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Energy Management Working Group
Report of the Nova Scotia Energy Management Working Group
Introduction
The Province of Nova Scotia is undertaking an Electricity System Review. The information gained will be used in planning Nova Scotia’s electricity future. A key issue is the role innovation will play in making technical solutions for managing energy systems more cost-effective than they are today. The review engaged the services of external experts – ICF International – to advise on longer-term expectations on technology development. Their report suggested technology which enables communities to act “smarter” in the way they manage electricity systems will have a significant impact on all electricity systems in the future.
Smarter community energy systems have a number of key attributes. When combined with supportive policies and innovative rate designs, they can lower costs for all ratepayers by managing the entire electricity system more efficiently and effectively as well as creating a platform for consumers to better manage their own use of electricity.
The attributes of a smarter community energy management system includes automatic and virtually continuous measurement of electricity consumption which provides the following benefits:
- remote meter reading and billing cycles that better match consumer budget needs
- near real time feedback on electricity consumption for consumers to better understand what is driving their electricity usage which helps them make better electricity choices
- pin-point accuracy on whether a home or business is on or off-line which can lead to more accurate outage management including better information on when power will be restored
The most modern smarter community energy management systems also allow the electricity system to respond more flexibly when there are sudden changes in power supplies and need. This ability is important as we add more renewables such as wind and tidal which do not provide electricity continuously, and not always when we need it.
To better understand the opportunities presented by new energy management systems, the Department of Energy convened a group of knowledgeable stakeholders to provide local expert advice to the Electricity System Review. The Energy Management Working Group (EMWG) was asked to identify areas of interest for government and the broader public and to suggest ways that technology and innovation could improve customers’ relationships with energy.
EMWG participants attended a series of workshops and presentations, shared information and brainstormed about how available technologies fit into Nova Scotia’s energy landscape. While much of the discussion did center on electricity, many of the suggestions spanned a broader range of primary energy sources and their providers.
This report collects a series of observations and captures some of the discussion that occurred during the working group sessions. Each topic covers a different issue associated with smarter community energy management systems.
Renewable Integration
Issue:
Nova Scotia faces a challenge of integrating increasing quantities of variable renewable generation into existing energy systems.
Discussion by EMWG:
Wind, tidal, solar and many small hydro systems in Nova Scotia are able to produce energy when the natural resource is available. However the availability of the natural resource does not always align well with many sources of electrical load in Nova Scotia that switch on and off regardless of the availability of energy. This mismatch at times means Nova Scotia is unable to harness all of the renewable energy available from existing installations, leading to wasted opportunities.
Expert advice and public feedback suggests the ability to store electricity or shift demand for electricity in a cost-effective manner is a key element of our electricity future. Instead of simply responding to an increase in demand by bringing on additional (often fossil fuel) supplies, being able to manage our electricity will allow us to get better value out of our renewable energy investments.
Modern energy management systems have shown that it is possible to achieve this goal – although the issue of cost-effectiveness is still being examined. Pilot projects to test effectiveness of various models are being undertaken around the world. One of the largest projects of its kind is the Government of Canada-sponsored project known as “Power Shift Atlantic”. It is being carried out by utilities in the region using a variety of technologies to better align the need for electricity with the production at any given time.
The largest pilot in the overall project is one in New Brunswick, which includes numerous commercial chilling installations. When the wind dies down, instead of burning more fuel to create more electricity, NB Power can dial back the temperature on the participating freezer loads. This creates a “virtual power plant” equivalent to a 20 MW facility. Nova Scotia Power has also participated in the Power Shift Atlantic Project and has been using smaller scale electric hot-water systems to achieve a similar kind of electricity flexibility.
Nova Scotia also has a significant installed base of Electric Thermal Storage devices for home heating that are able to manage the need for heating by storing electricity when the demand for electricity is low and releasing it when demand for electricity is high. This shifting from peak to off peak provides savings for all customers – especially during the handful of very cold winter days when the market price for electricity and fossil fuels such as natural gas are considerably more expensive. During the hours that make up the highest peak periods, market prices can be 10 times greater than normal.
Observations:
- Further work will be required to fully understand the value to the electricity system from such load management technology. Large-scale deployment of technology will reduce costs, but consumer interest in participating and the design of rates that share the benefits from savings also need to be considered. The government, utilities and key stakeholders will need to continue to monitor, measure and support additional pilot work to define programs that would leverage intelligent systems to improve the use of existing and planned renewable generation resources.
- Many of those participating in the working group had suggestions for additional pilots and these ideas would benefit from additional discussion and expert advice.
