The Power Savings Blitz program is designed to retrofit small commercial businesses across the province. The program provides turn-key lighting and water heating retrofits for small commercial businesses in the Retail, office or non-food sub-sectors whose electricity usage is less than 50kW of demand. Funding up to $1,000 is provided for the retrofit, with an opportunity to pay costs over the $1,000 limit, at each business’ discretion.

Program participants must be small commercial businesses in the Retail, office or non-food sub-sectors located in the service area of Newmarket Hydro and have an electricity demand of less than 50kW. This includes a wide range of businesses including; professional dry cleaners, medical offices, beauty salons, convenience stores and other small retailers.

The food related businesses have unique requirements that may be addressed by other programs in the future.

Each business will qualify provided they each have a separate account and they meet the eligibility requirements.

No, funding of up to $1,000 is provided for the retrofit, with an opportunity to pay costs over the $1,000 limit, at the discretion of the customer.

There is no obligation to carry out a retrofit costing more than $1000. If the job cost exceeds the $1000 incentive threshold, the retrofit can be scaled down accordingly to a more suitable level.

Participants in the program will receive a free electricity assessment and an energy efficiency retrofit valued at up to $1000 that will help reduce their electricity consumption and provide savings on their monthly bill. The participants will also receive a window cling sticker for their business that highlights the fact they participated in the program and are doing their part to conserve.

The program is entirely voluntary. We're confident that people will find it to be an easy way to help reduce the strain on our electricity system and benefit the environment.

Energy assessors working for Newmarket Hydro will go door-to-door within a targeted area and offer to provide a free energy assessment of lighting and water heating. After the assessment is completed, the customer then decides if they want to have a retrofit completed, a work order form and customer agreement is signed. Funding of up to $1,000 is provided for the retrofit, with an opportunity for the customer to pay costs over the $1,000 limit, at their discretion. The retrofit includes material and labour. The minimum amount for a retrofit is $300. Once the assessor completes the work order and customer agreement and it is signed by the customer, an appointment is booked for a licensed electrical contractor to come in and complete the turn-key retrofit.

The customer will need to represent and warrant that it has the authority and right over the property to authorise the installation of the energy upgrades. In cases where the customer is unsure if they have authority, the customer should contact the landlord.

The applicable measures include:

Lighting
Fluorescent lighting systems
Compact fluorescent lighting
LED "EXIT" signs

Electric Water Heating
Water heater jacket
Pipe insulation
Faucet Aerator