Residential Reliability Improvement Program

Hydro One is offering the Residential Reliability Improvement program to customers who are currently experiencing poor reliability due to their location on the grid. We’re always looking for ways to improve customer service and we expect that participants in the program will see an improvement of at least 60% in the reliability of their electricity supply. We’re offering this program to decrease the outage duration that Hydro One customers will experience through the use of The Tesla Powerwall^TM.

Through this program, participants will have access to residential batteries that will store energy and provide back-up protection 24/7. As a result, participants will be much less likely to experience the effects of a power outage as they are able to rely on their in-home battery to provide 60% fewer outage hours.

Reliability is the measurement of the number and duration of outages customers’ experience.

Your home will be outfitted with two Tesla Powerwall^TM and some additional equipment to support the Powerwall^TM at no cost to you, a value of over $30,000. The battery energy storage system will be owned by Hydro One. Installation and maintenance is covered by Hydro One, and will be managed by MPower Energy Solutions, our third party contractor. The initial program term is a minimum of five years, renewing annually for an additional five years.   You will be responsible for paying for internet, electricity required to charge the batteries, cover batteries under homeowners’ insurance and ensuring no damage to the batteries during the program period.

When the system detects that there is an outage on the grid, it will automatically start discharging the batteries to supply the home. When the system detects there is stable power from the grid, it will automatically switch supply from the batteries to the grid and start charging the batteries again. The transition between grid-supplied and battery-supplied mode is seamless.

It is expected that two batteries will last at least ten to forty hours, depending on your usage. However, this is not a guarantee. When the outage is over, the system will automatically transition back to the grid. The batteries will then charge to get ready for the next outage. Each battery provides up to 13.5 kWh of capacity and can support up to 5 kW of load. The system for this program includes two batteries, totaling 27 kWh of capacity, which would be able to backup up to 10 kW of load.

Generally, the cost to charge the batteries will not be more than the cost for electricity if you did not experience an outage, with the exception of those on Time-of-Use (TOU) price plans. Customers on TOU plans may notice a difference as the battery system charges shortly after grid power is restored, regardless of peak period. For example, if an outage occurs during an off-peak rate and power is restored during a mid-peak or on-peak rate, the rate at which power is restored is the rate at which the battery will be charged. Tesla does not enable us to set charging during an off-peak rate at this time.

Like any battery, the Powerwall^TM will top of their charge periodically. Depending on where the Powerwall^TM are installed, the average daily consumption in warmer temperatures (inside or spring to fall) is 0.47 kWh per day, about $2.00 per month and in cooler temperatures (winter) is 0.77 kWh per day, about $4.00 to $5.00 per month.

We are currently focused on installation in insulated and heated spaces because the optimal operating temperature for Tesla Powerwall^TM is –20°C to 50°C (–4°F to 122°F). There are three installation location options available.

1. Inside your home
2. Inside your garage
3. Inside an outdoor shed or outbuilding

After the initial five year-term, depending on the success of the program, participants will have an option to:

1. Continue participation, the Program Term will renew annually for another 5 years, or
2. The participant may request system removal and exit the program. This will include removal of batteries and restoration of your electrical system to meet the electrical code, at no cost.
   • If a utility closet was installed to house the batteries, it will not be removed.
   • Any cosmetic restoration (drywall repair, paint discolouration, etc.) will be the responsibility of the homeowner.

At the end of the Program Term, if the program is successful, Hydro One in its sole discretion, may:

1. Sell and transfer ownership of the battery equipment to the Customer, or
2. May offer to replace the battery equipment with newer equipment.

For a residence to be eligible for the Residential Reliability Program, homes are required to meet the below requirements. First, the residence must be on the Hydro One RRI Eligibility List that is developed annually based on customer data that indicates homes with very poor reliability. Second, after a customer completes the Preliminary Home Assessment enrollment form, the team will review and assess if your residence meets the additional requirements to be fit for the program. Each year, there are a limited number of applications approved based on a first-come, first-serve basis.

If your residence is not approved for the program, we will check your account number and meter annually to determine if your home is eligible in subsequent years. If you have concerns with ongoing outages, it is recommended that you continue reporting outages at your residence so the team can support you. You can access outage tools here.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Be on the RRI Eligibility List indicating the residence experiences very poor reliability (two out of the last five years with 50 outage hours or more). This list is developed annually based on customer data that indicates homes with very poor reliability.
• Be a year-round, non-seasonal residential customer (see: How do I know if my residence is classified as seasonal or non-seasonal?)
• Hold an account in good standing
• Residence must not be used for short-term rentals
• Residence must not hold a heritage building designation
• Residence must have stable internet connection 24/7
• Residence must meet loading requirements for the battery system. The below do not meet loading requirements:
  • Any peak load 11 kW or higher
  • More than 1 month with peak load 10 kW or higher
  • 0 kW peak load in any month of the year
• Residence is preferably not connected to a generator. However, if there is a generator the batteries may be installed in conjunction to your existing generator system with exception to generator transfer switches attached to the hydro meter (Generlink or Jesstec-like transfer switches).
• Residence must have an area where a utility closet for the batteries can be installed that does not open into a sleeping area, or a heated garage or outbuilding.

