Province to power up smart thermostat program, rebates

WINNIPEG — Manitobans may get cash for turning down the thermostat during peak energy-use periods next winter.

Money will flow, too, for those willing to limit the use of air conditioning during peak summer times.

“The intent… is just to shift energy use,” said Michael Stocki, Efficiency Manitoba’s vice-president of efficiency programs.

“As our economy continues to grow, as people shift from fossil fuels to electric technology, that peak — and managing that peak — has become more and more important in Manitoba.”

Efficiency Manitoba plans to unroll its first pilot program targeting energy demand management this summer.

It’s working closely with Manitoba Hydro. Last week, Hydro unveiled its 10-year plan, which projects an electricity capacity deficit — possibly reaching 600 megawatts — by the end of 2030.

The Integrated Resource Plan suggests customer-facing programs could add 860 megawatts of capacity. At least 550 megawatts are under Efficiency Manitoba’s purview.

Efficiency Manitoba will launch a campaign later this year to encourage Manitobans to use smart thermostats, products where users can schedule temperature changes. The Crown corporation will offer rebates, Stocki said, adding further details will be released in the spring.

Efficiency Manitoba will also look to sign up roughly 500 households for its pilot project: participants will use smart thermostats to lower air conditioning use during peak times this summer.

The program is expected to continue throughout winter.

“When peak demand times occur, you’ll get paid for the thermostat to get set back a couple degrees, for a short period of time,” Stocki said.

Details about reimbursement, temperature change requirements and how energy use will be staggered weren’t available. Stocki said details will be released in the spring.

More than 70,000 Manitobans own smart thermostats, Efficiency Manitoba data show.

“We don’t expect, necessarily, (there) to be any sacrifice in comfort,” Stocki said, likening proposed changes to people setting back their thermostats at night.

Efficiency Manitoba aims to get tens of thousands of Manitobans on board over time, Stocki said. It has tabbed roughly $600,000 for the first year of the thermostat pilot’s rollout.

“There’s some upfront expense, and then as you grow, it gets more … cost effective,” Stocki said. “We’ll check the level of incentives, check on the results coming out of the summer pilot and adjust.”

The launch has James Wilt excited — and wishing a bigger rollout would come sooner.

“We know that this works, we know that it reduces peak electricity demand,” said Wilt, policy manager at Climate Action Team Manitoba.

Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia have unveiled metering measures to temper peak demand. Manitoba is an “outlier” and, from Wilt’s perspective, behind.

A July 2025 Canadian Climate Institute article shows two-thirds of provinces and territories had deployed or were in the process of deploying smart meter programs. Manitoba joined Newfoundland, Yukon and the Northwest Territories in having no widespread deployment.

BC Hydro says its program, where 1.93 million smart meters were installed, led to $235 million in “benefits” over the first five years. Smart meter installation began in 2011.

Quebec finished a smart meter rollout in 2015. Upwards of 400,000 homes paid flexible rates using the meters in 2024-25, leading to 530 megawatts of demand shifted from peak periods, Hydro Quebec reported.

(Manitoba Hydro said last week it would consider discounting rates during non-peak hours. Any change would need approval from the Public Utilities Board.)

Reducing heat when nobody’s home, or pre-heating the space and then dropping the temperature during peak times — so the house is still warm — are ways to stagger demand in the winter, Wilt explained.

Masoud Asadzadeh has been lowering his own energy usage. After implementing a smart thermostat, he’s saved roughly $50 a month on his energy bill, he said. The internet-connected device checks the weather and adjusts temperatures based on outdoor conditions.

Most energy use in Canada comes during the wintertime, noted Asadzadeh, a University of Manitoba civil engineering professor who studies power generation in the province.

“Manitoba Hydro’s Integrated Resource Plan — from the demand side, they were hoping they could save 310 megawatts per year,” Asadzadeh said, adding that a jump in smart thermostat use could make a difference.

Minister Mike Moyes anticipates more demand for smart thermostats. The shift will allow locals to “make choices that help the environment and also their pocketbook,” he said.

The provincial government has been playing catch up on generating new megawatts of power since the New Democrats’ election, said Moyes, who oversees Efficiency Manitoba. He called the incoming pilot a “good news story.”

Incentivizing Manitobans to change their domestic hot water and electric vehicle charger use, to minimize use during peak times, is also on Efficiency Manitoba’s agenda. Those measures will likely be unrolled between 2027 and 2030, Stocki said.

Manitoba Hydro is spearheading a demand response program aimed at commercial and industrial clients. Details weren’t available Thursday.

Hydro’s 10-year plan points to new dual-fuel combustion turbines, wind power, ground source heat pumps and battery energy storage as further ways to increase capacity.

Its plan outlines an additional 1,760 megawatts of capacity over the next decade. It would increase the electric system’s total capacity from roughly 6,200 megawatts to 7,200.

» Winnipeg Free Press