Dunsky Convenes Consortium to Lower Costs and Accelerate Electrification

In 2024, Dunsky convened the Consortium for Power Efficiency — a collaboration of utilities, governments, and non-profits working together to advance power efficient design (PED) in buildings across Canada. Consortium members include Dunsky, BC Hydro, Toronto Hydro, Hydro-Québec, NB Power, Metro Vancouver, City of Vancouver, and the Zero Emission Innovation Centre (ZEIC).

Today, Dunsky is proud to announce the launch of the Consortium for Power Efficiency website — a new hub for collaboration, insight, and practical tools that support efficient and affordable electrification.

We invite you to explore the new website at www.powerefficiency.ca.

The Need for Power Efficiency

PED is about doing more with what you already have: optimizing buildings’ instantaneous electricity use to stay within limits and avoid unnecessary upgrades. Power efficiency minimizes costs while accelerating and enabling widespread electrification, including the adoption of electric space and water heating, electric cooking and other appliances, and electric vehicle charging.

By applying PED strategies, homebuilders can design buildings with smaller electrical services from the outset — helping to lower construction costs and avoid project delays — while homeowners and building owners can avoid costly service upgrades as they electrify. For utilities, PED helps reduce system strain and defer infrastructure investments. For governments, PED offers a practical, affordable pathway to support electrification, densification, and emissions reduction.

What’s on the Site?

The new website houses a growing set of public resources, including:

• Overview of Power Efficient Design – Report: This report describes a wide range of different Power Efficient Design (PED) strategies and how they can contribute to avoiding electrical service upsizing.
• Avoiding Electrical Upgrades with Power Efficient Design – Briefing: This summary for decision-makers outlines the importance of Power Efficient Design (PED) to avoid unnecessary electrical upsizing in Canada’s buildings, supporting electrification, density and affordability.
• The Power Efficient Electrification Calculator (PEEC): This excel-based tool helps contractors and households plan proactively for how to avoid service upgrades as households electrify.
• Power Efficient Design in Home Electrification – Design Guide: This guide helps contractors and households apply PED strategies in single-family home electrification retrofits and avoid service upgrades.

Collaboration at the Core

The Consortium is made possible through a unique collaboration among several Canadian organizations. In addition to Consortium members, this initiative is supported by RBQ Engineering, AES Engineering, FRESco Building Efficiency, and Tom Kabat.

This initiative reflects our firm’s belief that accelerating the clean energy transition requires not only deep technical expertise, but also strong relationships across sectors and regions.

We thank our Consortium members for their leadership and contributions to this important effort.

What’s Next for the Consortium

The Consortium is actively exploring opportunities for future work, including:

• In-depth analysis to quantify the value proposition of different PED strategies in various applications;
• Training and capacity building to help contractors and homebuilders apply PED; and
• Engaging in development of codes and standards, policies, and programs to ensure that regulations support — rather than hinder — PED.

The Consortium is a growing national initiative, bringing together organizations committed to enabling practical PED solutions as part of a decarbonized and affordable energy system. If you represent a utility, government, or organization interested in promoting power efficiency, we welcome the opportunity to connect and expand the Consortium’s reach and impact.

For more information about the Consortium or to get involved, please contact us at consortium@dunsky.com.

Quotes

“Toronto Hydro is proud to be a founding member of the Consortium for Power Efficiency, working with Canadian utilities, governments and organizations to drive practical, affordable solutions to enable electrification. As buildings across the country electrify, advancing power-efficient design will help residents and businesses avoid unnecessary service upgrades and connect heat pumps and electric vehicle chargers faster and at lower cost.”

– Julia McNally, Director, Climate Action, Toronto Hydro

“Power efficient design strategies, such as energy management systems, can reduce the cost of electrical connections and equipment for homeowners. Supported by BC Hydro, the Consortium for Power Efficiency is leading efforts to address barriers to such strategies, including by bringing forward concrete proposals to modernize the Canadian Electrical Code to enable power efficient design.

BC Hydro is proud to be working with this deeply knowledgeable, pan-Canadian Consortium to accelerate cost-effective building electrification across Canada.”

– Robyn Wark, Manager, Market Transformation, BC Hydro

“Hydro-Québec has an ambitious action plan aimed at transitioning to a low-carbon economy while increasing the economic prosperity of Quebec. Fortunately, the community is responding to the call. This brings its share of challenges, notably a significant increase in electrical upgrades. Hydro-Québec is proud to participate in the Consortium and to be a founding member. The collaborative work is well underway with concrete solutions already helping all partners. The work ahead is even more important to achieve a decarbonized, prosperous, and collaborative Canadian electrical industry.”

– Michael Fauchon, Directeur solutions innovantes et services spécialisés, Hydro-Québec

About Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors

Founded in 2004, Dunsky supports leading governments, utilities, corporations and others across North America in their efforts to accelerate the clean energy transition, effectively and responsibly. With deep expertise across the Buildings, Mobility, Industry and Energy supply sectors, our team of 65+ professionals supports clients in two ways: through rigorous Analysis (of technical, economic and market opportunities) and by designing and assessing leading Strategies (plans, programs and policies).