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Toronto Hydro Pilot Program - Google PowerMeter

    First Canadian Utility to Test Technology

    NEWS

    TORONTO, May 20 /CNW/ -

    In addition to getting your horoscope, local weather, and news headlines,
customers may soon be able to view their electricity usage on their iGoogle
homepage.
    Toronto Hydro-Electric System ("Toronto Hydro") is the first Canadian
utility to partner with Google to test Google PowerMeter. Based on the results
of the pilot, Toronto Hydro may make Google PowerMeter available to all its
customers.
    Toronto Hydro launched Time-of-Use rates to the first 10,000 customers
last week. To fully take advantage of lower electricity rates, customers
should shift their energy use to off-peak times like weekends or evenings
after 10pm when electricity is only 4.2 cents per kilowatt hour. Having
information readily available can help customers quickly identify how much
electricity they are using at specific times of the day.
    When ready, Google PowerMeter will complement the tools already available
to many customers. It will provide Toronto Hydro with another channel to
intuitively educate customers on how to monitor their electricity use and look
for ways to shift their use to off-peak times. For example, customers will see
their electricity usage at a glance on their iGoogle home page. If they want
more detailed information, like how much electricity they are using on-peak,
they can click through to the Toronto Hydro website at
www.torontohydro.com/tou
    Toronto Hydro has more than 611,000 smart meters installed across the
city of Toronto. Google PowerMeter will receive information from selected
smart meters and provide users with a snapshot of their electricity
consumption.

    QUOTES

    "Toronto Hydro continues to look for ways to help our customers conserve
electricity. So far, we have been very successful at launching and driving
participation through our conservations programs."
    "What makes this pilot project unique is that we're empowering customers
to see when and how much electricity they use and make decisions on how to
change their own behaviour."
    - David O'Brien, President and CEO, Toronto Hydro CorporationFACTS

    -   Google PowerMeter is a Google gadget that can show consumers their
        personal electricity consumption on their personal computer via their
        iGoogle home page.

    -   This pilot is limited to select group of customers and will last a
        few months. If successful, Toronto Hydro and Google will then offer
        the PowerMeter to all Toronto Hydro customers.

    -   In addition to using less electricity during peak times, customers
        will likely use less electricity in total. Studies show that
        providing access to a household's personal energy information is
        likely to result in savings between 5 to 15 per cent on a monthly
        bill. (Source: Google)

    ATTACHMENTS and SOURCES

    -   High resolution screen shot of Google PowerMeter gadget
    -   www.torontohydro.com/tou
    -   www.google.org/powermeter/howitworks.html
    -   http://files.newswire.ca/236/Google-PowerMeter.JPG