Building the smart grid

The Smart Grid Fund is helping us modernize Ontario’s electricity distribution grids. The fund supports innovators to develop cutting-edge technologies that will make our systems run better and give customers more choice and control over their power use.

By using sensors, modern communications technology and powerful computer systems, a smart grid can:

  • make electricity grids more efficient, reliable and resilient
  • harness data to help customers and utility companies make decisions
  • make it easier for customers to use new technologies - like electric vehicles, rooftop solar generation or energy storage
  • allow customers to track and manage energy use
  • create savings on your bill

Types of projects

The Smart Grid Fund provides money to test, develop and launch the next generation of technologies that can turn Ontario’s electricity distribution systems into modern, digitally enabled grids.

We funded projects in the following categories:

  • proactive consumers - testing tools that households can use to directly manage how they use power (for example, home energy management systems)
  • data analytics - powerful software to analyze electricity systems and make them work better
  • electric vehicle integration - testing how to charge electric vehicles with minimal impact on electricity grids, while ensuring that owners have enough fuel in the tank
  • energy storage - exploring the benefits that energy storage offers when it’s connected to electricity grids and managed by intelligent control systems
  • grid automation - using new technologies powered by intelligent software to detect and automatically fix problems on electricity grids
  • microgrids - exploring the potential for combining renewable generation, energy storage, and intelligent controls to address system issues or give customers access to cleaner, more reliable power
  • building local capacity - creating Ontario-based centres of excellence focused on the domestic and global promotion of smart grid technologies and the local companies that design these technologies

Quick facts

  • 45
    projects funded to date
  • $200
    million
    invested overall
  • 800
    high-tech jobs created in Ontario

Email us if you have any questions about the Smart Grid Fund.