On November 1, the City of Guelph began a one-year agreement with Shell Energy to purchase off-peak electricity to power Guelph’s street lights. The lower electricity rate will save approximately $168,000 to $185,000 annually.
Street lighting consumes approximately nine million kilowatt hours (kWh) each year. Since street lights are powered during off-peak hours between 5 p.m. and 7 a.m., the lower hourly rate will lead to substantial cost savings. The current cost of electricity under Ontario’s Regulated Price Plan (RPP) is around $0.064 kWh. The average hourly price for off-peak electricity is approximately 35 to 40 per cent less than the RPP.
The annual cost savings associated with the off-peak electricity purchase has been factored into the proposed 2009 budget.
The City is currently identifying other facilities that could benefit from a cost savings by switching to off-peak electricity.