WEG In Support Of The Ontario Power Authority’s Call For Energy Curtailment

Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) will reduce its energy consumption at its Woodbine and Mohawk facilities between 1:15 pm and 5:15 pm today as part of the Ontario Power Authority’s (OPA) Demand Response Program (DR3). The recent hot temperatures and humid conditions put tremendous pressure on the Province’s electricity grid. An overly stressed electrical grid can result in “brown-outs” or in worse case situations, “black-outs”. As well, it prevents the need for importing expensive power from the U.S. to keep up with the demand, or the need to use coal powered plants to produce more electricity.

As a preventive measure, the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) created its Demand Response Program. This is a contractual peak load shedding agreement between the OPA and energy aggregators like Direct Energy with the objective of reducing electricity usage when Ontario’s electricity grid is overly stressed. Businesses are compensated in two ways: for being on standby to shed power during selected hours and for reducing their power consumption when asked.

WEG’s curtailment strategy will be initiated through Woodbine’s Building Automation System (BAS) and manually at Mohawk. “The use of automation allows for a smooth and controlled transition from normal operations to a more efficient mode, which can only be sustained for brief periods of time.” states John Marhong, WEG’s Director of Infastructure and Energy Efficiencies.

In addition to increasing equipment set points, shutting down non-critical equipment and cycling some units on/off, employees are asked to do their part by turning off any unnecessary lights, equipment etc. in their work areas during this time.

Direct Energy, in partnership with its clients, including WEG, have committed to reducing electrical demand by 25MW when requested by the OPA. This is enough power to ensure that 10,000 homes will have a consistent electricity supply.