The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) has approved PUC Distribution’s application to build a community-wide smart grid project in Canada.

The Sault Smart Grid Project (SSG Project) is expected to impact how other utilities across the country look at smart grid systems.

The OEB said the SSG Project was in the public interest, delivering direct benefits to customers through reduction in energy consumption, reliability improvements and improved planning and data reporting systems. It also highlighted the innovative approach of the project.

PUC CEO Rob Brewer said the project would not only help customers save on their monthly bill but it would also help the utility prepare for emergencies such as black outs and storms and, through its self-healing technology, reduce the duration and number of outages.

“The smart grid technology can pinpoint the outage location immediately, allowing us to quickly restore power to all the areas except for where the problem is, so instead of hundreds of customers affected by a tree falling on a power line there may be only a handful of homes affected by it,” Brewer said.

The technology provides real-time pricing, empowering PUC customers to make decisions that can help them save money. The project should also reduce operations and management costs, resulting in lower power costs for customers.

Brewer said the project would not have been possible without the support from Christian Provenzano, mayor of Sault Ste Marie, and the council.

“The PUC team greatly appreciates the leadership of Mayor Provenzano and council who have been strong advocates for the project, recognising the many benefits the smart grid will bring to the community,” said Brewer.

Provenzano added: “This is really great news for our community and the PUC group of companies. We set out to become a national leader in the energy industry and, with this project, that goal will be realised. I want to recognise and express my sincere appreciation to board chair Jim Boniferro and the entire board of directors, CEO Robert Brewer, the executive management team and staff at the PUC. I also want to recognise and thank our MP Terry Sheehan for delivering critical project funding from the Department of Natural Resources’ smart grid deployment programme. This project would not be a reality without that funding, our collective hard work and our perseverance.”

Brewer also recognised Sault Ste Marie MP Sheehan’s efforts and the pivotal role he played in helping ensure necessary funding for the project.

“MP Terry Sheehan has been a true champion of this project,” said Brewer.

Through National Resources Canada (NRCan), the federal government is supporting the project with $11.8m in funding.

“The $11.8m federal investment I announced for the creation of this smart grid will mean lower electricity costs for Sault Ste Marie homes and businesses,” said Sheehan. “Customers will benefit from better reliability, efficiency and resiliency of their local electric network. The smart grid will also produce new economic opportunities for our community in construction jobs as the grid is created, and will attract the interest of a range of industries associated with Canada’s clean energy sector. This includes manufacturing, ecommerce, telecommunications services and data centres. This investment will also help fight the realities of climate change.”

Brewer also acknowledged the contribution of Infrastructure Energy, which played an essential role in the initial stages of the project.

“I also want to thank the provincial government and Sault Ste Marie MPP Ross Romano for recognising the importance of this project for the community,” added Brewer.

The $34m SSG Project, scheduled to be completed by the end of 2022, will be the largest project in PUC’s 100 plus year history.

“We wouldn’t have been able to do this without all the hard work and dedication from many PUC employees,” said Brewer.