[Greenbuilding] Hydro-Québec TOU Rates (was Low powered (wattage) water heaters available through Hydro Quebec)

[npyner at ihug.com.au]

	Hi Paul

Very interesting. I guess the short line is that there is less
inlinination to push TOU tariff because of the prevalence of electric
space heating thus making it easier to dissolve the issue in the murk.


I submit that doesn't alter the fact that electric water heating is
still an issue and can be addressed. Indeed it is a bigger issue in
Quebec than here, and happens all year round, while I guess that, even
in Quebec,  the strip heating is seasonal.  Locally, ETS is hardly
ever used and thus the off-peak tariff is/was for water heaters, and
water heaters only. There is a minimum size for the tank. In other
parfts of the country, in-slab ETS is used and enjoys off peak tariff.

I imagine that when Hydro gets round to installing smart metering,
there will be the tariffs to go with it. I can't see the point of
smart metering without variable tariff. And the residential
distribution boards throughout the province will suddenly burst into
bloom with new timer inserts.

----- Original Message -----
 From: "Green Building" @lists.bioenergylists.org> 

 Hi Nick,

 Hydro-Québec launched a TOU pilot project back in 2008 (see: 
 http://www.hydroquebec.com/rates/heurejuste/pop-heure-juste.html) and
as 
 I understand it the Régie de l’énergie determined that TOU rates
would 
 be of limited benefit to the utility (the average reduction in demand

 during the peak period was a modest 0.3 kW per participant) and that 
 they would unfairly burden ratepayers. The biggest hurdle is that the

 vast majority of homes in this province are heated electrically, and 
 typically with baseboard strips that cannot be shut-off/dialed-back
for 
 an extended period of time without negatively impacting personal 
 comfort. The only practical way to shift this load off-peak would be 
 through the installation of ETS heaters and that's a prohibitively 
 costly proposition for most home owners.

 By 2017, H-Q will have converted all residential account holders to 
 "smart" meters, so it's conceivable that TOU rates could follow at
some 
 future date, but the likelihood of that happening any time soon is
remote.


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