Some projects will include additional costs for the installation. There are three primary reasons for additional costs:

1. The existing electrical system does not meet the electrical code and needs to be resolved in order to install the battery system. For example, the service entrance is below grade or the meter is not 1.75m from grade.
2. Work is required that is not in the project scope of work, such as adding a new transfer switch where an existing Generlink or Jesstec-like transfer switch is installed or to move existing loads (e.g. hot tub, air source heat pump, geothermal system, to a non-backup load).
3. Additional work that brings the project cost over our project budget. For example, repurposing an existing closet, longer cabling or moving electrical equipment to make room for the Tesla Gateway.

Depending on the installation needs, a customer may work with their own electrician or hire a contractor to complete the fire rating work.

To qualify as a year-round, non-seasonal residential customer:

• You must live in this residence for at least four days of the week for eight months of the year and you must not reside anywhere else for more than three days a week during eight months of the year.
• The address of this residence must appear on your supporting documents such as your driver's licence, credit card invoices, property tax bill, etc.
• If you're eligible to vote in provincial or federal elections, you must be enumerated at the address of this residence.
• In addition, you must represent and warrant that for as long as you have year-round residential rate status for this residence you won't designate another property that you own as a year-round residence for the purpose of our rate classification.
• For more information, click here: Hydro One Density Reviews & Rate Classes

The batteries do not require any physical preventative maintenance and most routine maintenance activities can be done without your involvement. However, you are responsible for ensuring that the batteries are free and clear of debris, specifically around the air intake and exhaust. Participants are responsible for ensuring that there is no damage to the system (batteries, transfer switch, disconnect switch) and would be responsible for the cost of any repairs. Participants are also required to cover the cost of the batteries in your homeowners insurance and ensure a stable internet connection.

Batteries works with most types of generators and transfer switches. However, a generator transfer switch attached to the hydro meter is not compatible with the Tesla Powerwall^TM. This type of transfer switch may be removed or additional work may be undertaken to install a new transfer switch downstream of the meter with a customer contribution. Once on site, our contractor will review your specific generator configuration to determine compatibility prior to any Tesla Powerwall^TM installation. For the purpose of this program, the battery energy storage system will be set as the primary source of backup power. Therefore, the batteries will be fully depleted before transitioning supply to a backup generator.

If you are moving, the batteries will not be moved to your new residence. Instead, the participant agreement will need to be transferred to the new homeowner through an agreement in the selling contract. The purchasers will be required to sign a participant agreement to continue in the program for the remaining term of the program. You can find more details about these requirements in the participant agreement if you are selected for the program.

Each home is different, therefore, modifications could vary by site. A transfer switch will be installed between your hydro meter and electricity panel. This will allow the system to automatically switch from grid to battery supply in the event of an outage. Batteries will be installed in the vicinity of your electrical panel. If the batteries are installed inside your home, a fire rated utility closet will be constructed to house the batteries. If the batteries are installed in a garage, added protection such as a steel bollard will be installed. A manual battery disconnect switch will be installed outside, after the meter, allowing our crews to safely work in the area. The Tesla Gateway will be installed inside beside the panel and a manual disconnect switch may be installed outside next to the meter of inside next to the panel depending on the space available.

If the property is approved through the Preliminary Home Assessment, one of MPower’s contractors will contact you to schedule an onsite assessment at your home. During the site assessment, the installation location of the batteries and any additional work such as the utility closet will be discussed with you. The contractor will complete a scope of work to install the Tesla Powerwall^TM. Hydro One will review the scope of work and confirm with you whether your home is approved for the program. MPower’s contractor will schedule dates for installation, about 2-3 days. The final day includes the hydro disconnection needed to complete installation and commissioning of the Tesla Powerwall^TM system and the ESA will conduct an inspection.

The battery system will not create any barriers to the installation of rooftop solar or EV chargers. As with the installation of any generation equipment, Hydro One’s technical review and approval is required.

There have been no known cases of safety issues or safety incidents attributed to the installation of the Tesla Powerwall^TM. An emergency manual will be included with each system. Along with this, the batteries have advanced cooling technology that offer multiple layers of cooling and do not pose any health risks. There are no pollutants or emissions produced by the Tesla Powerwall^TM.

Tesla Powerwall^TM the Powerwall trademark is owned by Tesla.

All devices in the home, including computers, would experience the same “blip” loss of power during an outage or brown out. In a perfect outage situation, all home load transitions from grid to Powerwall^TM seamlessly, but it is not guaranteed and the home can lose power for a second or two.

If you are sensitive about a computer or server losing power, then an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) system is recommended. UPS systems serve a similar function to Powerwall^TM but do not behave the same. A UPS system provides backup to a dedicated single load such as a computer or server. They do not interact with the home’s electrical system.

UPS systems are more reliable since they only focus on backing up a single smart device.

The Tesla Powerwall^TM system does not operate at frequencies that are not already typically present inside a home. If you have power and Wi-Fi in your home, there would not be any new wavelength of EMF emitted by a Powerwall^TM install.

The wires and the Tesla Gateway operate at 60Hz, whereas half the Powerwall^TM operates at 60Hz (the inverter) and the other half (the batteries) operate at 0Hz because they are direct current (DC) batteries – no different than any laptop computer, or really any powered device in a home.

The Tesla Gateway is built to communicate over hard wire (ethernet), cellular (1.8-2.2GHz) or Wi-Fi (2.4–5.8GHz) frequencies.

Customer must have a consistent internet connection in order to participate in the program.