The Company
Home to nearly 130 stores and businesses spanning 879,000 square feet. Promenade Mall was spending well over $4 million annually on their electricity bills.
The Challenge
The facility has been upgraded with a variety of Building Automation Devices including HVAC and lighting and has upgraded their chillers using incentive programs. Despite the efforts made in improving efficiency, their electricity bills are still rising quickly. Like many large energy users in Ontario, Promenade Mall was entirely unaware of the potential advantages of programs like the Industrial Conservation Initiative (ICI), Demand Response (DR) and other programs that allow you to benefit off energy efficiency. Most businesses donāt have the time or resources to focus efforts on understanding or improving their energy usage and as such energy management is not part of their core business. Promenade Mall was paying around $2.5 million per year in global adjustment payments and didnāt know they could easily reduce this portion of their bill.
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The Solution
Edgecom Energy stepped in to offer their specialized energy management services tailored to help facilities with large and complex energy use profiles. Due to the COVID pandemic and based on analysis done by Edgecom Energy they decided to delay their transition from Class B to Class A. This decision proved to be critically beneficial during the pandemic as their kWh consumption was greatly reduced during this period and the Class B structure was actually better for them that year.
Based off the information and analysis provided to them, Promenade Mall decided to make the transition from Class B to Class A in the summer of 2021 saving an estimated $476K plus a further $359K in savings to be realized the following year from actively curtailing their energy usage. Edgecom Energy started by implementing a full facility-wide Curtailment Action Plan and Analysis (CAPA). The CAPA was able to pin-point areas in the facility where peak demand could be reduced and how the BAS could be reprogrammed. Promenade Mall was also able to capitalize off their energy flexibility and generate $29K from DR participation. Through Edgecom energy, Promenade was able to participate in Alectraās Non Wires Alternatives (NWA) Pilot Program and generated an additional $80K split between availability and activation payments. This pilot demonstrated the benefits of NWA and should drive the implementation of a full time NWA program that many large industrial and commercial consumers will undoubtedly participate in.
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The Results
The mall is now receiving over $900,000 a year in Demand Response and NWA payments plus Global Adjustment Savings ā with no negative impact on customers and building tenants. Looking into the future, a potential savings of $2.2 million was identified if they decided to install a battery system as well. Collaboration with Edgecom Energy has not only generated continual yearly savings for Promenade mall but also added new revenue streams to their business. Besides monetary incentives, the ownership group gained a better understanding of not only their own usage but also the Ontario Energy market and the programs available to them. They look forward to continuing to improve their energy use and take advantage of other programs and products by leveraging the guidance and technical abilities of Edgecom Energy.
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