Aboriginal Rights
Rights held by Indigenous peoples though long-standing use and occupancy of the land, protected under Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.
Baseload Generation
Generation sources designed to operate more or less continuously through the day and night and across the seasons of the year. Nuclear and many hydro generating stations are examples of baseload generation.
Behind-the-Meter Applications
A range of technologies that are installed on the customer’s electricity system to help manage the customer’s load.
Beneficiary Pays
An approach to cost allocation where consumers pay for an asset in proportion to the benefits they derive from it. This protects ratepayers from paying for infrastructure that benefits only a few customers.
Bioenergy
The conversion of energy from organic matter to produce electricity. Sources for bioenergy generation can include agricultural residues, food processing by-products, animal manure, waste wood and kitchen waste.
Biofuels
Unlike other renewable energy sources, biomass can be converted directly into liquid fuels, called "biofuels," to help meet transportation fuel needs. The two most common types of biofuels in use today are ethanol and biodiesel.
Cap and Trade Program
A market-based system that sets a hard cap on greenhouse gas emissions while giving flexibility to businesses and industry in terms of how they meet their obligations under the program. Companies must have enough allowances (also known as permits or credits) to cover their emissions. As the cap declines, companies can invest in clean technologies to become more efficient, switch to lower carbon fuels, or purchase additional credits from other participants that have more allowances and credits than they need.
Climate Change Action Plan
A five-year plan, part of Ontario’s long-term fight against climate change. The current Climate Change Action Plan will be followed by a revised plan in 2020.
Climate Change Mitigation and Low Carbon Economy Act, 2016
Ontario legislation that creates a long-term framework for climate action. The Act establishes the province’s greenhouse gas reduction targets in legislation, sets out the framework for the cap and trade program, requires the creation of a climate change action plan, and ensures accountability and transparency in how cap and trade proceeds are spent.
Conservation First
Conservation First is Ontario’s policy that makes conservation the first resource considered, wherever cost-effective, in planning to meet the province’s energy needs.
Conservation First Framework
Launched January 1, 2015, the six-year Conservation First Framework, overseen by the IESO, governs the delivery of electricity conservation and energy efficiency programs in Ontario and provides the funding, guidelines and certainty needed for electricity distributors to deliver conservation and energy efficiency programs to their customers.
Demand Side Management (DSM) Framework
Launched December 22, 2014, the six-year DSM Framework, overseen by the OEB, governs the delivery of natural gas conservation and energy efficiency programs in Ontario and provides the funding, guidelines and certainty needed for natural gas distributors to deliver energy efficiency programs to their customers.
Demand Response
Provides price or financial incentives to residential and business users to shift or reduce their electricity usage away from peak periods of consumption.
Distributed Generation (also known as Embedded Generation)
Electricity produced by small, decentralized generators, such as wind turbines and solar panels.
Energy Audit
The process to determine where, when, why and how energy is being used by energy-consuming systems, such as buildings. The information can then be used to identify opportunities to improve efficiency, decrease energy costs and reduce GHGs.
Energy Retrofit
The process for upgrading a building’s energy consuming systems. Retrofitting may involve improving or replacing lighting fixtures, ventilation systems, windows and doors, or adding insulation. Retrofitting also means including energy efficiency measures in all renovation and repair activities.
Energy Storage
Equipment or technology that is capable of withdrawing electrical energy from the grid for the purposes of re-injecting it back into the grid; storing it as another form of energy to offset electricity demand at a later time; or for converting and storing electricity as an alternative form of energy for secondary, non-electric uses.
Ethanol
A renewable fuel made from plants such as corn, sugar cane and grasses whose use can reduce greenhouse gases.
Gigawatt
A unit of power equal to one million kilowatts (kW) or one billion watts (W).
Global Adjustment (GA)
The GA is the difference between the total payments made to certain contracted or regulated generators and demand management projects, and market revenues. The GA serves a number of functions in Ontario’s electricity system: it provides more stable electricity prices for Ontario’s consumers and generators; it maintains a reliable energy supply; and it recovers costs associated with conservation initiatives that benefit all Ontarians. The GA is calculated each month by taking into account the following components: generation contracts administered by the Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation; OPG's nuclear and baseload hydroelectric generation; and IESO contracts with generators and suppliers of conservation services.
Green Button
A data standard that gives customers the ability to access and share their utility data in an electronic, standardized and secure way. Customers can share their data with innovative software applications that allow them to view and manage their energy and water use.
Heat Pumps
A device that heats or cools buildings by absorbing heat from one area and transferring it to another. Heat pumps can replace the need for furnaces and air conditioners.
In-Front-of-the-Meter Technologies
A range of technologies that are deployed on distribution networks or transmission networks. Examples include technologies that reduce line losses and optimize voltage levels.
Capacity Auction
A competitive market that commits a supplier to provide a specified amount of electricity in the future.
Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO)
The provincial agency that delivers key services across the electricity sector including: managing the power system in real-time, planning for the province’s future energy needs, enabling conservation and designing a more efficient electricity marketplace to support sector evolution.
Independent Power Authority
An unlicensed LDC that serves one of 10 First Nation communities in Northwestern Ontario.
Kilovolt (KV)
One thousand volts.
Kilowatt (kW)
A standard unit of power equal to 1,000 watts. Ten 100-watt light bulbs operated together require one kW of power.
Megatonnes (Mt)
One million metric tons.
Megawatt (MW)
A unit of power equal to 1,000 kilowatts (kW) or one million watts (W).
Megawatt-Hour (MWh)
A measure of the energy produced by a generating station over time: a one MW generator, operating for 24 hours, generates 24 MWh of energy.
Microgrid
A local electricity network linking smaller sources of electricity with nearby uses such as homes, businesses and institutions. In the event of a failure of the larger network, a microgrid can seal itself off and continue to provide power locally.
National Energy Board (NEB)
The federal agency that regulates the international and inter-provincial operations of oil and gas pipelines and electricity transmitters.
Net Metering
A billing arrangement allowing customers to generate their own electricity on site for their personal use and receive bill credits for any extra electricity sent to the local distribution system.
Net-Zero Energy Buildings
Buildings that annually produce at least as much energy as they consume.
Ontario Energy Board (OEB)
The OEB is the independent agency that regulates Ontario’s electricity and natural gas sectors in the public interest.
Pumped Storage
A form of energy storage that uses electricity to pump water from a lower reservoir to a higher reservoir. When required, the water in the upper reservoir can be returned through turbines to the lower reservoir to generate electricity.
Regulated Price Plan (RPP)
A time-of-use pricing plan revised every six months by the OEB that sets the prices for electricity during peak, off-peak, and mid-peak periods of the day.
Terawatt-Hours (TWh)
One billion kilowatts of electricity used for one hour.
Time-Of-Use Prices
Prices for electricity that vary according to the demands put on the system. Under a time-of-use plan, prices are higher during periods of peak consumption when it costs more to generate electricity. Conversely, prices are lower during off-peak periods, when the cost of electricity is less.
Virtual Net Metering
A billing arrangement allowing customers whomst may not be able to install their own renewable energy system to participate in renewable energy projects located away from their homes or businesses. The electricity conveyed into the grid from the renewable energy system creates bill credits which can be used by one or more participating customers to offset charges on their electricity bills.
Watt (W)
A unit that measures how much electricity is generated or used at any one time.