Alectra, discover the possibilities

The IESO York Region Non-Wires Alternatives (NWA) Demonstration Project allows commercial and industrial facilities to leverage on-site energy resources to earn revenue while helping power local communities. Doing so will help us understand how local DERs can meet local, regional, and province-wide electricity needs. 

Project objectives included, but were not limited to: 

• Exploring the use of auctions to secure local capacity, energy and reserve services 
• Assessing the interest and ability of different DERs to compete to provide capacity, 
• Effectively procure capacity, energy and reserve services 
• Driving community engagement and development by enabling local solutions 
• Assessing the unique operational and reliability characteristics of DERs as compared to traditional transmission and distribution infrastructure.

The Demonstration Project took place over 2 commitment periods (two summer seasons) and included 15 activation events in total. These events reduced local peak demand by 8 MW on average and delivered 367 MWh back to the grid. 

Metrics - Year 1 : Commitment Period from May – October 2021

Metrics - Year 2 : Commitment Period from May – October 2022

First in Canada: The project achieved a “Canada first” in the fall of 2020 with the local capacity auction procuring a total of 10 MW of capacity from a variety of resources. These resources were procured with a clearing price of $0.64/kW-day. The procured resources committed to being available for a six-month summer period (from May 2021 to October 2021) to support the grid during demand peaks by either generating electricity for the grid, or by reducing their consumption on demand. 

In June 2021 the project achieved another first, when participant DERs were activated during a heatwave to help reduce local demand (4.5 MW on June 7, 2021, and 3.6MW on June 28, 2021). This was the first time in Canada that DERs secured through a local capacity auction were used to help reduce local peak demand.

Successful Year 2 participants and commitment of energy capacity is as follows:

*A DER is considered "Reserve-Capable" if it is capable of delivering or reducing its energy within 30 minutes of receiving a notice.

Up to $170,000 per MW* for the duration of the Commitment Period, subject to local auction clearing prices. 

Participants earn revenue from both a monthly availability payment (in return for agreeing to commit their energy capacity) and by participating in Local Energy Auctions and Local Reserve Auctions in the case of reserve-capable DERs, over the 6-month summer Commitment Period. In events of contingency, resources that are reserve-capable will be paid the local reserve payment if/when their reserve-capable DER is deployed. Participants that successfully complete test activations for energy and test deployments in the case of reserve-capable DERs, will be paid a test activation payment and/or test deployment payment as well.

*Estimate based on last year’s capacity price of $0.64/kW-day and assumes the max energy price of $2/kWh, for 5 activation events of 4 hours each, and 1 test activation during the Commitment Period (May 1 to Oct 31, 2021). The estimate also assumes 5 reserve events, 2 reserve deployment events and 1 reserve test deployment. The estimate is for informational purposes and the earnings in the demonstration will depend on the results of the auctions and the performance of the DERs.

The table below outlines the main milestones and requirements of the 2021 Auction and 2022 Commitment Period.

Take a look at the Non-Wires Alternatives Demonstration Project steps, as well as the associated timing for each.

Find Frequently Asked Questions about the project here.

Quick Highlight Brochure

Project Overview

Official Program Rules

Customer Journey Map

Frequently Asked Questions

Program Rules – Year 2 vs. Year 1

Video Tutorials:

Bid Offers – 2022

For more information/detailed videos, contact the NWA team at NWAdemo@alectrautilities.com

For the purposes of this demonstration, eligible resources include demand response, battery storage and thermal resources, with available capacity ranging from 100kW to 3,000kW, available for 4 consecutive hours. Participants can take part in the project directly or through an aggregator, including commercial, institutional or residential resources.

Successful participants and commitment of energy capacity is as follows:

“This new program has made our participation as an aggregator much easier and will allow for more participants to supply electricity resources into the grid in the future,” said Behdad Bahrami, Founder/CEO, Edgecom Energy. “The NWA pilot is an all-around win for competitiveness in Ontario and we are excited to help our clients provide their DERs into the Alectra grid.”

“We are thrilled to be part of this new local market,” said Atal Walia, Director of Operations at Tycho Poly Inc. “It gives us the opportunity to bring forward a new revenue stream and help manage growing local energy needs.”

The table below outlines the main milestones and requirements of the 2020 Auction and 2021 Commitment Period.

Quick Highlight Brochure

Project Overview

Official Project Rules

Customer Journey Map

Frequently Asked Questions

Video Tutorials:

1. Register as a Direct Participant
2. Register as an Aggregator
3. Add a Distributed Energy Resource
4. Bid Offers
5. NWA Bid Offer Submission Webinar - Afternoon Session

“This new program has made our participation as an aggregator much easier and will allow for more participants to supply electricity resources into the grid in the future,” Behdad Bahrami, Founder/CEO, Edgecom Energy. 

“We are thrilled to be part of this new local market. It gives us the opportunity to bring forward a new revenue stream and help manage growing local energy needs.” Atal Walia, Director of Operations at Tycho Poly Inc.

• 2023 Centre of Excellence Award in Distribution Category
• AESP Energy Award 2020

• Electrical Business
• APPO