5,000 cubic meters of natural gas representing operational savings of approximately $152,120.

This project was being paid off through annual operational savings of $152,120 and in January 2020 the repayment was completed and the project was closed. Going forward the balance of the operational savings for 2020 and subsequent future years has been approved by Council to be utilized for energy related matters.

2. WFCU Dehumidification Upgrades

In 2015 the controls to the humidification units were upgraded to a higher energy efficient system. This has resulted in annual electricity reduction of approximately 300,000 kWh and operational savings of over $40,000.

3. Intelligent Electronic Compressor Controller

Intelligent electronics compressor controllers were installed on approximately 60 air conditioning units at designated City buildings in 2014-15. Air conditioning is one of the largest energy consumers in both the residential and industrial sectors. Many of the City’s existing rooftop air conditioning units use old and inefficient technology. Installing electronic control units adds state of the art intelligence to air conditioning systems and improves their energy efficiency.

Estimated annual electricity consumption reduction of 104,000 kWh and operational savings of over $15,000. 

4. Lou Romano Water Reclamation Plant, the Industrial Conservation Initiative (ICI)

This is an electricity cost reduction program administered by the Province of Ontario's IESO. The ICI provides an incentive for large Class A electricity consumers to reduce their electricity consumption during provincial peak demand days and thus significantly lowering their electricity costs. Until recently only consumers with monthly peak demand exceeding 3 megawatts (MW) were eligible to participate. In March 2017 Ontario expanded the ICI program to include customers with monthly electricity peak demand of 1 MW or greater. Lou Romano Water Reclamation Plant (LRWRP) is an excellent candidate to participate in the newly revised ICI provincial program.

To participate, LRWRP is retrofitting one of its 1.2 MW emergency generators by incorporating a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system which is a requirement of the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks. The cost of the SCR system including environmental assessment and installation is approximately $370,000. This will allow LRWRP to reduce consumption from the electricity grid by powering the emergency generator during the provincial five (5) coincident peak demand days. The generator is expected to be operational in the fall of 2020 resulting in potential annual savings of up to $200,000.

As part of this process the LRWRP electricity account has been reclassified from Class B customer to Class A in order to take advantage of a lower Global Adjustment