Firms see opportunity in TOU billing

OTTAWA, CANADA - Ottawa residents will be paying different rates for electricity at different times of the day when Hydro Ottawa starts its time-of-use system later this summer, and local hi-tech firms are seeing it as an opportunity to market some new gadgets.

Triacta Power Technologies, in Almonte, markets a smart meter for multi-tenant buildings that keeps track of how much electricity each tenant uses, so he or she can pay a fair share.

The ability to monitor this will become more important as time-of-use billing comes into effect. "We sell directly to landlords," said Triacta vice-president of marketing Gord Echlin.

"We're definitely going to get busier, especially at the end of this year, as things are expected to pick up speed. No doubt about that," Echlin said.

Niraj Bhargava is CEO of Energate. a company that builds a smart thermostat that allows a resident to adjust electricity usage remotely, from a computer or from a blackberry.

"So, as we move in to time-of-use pricing, consumers will be more and more interested in having technology that allows them to manage their energy use," Bhargava said. Hydro Ottawa is putting the final touches on its time-of-use billing program. It's expected to be in effect by the fall.

In 2006, Hydro Ottawa started installing smart meters in homes in preparation for the time-of-use system.