Management of System Peak Demand
Issue:
Nova Scotia faces a challenge of increasing system coincident peak load despite reduction of overall energy use.
Discussion by EMWG:
System coincident peak drives the requirement for the construction of new generation as mandatory reliability standards require that a utility must have enough generation available to meet the highest expected load, plus a contingency. While the system peak is rising, making more generation necessary, the energy use remaining constant means that any new generation will be used only a few hours a year, and are therefore underutilized. Managing the growth of the peak demand will help reduce the need for the construction of new generation and help ensure that existing resources are more effectively utilized.
Several jurisdictions, including Ontario, have implemented broad time-of-use rates to spur customers to change behaviour and shift some load to non-peak times. However, the results of these programs have been mixed and complicated by other social and political factors.
Several examples of technological solutions were presented that would help shift load either through rates, incentives or another regulatory structure, or even by customer education. These technologies ranged from simple, like timers on appliances, to complex, like thermal storage based heating systems. Many technologies have already been deployed, including those used in the Power Shift Atlantic program, while others are expected in the near future or are still under development.
Observations:
- Further work will be required to fully understand the value to the electricity system from such load management technology. Large-scale deployment of technology will reduce costs, but consumer interest in participating and the design of rates that share the benefits from savings also need to be considered. The government, utilities and key stakeholders will need to continue to monitor, measure and support additional pilot work to define programs that would leverage intelligent systems to improve the use of existing and planned generation resources.
Metering
Issue:
Metering of customers is one of the primary ways that utilities can gather data about usage; data that is the key to many other innovations.
Discussion by EMWG:
Existing meter technology in Nova Scotia is generally not capable of recording information, requiring personnel to view a display on the meter to gauge usage. These meters have served well for over a century, but they provide only the most basic form of consumption data and do not allow for further innovation.
Modern metering systems can have many advanced measurement capabilities, including the ability to monitor more data much more frequently, store this data and remotely access it. These additional measurement capabilities may allow several innovations by the utility or third parties to educate, improve service, or reduce cost to the customer.
Advanced meters also involve far more than measurements, allowing for
- remote disconnection/connection/reconnection of service
- remote reading and querying by the utility (two-way communication)
- software defined functions and remote software upgrade
- battery-supported outage notification
- connection to a Home-Area-Network, allowing meter data to be used by other devices (smart appliances that can communicate wirelessly with the meter)
- many other capabilities, some depending on the meter’s vendor
In addition to the meters themselves, the widespread deployment of advanced meters forms a network of communicating devices providing much more information about the energy system to utilities and providing pathways for many different types of information. For example, a single platform could gather information from natural gas and water use as both are currently metered. New sensing technology is being developed which could also report on oil usage.
Installation of advanced meters can allow the delivery of many new services not otherwise available to customers, and make access to other services simpler. Moving to advanced metering is the first step involved in many of the other areas.
Observations:
- Many utilities across North America have adopted a first generation platform for metering and the cost is reported to have dropped significantly. The costs of more advanced systems that go beyond reading consumption and include management of energy use are also coming down. NSPI has indicated that it has started work to assess the costs of various technologies.
- The Electricity System Review expert report, the EMWG and preliminary feedback from the public during review sessions around the province all contribute to a positive policy direction on the development of Smarter Community Management Systems.
- The UARB would need to review the capital cost of such technology, with an assessment of costs and benefits to ratepayers.
- If utilities (electricity, gas, water, etc.) work together, with the support of government and stakeholders, it would be possible to develop plans for interoperability of various advanced meter and sensor systems.
Billing
Issue:
The current billing structure requires a physical reading of an electricity meter at significant cost and the presentation to customers with a bi-monthly, fixed-rate bill. This structure suits relatively few customers and may cause difficulties for some. This lack of billing choice leads to consumer disengagement and frustration. With near continuous measurement and remote reporting, more flexible billing options are a possibility.
Discussion by EMWG:
Nova Scotia residential utility customers have a very simple billing structure, a flat rate per unit of energy coupled with a base service charge. The resulting payments are generally either made every two or three months, depending on the utility.
Nova Scotia Power (NSPI) offers a fixed monthly payment amount, adjusted every year based on the previous year’s usage. Close to 20% of NSPI customers participate in this “budget” plan, with enrollment levels remaining steady in recent years. It is also possible to obtain a time-of-use rate for electricity service, however; existing regulations mean that it is necessary to have installed an electric thermal storage system before the rate is available.
