BC Hydro Load Management Demonstration Projects

2017 – 2020

The BC Hydro Load Management Demonstration Projects was a pilot program that allowed BC Hydro to adjust the operation of participant’s hot water heaters during peak demand times on BC Hydro’s electricity grid. The rationale behind the pilot was that reducing energy use during periods of high demand would help BC Hydro reduce the amount of infrastructure that needs to be built to meet the growing demand for electricity.

• The results of the pilot are summarized as follows:
  Generally, the demand response events were minimally disruptive to most participants
• Some homes with larger families ran out of hot water on occasion.
• Away (4000) and Timer (6000) modes have potential of energy saving by scheduling the shut-down of hot water heating.
• Many customers were interested in other benefits such as:

• • • leak detection to protect their home from water damage from a leaking tank.
    • The ability to manually control their water heater as well as the power to set programming or remotely monitor their system through the internet.

• BC Hydro will consider future programs that encourage homeowners to install smart controllers when they are replacing their water heaters.

If you have any further questions regarding the pilot, please contact BC Hydro at: LoadManagementDemo@bchydro.com

If you would like to hear about future BC Hydro pilots, please go to this website: https://www.bchydro.com/powersmart/energy-management-trials.html