Key Takeaways
- Unlocking the potential of distributed energy resources, like EVs, heat pumps, and smart thermostats, could reduce B.C.’s peak electricity demand by up to 10%, with reductions in every scenario studied.
- Most potential reductions come from households, particularly EV load management and residential space and water heating.
- At today’s cost of new grid capacity, every distributed energy resource studied is already cost-effective. Stronger incentives and programs could unlock much more of this potential.
Executive Summary
As B.C.’s electricity demand grows, a new resource is emerging in homes and businesses across the province: distributed energy resources like EVs, heat pumps, smart thermostats, and smart water heaters that can flexibly manage when electricity is used.
A new analysis by Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors, commissioned by Clean Energy Canada, finds that if prioritized, these technologies could reduce B.C.’s peak electricity demand by more than 10% by 2040—helping avoid costly new grid infrastructure while improving reliability.
The report examines how DERs could contribute to B.C.’s electricity system under multiple future scenarios and finds they can provide grid capacity at lower cost than building new infrastructure—strengthening the case for stronger incentives and programs to scale their adoption.
It also highlights the critical role households can play in supporting the grid, with technologies like managed EV charging and electric space and water heating delivering the majority of potential reductions across every scenario studied—an approach that is already helping manage electricity demand in markets such as Australia, the U.K., and California.