Existing billing systems are straightforward for the customer and easy to administer for the utility, but do not support energy saving behaviour or add value for the customer. During the discussion several different rate plan options were presented from different jurisdictions around the world, and several options unique to Nova Scotia were discussed. Rate and billing options are normally conceived and designed with an objective, including: behaviour change, customer experience improvement, or convenience and savings for the customer, often through better use of utility resources.
Observations:
- More frequent and flexible billing options will provide consumers with more options to meet their needs.
- Successful development of new rate regimes will require a mixture of supportive electricity policies, technology and consultation with consumers, and key stakeholders and approval by the UARB.
- The new rate regimes would need to be evaluated to determine whether they would be expected to have the ability to empower customers, and reduce costs for both customers and the utility.
Data
Issue:
Lack of accurate, frequent, and available energy usage data furthers consumer apathy, presents few opportunities for innovation, and fails to encourage savings.
Discussion by EMWG:
One of the fundamental requirements for more intelligent energy management is access to data. This data often is an essential part of new technologies, and sometimes may be the only thing necessary to lead to an energy innovation. Data is central to all energy management activity and the existence of new data may spur additional innovations that have not yet been conceived.
With the increased use of new energy management technology, the amount of data produced will most certainly grow, but it is not certain that customers will derive benefit from the data unless it is appropriately managed. Data stored in formats illegible to would-be users in inaccessible repositories is not as valuable as data readily available.
Participants suggested several criteria that could make data more useful to customers and innovators.
- Timeliness: Real-time or near real-time data is much easier, and more engaging for customers.
- Quantity: The recording interval of data should be short enough to capture everyday activities, such as cooking and cleaning.
- Compatibility: All data should be published in standardized format(s) so that access for customers and innovators does not involve obstacles such as decoding.
- Privacy: All data collected should meet the highest standards for security (to prevent “hacking”) and protection from unauthorized disclosure. Ontario has developed such standards in cooperation with the Ontario Privacy Commissioner.
- Availability: Customers should be able to readily access their data from a provider, but they should not be responsible for storing it. The data should also be available to non-utility service providers for customer programs and research under strict protocols to protect privacy.
- Single Source: Data should be acquired through one common gateway, even if it is stored in multiple repositories.
- Identifying: Research users should be able to use the data in a way that allows identification of the geographic area or neighborhood without it identifying individual customers, by postal-code for instance. Customers and utilities should be able to link data directly to a customer for billing and usage purposes.
- Expandable: New sources and sensors become available every year, the data collection and storage system should allow for expansion to include these new systems.
Observations:
- Nova Scotia could follow Ontario’s lead and develop clear and strong privacy standards to protect the interests of customers who should not have their individual usage disclosed to others in a manner that would match that usage with their identity except for the purposes of billing, unless they explicitly agree to such disclosure.
- Within the privacy considerations, laws and regulations could enable utilities to provide energy use data from all sources so that data can be gathered and made available in a standard format with a level of detail useful to customers, researchers, utilities, and innovators while ensuring its accuracy and the privacy of the customer.
- Efficiency utilities may use the data to help design tools to help customers to access their data and develop plans to use it to increase energy efficiency and reduce customer bills.
Competition and New Business Opportunities
Issue:
Competition spurs innovation and exposes the best ideas in many areas, including in energy management.
Discussion by EMWG:
Energy management is a burgeoning field with many possibilities, many players and much opportunity. There are currently no clear winners in technology or business within the field, and new ideas are being generated every day. The field of energy management systems can be considered to have a number of parts that all link together:
- grid management systems that provide information and send instructions between the utility and the customer
- advanced meters that provide an interface between the utility and the customer
- home or business energy management systems that take information from sensors and manage energy loads up or down automatically or provide that information for consumers to adjust manually
Although the grid management systems and advanced meter systems are largely the realm of very-large scale electronics enterprises, opportunities are emerging in the areas of home and business management systems in both hardware and software. Innovation in this emerging field is also coming from the world of “smart-phones” which are becoming a platform for displays and controls. Independent developers are creating both the home sensors and controllers that link to the Internet as well as the software applications or “apps” that allow for sophisticated but simple displays and commands.
If Nova Scotia is to move forward in this area, new business opportunities for local firms should emerge. To take best advantage of these opportunities, there will need to be open competition. However, such competition is possible only if the marketplace is developed in an open and transparent way. It is important that barriers to enter the market are kept low to allow the broadest participation and the greatest customer choice.
It is also possible, and may be desirable, to directly create and facilitate competition, such as was done in Ontario with the “Energy Apps for Ontario Challenge”, where prize money was used to spur development.
