Firms see opportunity in TOU billing
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.
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WINNIPEG - Manitoba Hydro is warning customers, particularly small business owners, to be wary of high-pressure scammers threatening to shut off their electricity.
The callers demand the customer to make immediate payment by a prepaid card. Often, the calls are made in the middle of the day at a busy time, frightening the customer with aggressive threats about disconnecting the service, says hydro spokesman Bruce Owen.
"They tell them 'we have a truck on the way to cut off your power. If you don't pay in the next hour you're out of luck,'" he said.
"And because these folks have inventory in freezers and they have…
