Title
Highlighting projects that drive meaningful change across the energy landscape
We are in an evolving energy landscape. Our customers, communities, and businesses expect sustainable energy options to support them as they strive to meet their net zero goals and mitigate climate change. They also expect advanced technology solutions that are more connected, automated, and intelligent, but also straightforward and user-friendly.
The teams at the Alectra GRE&T Centre objectively assess technologies, conduct pilot projects, design demonstration projects, engage in detailed studies, and conduct real-life implementations to assess the benefits of emerging sustainable energy solutions. The Innovation projects undertaken by the GRE&T Centre identify emerging clean energy trends and in-demand technologies to help Alectra stay at the forefront of energy transformation.
Title
Active Pilot Projects
Alectra SmartCharge
Alectra’s SmartCharge pilot project strengthens residential customer engagement as EV adoption grows. It tests new value delivery models through personalized experiences, rate options, managed charging incentives, and an L2 charger marketplace. The platform offers streamlined installation, charge management, real-time insights, calculators for cost and GHG savings, and guidance on electrical upgrades for L2 charging.
Alectra V2X Pilot
Alectra’s Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) Pilot demonstrates how electric vehicles can become active power partners for a smarter, more resilient grid. By testing bidirectional charging with light- and medium-duty EVs, including electric school buses, the project explores how stored energy in vehicle batteries can support the grid, reduce costs, and strengthen community resilience as Canada accelerates toward a zero-emission transportation future.
AlectraDrive for Fleets
AlectraDrive for Fleets helps commercial fleet operators transition to electric vehicles with confidence. By combining advisory services, smart charging technology, and targeted incentives, the program supports fleets through infrastructure planning, charging strategy, and cost optimization—while enabling Alectra to manage growing EV demand in a grid-friendly way.
Past Projects
IESO York Region Non-Wires Alternatives Demonstration Project
Delivered in partnership with the IESO, this project (Canada’s first-of-its-kind) aims to design and demonstrate a distribution-level DER market that is interoperable with the IESO wholesale market to offset system demand, and to defer, reduce or avoid the need for traditional infrastructure investment.
AlectraDrive @Home
This project aims to gain insight into electric vehicle (EV) charging behaviour at home, and how various incentives can influence behavior to optimize the effectiveness of the grid and the impact of increased charging on the grid. A key goal is to understand and address the barriers to EV adoption experienced by single family and multi-unit homes.
AlectraDrive @Work
AlectraDrive @Work manages the flow of electricity needed to serve a building and electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, so that electricity costs are minimized for business owners while EV drivers have an easy, convenient charging solution.
Power.House® Hybrid
Power.House® Hybrid enables the move towards Net-Zero Energy Emission homes by integrating a hybrid set of electrical and thermal equipment into a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) platform. This novel solution adjusts heat and electricity consumption within a home to minimize its carbon footprint.
GridExchange®
A transactive, blockchain-backed, energy platform that offers customers the ability to participate in an energy marketplace featuring a secure, real-time energy exchange, and a robust settlement process with compensation and rewards.
Downloads: Brochure, End of Project Report Submitted to NRCAN
POWER.HOUSE®
Offers residential customers integrated solar-plus-storage units and an energy management system (EMS) that protects their home against power outages, reduces electricity bills and lowers their carbon footprint. POWER.HOUSE® operates as a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) for optimal operation of the local electricity grid.
Advantage Power Pricing Pilot Project
This project tested various new Time-of-Use (TOU) price plans and their effect on customer behaviour, electricity use and costs. The different price plans were designed to give customer greater control and help Ontario’s power system run more efficiently.
York University E-Bus Simulation
This project studies the impact of e-bus fleets (from transit to school buses) to identify and evaluate technical best practices for efficient electrification of e-buses in Ontario.
Read about GRE&T Centre's Thought leadership initiatives.
Follow us on LinkedIn for updates on our various innovation projects.