Opportunity to Reduce Industrial Electricity Costs
The Entrepreneurship Development Coordinator would like to inform Whitewater Region businesses of an important opportunity. Andrew Kenny wants local businesses to look into Stream 3 of the Industrial Electricity Incentive (IEI) program to see if they are eligible for a reduction in their electricity costs.
The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) has started accepting applications for Stream 3 of the Industrial Electricity Incentive (IEI) program. This program supports a dynamic and innovative business climate in which companies can thrive, grow and create jobs while at the same time assisting in the management of Ontario’s strong electricity supply.
Eligible Ontario industries can receive incentives to invest in new production facilities or expand existing ones. In return for building new or expanding existing production facilities, new Stream 3 participants will receive a reduction in the associated costs of electricity until December 31, 2024.
Under Stream 2 of the IEI program, the OPA has to date awarded seven contracts to industrial companies across the province: ASW Steel, Atlantic Packaging, Detour Gold, Goldcorp, Irving Tissue, Pembroke MDF and Resolute FP.
Mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction and manufacturing companies continue to be eligible for the program. For Stream 3 of the program, OPA is expanding eligibility to other energy-intensive industries, including greenhouse, nursery and floriculture production, refrigerated warehousing and data processing.
Businesses should be aware of the following Key Information:
• Applications will be accepted until November 10, and contracts are expected to be offered to successful applicants by the end of the year. Up to four terawatt-hours of electricity has been allocated for this stream of the program.
• The OPA will host an IEI Stream 3 webinar on Wednesday, September 24 to provide additional information and answer questions on the application process. To participate in the webinar and to sign up for future updates, please visit the OPA website.
• More information about the IEI program, including final program documents, is available on the OPA website at www.powerauthority.on.ca/iei.
Assistance for Whitewater Region Businesses is available by contacting Andrew Kenny at 613 646-2282 or [email protected].
