Ontario energy incentives and the data they require

Ontario's electricity conservation programs have moved steadily towards paying for measured results rather than for installed equipment. That is a better deal for buildings that can prove what happened and a harder one for buildings that cannot, because the proof is a data requirement written into the program rules.

This is worth understanding before you plan a project, because the data requirement has a lead time. A program that wants twelve months of hourly interval data per facility is not something you can satisfy in the week you decide to apply.

The pay-for-performance program, and what it asks for

The Save on Energy Energy Performance Program pays on whole-building performance rather than on individual measures. Its own description is a pay-for-performance model that compares metered consumption against a baseline energy model, with the incentive calculated as a rate multiplied by the electricity savings achieved.

The published terms are specific, and each one is a commitment rather than a form field:

• Incentive rates of $0.30 per kilowatt-hour for summer peak hours, defined as 1 June to 30 September between 3 and 9 pm EDT, and $0.08 per kilowatt-hour for savings at other times.
• A three-year participation commitment.
• A minimum of five percent energy savings per facility within two years.
• Twelve months of hourly interval meter data for each facility.
• Applications approved by 31 December 2027 to receive the three years of incentives.

The rate structure also tells you something about what the program is really buying. Summer peak savings are worth nearly four times off-peak savings, which means a measure that reduces afternoon cooling load in July is worth far more than the same kilowatt-hours saved overnight in February. Knowing your own load shape before choosing measures is therefore not an optimisation, it is the difference between a good application and a poor one.

The retrofit program, and what it asks for

The Retrofit Program works the older way, paying towards the cost of specific measures. Its published headline is that it covers "up to 50% of eligible project costs", with a bonus incentive doubling the rate for most non-lighting projects in eligible areas, capped at the same 50 percent.

The data requirement here is different in kind. Rather than a baseline model, it is evidence about the equipment and the operating hours: what was there, what replaced it, how long it runs. For prescriptive measures the savings are deemed from a published list rather than measured, which is why the application is document-heavy rather than data-heavy.

• Basis of payment: the Energy Performance Program pays on measured whole-building savings; the Retrofit Program pays a share of eligible project cost.
• Data you must produce: 12 months of hourly interval data per facility and then ongoing metered consumption, against equipment details, operating hours and invoices.
• Commitment: three years with a 5 percent saving within two, against a single project.
• Where applications stall: the interval data history and the baseline model, against documentation of the pre-existing equipment.
• What it rewards: the timing of savings, heavily, against the capital cost of the measure.

Both programs sit under the current Save on Energy framework, and the full set for commercial and industrial customers is listed on the business and industry pages. Program terms change, so treat the figures above as current at the date of this article and confirm before relying on them.

Getting the interval data, which is the usual blocker

Ontario is unusually good on this point. Electricity and gas utilities in the province are required to make a customer's own usage data available in a standard machine-readable format, which means the twelve months of hourly data the performance program wants is obtainable by the account holder without installing anything.

What it takes in practice is an authorisation per account at the utility's portal, and for a portfolio that means one per account across possibly several distributors. It is administrative rather than technical, and it is the step organisations underestimate. Our guidance on the mechanics is in energy data management, Green Button and bill PDFs, and the analysis you can do once the data is in hand is in interval data heat maps for property teams.

One detail that trips people: closed and transferred accounts. If a site changed hands or the account was reissued during the twelve months you need, the history may not be retrievable through the portal at all, and the baseline year has to shift. Checking that early is cheaper than discovering it during an application.

What a baseline model has to survive

A pay-for-performance program compares actual consumption against what the baseline model predicts for the same conditions. That comparison is only credible if the model accounts for the things that legitimately change consumption and excludes the things that do not.

• Weather, handled through degree days or a regression on outdoor temperature.
• Occupancy and schedule changes, which are not weather and must not be absorbed into the weather term.
• Additions and removals of load, such as new tenant equipment, which are step changes rather than trends.
• Metering changes, including a meter replacement or a multiplier correction, which look exactly like a consumption change and are not.

The discipline for this is set out in the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol, which distinguishes routine adjustments for factors expected to vary from non-routine adjustments for the static facts about a building that were not expected to change. Programs do not always require IPMVP explicitly, but a baseline built to that standard is one that survives review. The monthly application of the same method is described in weather normalisation, CUSUM and RETScreen M&V.

A sensible order of operations

• Obtain and validate twelve months of interval data for every facility you might enrol, before choosing measures.
• Look at the load shape against the program's peak window. Measures that cut summer afternoon load are worth several times their off-peak equivalent under the performance program.
• Decide per facility which program fits. A building with clean interval history and operational savings available suits pay-for-performance; a building needing a single equipment replacement suits the retrofit route.
• Build the baseline model before the work starts, not afterwards. A baseline reconstructed after a retrofit is a much weaker document.
• Keep the monthly comparison running for the whole commitment period, because the incentive depends on sustained performance rather than on the installation.

That last point is where pay-for-performance differs most from what building teams are used to. The money arrives over three years and depends on the savings persisting, which makes the monthly review part of the financial case rather than an optional extra. What that review contains is in the monthly energy review.

FAQ

What data do Ontario energy incentives require?

It depends on the program. The Energy Performance Program requires twelve months of hourly interval meter data per facility and a baseline energy model against which metered consumption is compared. The Retrofit Program requires documentation of the equipment, the operating hours and the project cost instead.

How much does the Energy Performance Program pay?

Its published rates are $0.30 per kilowatt-hour for summer peak savings, defined as 1 June to 30 September from 3 to 9 pm EDT, and $0.08 per kilowatt-hour otherwise. Participation is a three-year commitment with a minimum five percent saving per facility within two years.

How much does the Retrofit Program cover?

Its published headline is up to 50 percent of eligible project costs, with a bonus incentive doubling the rate for most non-lighting projects in eligible areas, still capped at 50 percent. Confirm current terms before relying on them, because program details change.

Can we get interval data without installing meters?

In Ontario, usually yes. Utilities are required to make a customer's own usage data available in a standard machine-readable format, so the account holder can obtain hourly history by authorising access at the utility's portal. The work is administrative, one authorisation per account.

What if an account changed hands during our baseline year?

The history may not be retrievable through the portal, in which case the baseline period has to move. Check this before planning an application, because it is a common and awkward surprise.