Our Moon Shot: Hydro Ottawa to be Net Zero by 2030

Electricity Canada: The Grid 2022

Morgan Barnes and Susan Fekete

Media and Public Affairs Advisor & Communications Advisor, Hydro Ottawa

In December 2021, Hydro Ottawa, with the support of its Board of Directors, announced it was accelerating its transition to Net Zero operations by 2030. When it succeeds in its eight-year mission, it could be the first municipally-owned utility company in Canada to boldly go where no other has gone before.

“This is our moon shot,” says Bryce Conrad, President and CEO of Hydro Ottawa.

Conrad is referencing the 1969 moon landing of Apollo 11; a source of inspiration behind the utility’s announcement. Back in 1961, then President, John F. Kennedy announced in Congress that before the decade was over, the United States would land a man on the moon and safely return him back to earth. At the time, it had never been done, and the technology, technically, didn’t yet exist to make it happen.

What they did have was acceptance of the idea - which gained momentum and inspired a nation to persevere, get creative, collaborate, and secure necessary investments to move forward and succeed. Making the ‘Impossible’ Possible

Experts have said the same thing with respect to Canada’s ambitious goal to be Net Zero by 2050 and the push for electrification. While the technology exists to get us close, some of what’s required to get us to the finish line hasn’t been invented yet. Conrad believes that when there is a social need for change, technology, financing and regulatory reform isn’t far behind to help make the ‘impossible’ possible.

“There is no ‘business as usual’ for us anymore,” says Conrad. “In Ottawa, climate change is very real. In the last few years alone, we’ve lived through ice storms, floods, tornadoes, heat waves and major wind storms.

The societal pressure to address climate change is the rocket fuel that’s going to drive new technology and innovation in the energy sector. We may be shooting for the moon, but we’re also following the science to get there.”

Electricity Canada: The Grid 2022

For about a decade, the utility has been integrating innovative and sustainable business practices while also ensuring it continues delivering on critical areas of performance including, best in-class customer service, financial strength, organizational effectiveness, culture and leadership, and corporate citizenship.

In addition to being recognized as Ontario’s largest municipaly -owned producer of green power and being selected ten times as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers, two of Hydro Ottawa’s innovative sustainability projects were awarded to Electricity Canada’s Centre of Excellence in 2021. Namely a new pollinator meadow in Ottawa’s south-end, and the company’s zero-carbon Zibi Community Utility in the downtown core. Definitely not ‘business as usual’ for a local utility.

“Achieving the distinguished Sustainable Electricity Company designation from Electricity Canada, the third in Ontario to do so, became our North Star,” says Conrad. “Reaching that destination together as a team, it sealed the deal for me with respect to setting an unflinching timeline for our Net Zero goal. It’s going to happen and we’re going to achieve it together, because we have the best and the brightest.”

Customers Remain at the Centre of a Smart Energy Future

The company is currently developing a detailed action plan to guide its course to Net Zero, working with customers, employees and partners along the way. Conrad is quick to point out that the customer will always remain at the centre of everything the company does. “As the electricity landscape continues to transform, the key is to do it in such a way that it is equitable and affordable for all customers to participate in a smart energy future,” says Conrad. “By ensuring we have the proper support in place to help customers realize their sustainability and Net Zero goals, we will reach ours. No one can be left behind.”

While the electricity industry is often singled-out in conversations surrounding climate change, more than 80% of the electricity in Canada comes from non-emitting sources (Ontario’s electricity sector is one of the cleanest in the world, producing 94 % of electricity completely free of GHG emissions)1. Conrad believes that utilities are going to help shape the world’s energy future; with Canadian utilities at the forefront of the movement to decarbonize the Canadian electricity system by 2035.

“You can’t always wait for governments or others to act first,” says Conrad. “You have to take responsibility for your own operations and environmental footprint. Now is the time for clear and decisive action - and yes, to shoot for the moon, too.”

1 https://www.ieso.ca/en/Learn/Ontario-Supply-Mix/Natural-Gas-Phase-Out-Study

Hydro Ottawa owns and operates three primary subsidiaries: Hydro Ottawa Limited, which distributes electricity across the nation’s capital; Portage Power, which has over 128 megawatts of installed green generation capacity – enough to power 107,000 homes annually; and Envari Holding Inc., which offers large-scale sustainable energy solutions for businesses, governments and utilities.