Canada is poised for smart grid evolution

Canada was an early adopter of smart metering and with many jurisdictions transitioning to second-generation deployments, faces a promising future with smart grids.

In an exclusive interview at Enlit Europe 2023 Greg Robart, CEO of Canada’s Smart Grid Innovation Network – an industry body to drive smart energy solutions in that country – said the country remains at the forefront with over 80% smart meter penetration and the move to the generation two.

“Canada has embraced electricity as a decarbonisation strategy to meet its Paris targets and we have a fairly aggressive set of policies and targets for utilities to decarbonise the way we generate electricity,” he explains.

Coupled with that is a clean electricity regulation, which is under review, to limit the use of natural gas.

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With this decarbonisation of buildings and infrastructure, more strain is being put on the grids.

“So from a smart grid perspective, we're going to need much more technology to optimise the way that we use and manage electricity and to limit the capital investment that that we're going to need to decarbonise our energy uses.”

Turning to possible lessons that Canada can offer, Robart says that Canada and Europe have a lot to learn from each other.

“Because of the way we are regulated, we have a lot of diverse solutions across Canada,” he says.

“And I can say that intense electrification is possible and heat pumps do work,” he adds, commenting that he has not owned a home that wasn't fully electrified.

“I know there's a hesitation that the infrastructure can't take it and that we still need natural gas for heat, and in some jurisdictions that makes sense, but intense electrification is an option and I think we have a lot to offer the European market in that both from the generation and end use perspectives.”