels to low-carbon electricity, driving significant new demand on Canada’s electricity system. Over the next 10 years, electricity use is forecast to increase by 20-50 per cent, with peak demand up 19-35 per cent in both summer and winter.

To successfully serve this growth, Canada needs all available resources. And yet, its electricity systems were not designed to manage this growth through localized demand-side solutions — particularly in Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia.

Demand-side resources are the energy choices, technologies and actions located on the customer-side of the grid that can help reduce, shift, generate or manage electricity use that can be planned for and used by the local utility system. Demand-side resources can take several forms:

• Managing the energy demand of buildings, businesses and industries, to flatten the peaks and troughs of energy use.
• Encouraging customers to generate their own electricity, from small rooftop solar to larger systems that can power an industrial site
• Integrating local battery storage from EVs and buildings onto the grid as a backup resource.

These solutions will help reduce peak loads on the electricity system, strengthen grid resilience, and allow utilities to defer costly infrastructure investments, while lowering costs.

The program advances research, policy and regulatory reforms that modernize utility frameworks and business models to support Canada’s evolving electricity system. We work with governments, regulators and utilities to ensure demand-side resources are planned, valued and integrated as core components in the electricity system.

This work supports the adoption and integration of:

• Energy efficiency, helping reduce overall energy use — the most cost-effective way to meet growing needs.
• Demand response and load flexibility, enabling buildings, businesses, and industries to shift energy use and optimize grid reliability. 
• Distributed energy resources, such as rooftop solar and other on-site generation, which provide local, reliable energy.
• Energy storage and electric vehicles, offering flexibility and resilience at the local grid level.

The most affordable and reliable electricity is the electricity you don’t need to buy. Energy efficiency is the first step because improving efficiency provides the same light, heating, cooling and processing power while making previously wasted energy available for other uses.

Managing when and how electricity is used further reduces peak demand and improves grid performance.

Once these measures are optimized, local generation and energy storage can be integrated to provide additional grid capacity, flexibility and resilience.

For utilities, demand-side solutions reduce peak demand, optimize system performance and defer costly infrastructure investments. This can improve reliability, lower system costs and let utilities operate more efficiently while meeting growing electricity demand.

For governments, enabling demand-side solutions through supportive policy and regulatory frameworks helps create the market conditions needed to attract private investment, strengthen local electricity systems and ensure equitable access to energy system benefits. These solutions enhance energy security by reducing reliance on volatile global supply chains and fossil fuel markets,  and supports national economic growth. 

For Canadians, demand-side solutions deliver affordability, reliability and energy security.  They reduce energy costs, improve reliability, and strengthen the electricity system. They create high-quality local jobs and drive local economic growth — generating up to $7 in GDP for every $1 invested in energy efficiency. Demand-side solutions also support clean energy goals and improve local air quality.