Powering Through the Rate Hikes: How GridFlex Paves the Way for Ottawa’s Smarter Energy Future

By now, many of you have heard that change is coming to our local electricity bills. The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) recently approved Hydro Ottawa Limited’s (HOL) five-year Capital and Rate Plans. While this means residential distribution rates will rise by 15.47% (an average increase of $5.34 per month) starting in 2026 , it also marks a critical, long-awaited turning point for Ottawa's energy landscape.  

At OREC, we believe this cost increase is a necessary investment. HOL operates an incredibly massive and complex grid—spanning a 1,116 square kilometer area with over 50,000 poles, 38,700 transformers, 12,700 kilometers of cabling, and more than 80 substations. To maintain grid safety, ensure reliability, and enable the broader energy transition, accelerating capital upgrades is a necessity. It is a false economy to scrimp on the infrastructure where we live, work, and play.  

Retrospective: From "Falling Short" to Forging Ahead

If this conversation feels familiar, it’s because just last year, OREC published a critical review of Hydro Ottawa’s trajectory: “Hydro Ottawa’s Rate Plan Falls Short on Innovation: Where are the DER Solutions?” In that post, we called out the utility's over-reliance on traditional, centralized infrastructure and criticized the lack of concrete mechanisms to integrate member-driven green technology.

What a difference a year makes. Driven by aggressive regulatory evolution and persistent advocacy from groups like OREC, the newly approved rate structure shifts the paradigm away from that outmoded model.  

Lights Out: Ottawa imports 94% of its electricity from elsewhere. If that supply is interrupted, Ottawa goes dark.

The True Challenge: Distant Generation & Skyrocketing Costs

Distribution lines are only one piece of the puzzle. The most significant financial and systemic pressures actually stem from generation and long-distance transmission.  

• The Import Problem: Only about 6% of the electricity consumed in Ottawa is generated locally; the remaining 94% must be imported from distant, massive provincial generation facilities via long transmission corridors along the 401.

• The $4 Billion Burden: Driven by peak summer demand, Ottawa's transmission infrastructure requires an estimated $4 billion in upgrades over the next five years. At some point, this investment will hit our bills.  

• The Subsidy Illusion: Artificial provincial subsidies—such as masking these cost surges by raising the Ontario Electricity Rebate to 23.5%—simply push a $6B+/year burden onto taxpayers while masking the true cost of energy and inducing surplus demand.  

Regulators are finally waking up to the fact that the traditional model is broken. We need a 21st-century grid built on Distributed Energy Resources (DERs): localized generation paired with active, community-wide demand management.  

Enter GridFlex: Ottawa's First Virtual Power Plant Journey

For years, OREC has advocated for local demand-response mechanisms because they are the single best tool for flattening peak demand and avoiding multi-billion-dollar transmission expansions. This is why we are thrilled to see Hydro Ottawa launch its first step on this distributed energy journey: the GridFlex program.  

Hydro Ottawa's GridFlex: Power your home — and your community

GridFlex operates essentially as a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) service. Instead of turning on a distant gas-fired plant during a scorching hot summer afternoon when air conditioning strain peaks, Hydro Ottawa can dynamically coordinate local, decentralized resources. It offers an easy way for residents to help offset their new distribution charges while earning rewards for supporting community grid resilience.  

The program features two flexible pathways for participation:  

• The Automated Track: Customers connect eligible smart devices—such as smart thermostats, electric vehicles (EVs), or home battery storage systems—which automatically and seamlessly adjust or shift energy usage during brief, peak demand events.  

• The Manual Track: Customers without connected smart devices can opt to receive notifications and participate manually by voluntarily lowering their household electricity usage during called GridFlex events.  

OREC’s Perspective: Virtual Power Plants have achieved remarkable success across Europe and parts of the United States, but they remain rare in Canada. It is incredibly exciting that Ottawa is embracing this innovative model. Shifting demand locally provides immediate line efficiency, prevents community grid constraints, and reduces the macroeconomic pressures driving up provincial taxes and utility rates.

Sign up for GridFlex

A Catalyst for Broader Non-Wires Solutions

The GridFlex rollout perfectly complements a series of ground-breaking "Non-Wires Solutions" (NWS) conditions that the OEB added to HOL’s rate approval—provisions that OREC formally engaged with and actively supported. These new measures include:  

• Elimination of the Net-Metering Charge: The OEB approved the removal of this monthly charge for solar customers, removing an arbitrary financial barrier to clean energy adoption.  

• Non-Wires Solutions Stakeholder Group: HOL is mandated to establish a new group open to all interested parties, meeting at least annually to solicit feedback on customer solutions and DER activities.  

• DER Connection & Cost Review: Hydro Ottawa must now formally track and report its performance on connecting DERs "on time," while committing to reducing connection costs and timelines.  

• Commercial Standby Rate Review: For large commercial-scale projects, HOL will establish a DER Advisory panel to explore alternative rate designs, specifically encouraging customers to deploy backup systems that provide a net benefit to the distribution network.  

How You Can Take Action Today

GridFlex is available right now for eligible residential customers in select grid-constrained postal codes within Kanata and Stittsville.  

1. Check Your Eligibility: To see if your postal code qualifies, review participation options, and register to start earning financial rewards, visit hydroottawa.com/gridflex.  

2. Spread the Word: Even if you live outside of Kanata or Stittsville, share this program with friends and family in those areas. OREC is highly optimistic that this program will prove successful and eventually expand across the entire Hydro Ottawa territory.  

3. Let OREC Know You're In! Are you an OREC member participating in GridFlex? Please tell us! We want to demonstrate to HOL that our membership is organized, ready, and waiting to partner on future community energy projects. Let’s show them the power of an engaged community.

Tell OREC: I signed up for GridFlex!