But why wait for a blackout?
Toronto Hydro Corp., as part of its "PeakSaver" program, plans to demonstrate today how backup generators can play a role in meeting the city's power demands, especially during the hottest summer days when the province is forced to import expensive and often dirty electricity.
By remotely activating backup generators at the Air Canada Centre, North York General Hospital, First Canadian Place and a number of other large commercial buildings, the utility hopes this morning to displace up to 10 megawatts of grid electricity.
Energy Minister Donna Cansfield will be on hand to watch the demonstration, which offers the province another way to shed power loads when demand reaches critical levels.
Toronto Hydro spokesperson Tanya Bruckmueller-Wilson said the voluntary program is expected to attract enough commercial participants for the utility to displace, when needed, up to 130 megawatts of grid power by the end of next year.
This is on top of 70 megawatts that the program aims to save by tapping into and, with permission, turning down residential and business air conditioning systems when the grid is most strained.
"These are customers who have to test their generators anyway," said Bruckmueller-Wilson.
Environmental regulation permits owners of backup generators to test the machines one hour a month, so the utility plans to work within those rules. "All they need to do is test them during peak times," she added.
Customers are alerted by email and given a chance to decline whenever the utility wants to dispatch the generators. A special switch installed on each machine allows it to be turned on remotely by Toronto Hydro, which is expected to release more details of the program today.
Toromont Energy Ltd. and Ontario's Electrical Safety Authority want to take the concept even further. The two organizations recently created a joint venture called Safety Power Inc., which has plans to aggregate the power of commercial and industrial backup generators across the province.
Safety Power estimates that Ontario's fleet of backup generators could provide up to 2,000 megawatts, though its goal for now is to tap 300 megawatts within 24 months.
"It's a fast solution that could be up and running very quickly," said vice-president Robert Desnoyers, who figures the company could get several megawatts of backup generation into service by this summer.
Safety Power's fleet of backup generators would be dispatched through the Web, and the company would take over responsibility for fuelling the fleet.
Unlike Toronto Hydro, however, Safety Power doesn't want to be limited to one hour of targeted testing each month for each backup generator, which falls well short of the 200 to 400 peak hours annually that the company estimates could be served with emergency power.
The trick, said Desnoyers, is to get around environmental regulation by cleaning up the diesel generators.
New York State has operated a "peak load" management program every summer for the past five years, but with considerable controversy because of the dirtier air that results.
Some New York groups have lobbied the state to exempt backup generators from emission limits to provide further relief for the grid. Environmental critics say it makes no sense to use diesel generators, which are far more polluting than conventional power plants.
Desnoyers said Safety Power has been working closely with the Ministry of Environment for eight months, seeking an exemption that would allow backup generators to operate during peak hours only if they meet certain criteria.
For every backup generator signed up in its program, the company's plan is to equip it with a catalytic converter that would cut down on nitrogen oxides and other pollutants. Over time, Desnoyers also sees a gradual transition to cleaner natural gas-based generators or greater use of renewable biodiesel fuel.
Safety Power must still secure financing from the Ontario Power Authority to energy and program costs.