Observations:
- More work is required by government and others to examine the consequences and market capacity of allowing 3rd party companies to leverage energy management systems and data.
- More work is also required to determine if new resources and support systems would be beneficial to facilitate innovation in energy management systems within Nova Scotia.
Planning
Issue:
There are many potential uses of intelligent meters and other grid technologies that are not currently viable for cost or complexity reasons, or, indeed, have not even been foreseen, but which may be desirable in the future.
Discussion by EMWG:
Advanced metering infrastructure has been installed in several jurisdictions for many years, and it is clear that some installations are more adaptable than others. Some utilities now find themselves half-way through the lifetime of the meters, but with no way to enable new technologies and services without replacing or significantly reworking their existing asset base.
Similar examples flow from all technology sectors where the life of assets is greater than the length of the design cycle. However, consumers are not likely to be sympathetic as they are accustomed to upgrading their own technology regularly to obtain the latest features.
While there is no way to ensure that installed technology will not become outmoded or unwieldy, well researched long term planning can help extend the useful life of assets. Choosing flexible installations will be more likely to accommodate future additions or new uses.
Observations:
- More work is required by government and utilities, knowledgeable stakeholders, and industry representatives to ensure that decisions made with the introduction of new technologies do not prevent or unnecessarily complicate the addition of services and technologies in the future.
Access to Capital
Issue:
Difficulty accessing capital frequently restricts new technologies from being exploited, even in situations where there is broad community or industry support.
Discussion by EMWG:
Energy management is a field with more ideas than existing viable solutions, but many of the ideas have the potential to become solutions if resources are available to support their development. Support is most important for local innovations that may be tailored to Nova Scotia’s unique needs and may allow for the cultivation of export opportunities. An example of support systems for development and marketing was shown in the MaRS Advanced Energy Center.
Some types of energy management systems may involve equipment installed in a residence, business or community, and may therefore face obstacles related to initial deployment cost that could prevent adoption despite support from customers. Both the Property Assessed Clean Energy Loan program and the Community Feed-In-Tariff were identified as excellent examples of the type of innovative financial thinking that could reduce barriers to adoption of new technologies.
Many of the new products and ideas are directly supportive of the electricity demand-side management responsibility of Efficiency Nova Scotia. The introduction of new systems to gather energy consumption information and manage consumption more efficiently could be considered an important new toolkit for support by Efficiency Nova Scotia and a new source of financing.
Observations:
-
More work is required by government and public agencies to explore innovative financing models and support sources to help technology innovators access the energy management market.
Participants
The Department of Energy would like to thank all of the participants for their contributions to the discussion.
Alain Joseph, Faculty – Energy Sustainability Engineering – Nova Scotia Community College
Lukas Swan, Faculty – Renewable Energy Lab – Dalhousie University
Dominic Groulx, Faculty – Mechanical Engineering – Dalhousie University
David Alderson, Project Manager – Verschuren Center – Cape Breton University
Mary Ellen Donovan, Co-Chair – Quality Urban Energy Systems of Tomorrow, Atlantic Chapter
Ray Ritcey, Co-Chair – Quality Urban Energy Systems of Tomorrow, Atlantic Chapter
Julian Boyle, Energy Manager – Halifax Regional Municipality
Terry Thibodeau, Coordinator for Renewable Energy and Climate Change – Municipality of Digby
John Aguinaga, Chief Technical Officer – Efficiency Nova Scotia
Michael Dennis, Investment Manager – Innovacorp
Mike Sampson, Director – Generation Asset Management – Nova Scotia Power
Craig Sutherland, Senior Director – Retail Operations – Nova Scotia Power
Aaron McLean, Project Manager – Power Shift Atlantic – Nova Scotia Power
Ian MacKillop, Meter Engineer – Retail Operations – Nova Scotia Power
Special Guests
Ian Philp, Director of Operations – Advanced Energy Center – MaRS
Ken Nakahara, Director – Transmission and Distribution Policy – Ontario Energy Ministry
Jennifer Hiscock, Science and Technology Advisor – Natural Resources Canada
Department of Energy Staff
Bruce Cameron, Executive Director – Sustainable and Renewable Energy – NSDOE
Scott McCoombs, Director - Electricity and Renewable Energy Technical Policy – NSDOE
Nancy Rondeaux, Manager - Electricity and Renewable Energy Technical Policy – NSDOE
Jonah Bernstein, Manger – Sustainable and Renewable Energy – NSDOE
Shawna Eason, Business Development Officer – NSDOE
Facilitator
Peter Craig, Engineer – Electricity and Renewable Energy Technical Policy – NSDOE