APPrO 2021 Wrap Up

Thank you for joining us this year at APPrO 2021

Thanks to APPrO 2021 delegates and guests for attending in APPrO 2021 – 33rd Annual Canadian Power Conference & Networking Event which took place this past November 29 & 30.

The APPrO 2021 Virtual Conference platform is provided with the generous support of Ontario Power Generation

As always, your participation enhances the discussion, and intensifies the opportunities for solid business connections!

If you missed the Canadian power industry’s leading event covering the full range of participants across all technologies. We’re especially thrilled that more than 400 delegates embraced the new digital platform to hear and interact with the industry's top experts and leading industry actors and potential partners. This year’s sponsors and partners included many of the power industry’s leading edge companies!

Check out the list of participating companies at APPrO 2021.

Delegates can view the video recordings and presentations using their login in the Whova platform.

For folks who didn't have a chance to join us, please see the overview of the agenda, speakers, sponsors and other related information here. For even more details on APPrO 2021 visit our website!

Session Highlights

Here’s a taste of the variety and depth of the sessions covered over the two days of the conference:

Day 1 - Monday, November 29, 2021

(Morning Sessions)

8:30 am Opening remarks by the APPrO 2021 Conference Chair

Stephen Somerville, H2O Power

8:35 am Briefing on smart tech interaction tools

Event host Sean Mallen of Sean Mallen Communications provides an overview on how to use the new online tools for accessing conference programming and networking with your peers.

8:40 am Opening Session with the Canada Infrastructure Bank & Conversation on financing strategies appropriate to current conditions

9:10 am Power industry leadership in the drive to Net Zero with a panel of technology experts

How new technology and changing markets could redraw the boundaries of the power business. Experts from diverse parts of the power industry demonstrate how initiatives already underway are amongst the most effective and efficient options for achieving Net Zero targets.

9:30 am Networking Break - Hosted by Evolugen

10:00 am Keynote - Lesley Gallinger, CEO, Independent Electricity System Operator

Session Host Hydro One

10:45 am The Planning Outlook – Update on the provincial power grid

following with comments from experts on power system modeling

11:30 am What’s working in other jurisdictions

Panel of industry experts

Day 1 - Monday, November 29, 2021

(Afternoon Sessions)

1:00 pm “Innovating to support the energy transition”
Susanna Zagar, CEO, Ontario Energy Board
Moderator: Ian Mondrow, Gowling WLG

1:20 pm Resource Adequacy and Beyond
Barbara Ellard, Director, Resource and System Adequacy, Independent Electricity System Operator
and Moderated Q&A

1:35 pm Comments on Ontario’s Resource Adequacy framework

Legal and contracts perspective:
Reena Goyal, McCarthy Tetrault LLP

Financial perspective:
Pelino Colaiacovo, Morrison Park Advisors

Moderator: Glenn Zacher, Stikeman Elliott LLP

2:15 pm CEO Fireside Chat - Ken Hartwick, CEO, Ontario Power Generation in conversation with Tabatha Bull, CEO, Canadian Council of Aboriginal Business

2:40 pm CEO Roundtable and Moderated Q&A

Rapid-fire questions posed to senior leaders of Canada’s electricity sector. How do they anticipate co-ordinating the achievement of net zero and affordability objectives? How do they plan to approach electrification, and what do they think about the rules for the provincial supply mix, the appropriate way forward for developing interties and a national grid, and current priorities for federal and federal-provincial attention in the next 3 to 5 years?

Hosted by Northland Power

4:00 pm Keynote Hon. Todd Smith, Ontario Minister of Energy followed by moderated Q&A with James Scongack, Chief Development Officer at Bruce Power and Chair of the IESO Stakeholder Advisory Committee

Hosted by Bruce Power

4:30 pm Canadian Power Industry Awards Ceremony, hosted by Borden Ladner Gervais

Congratulations to WiRE's Woman of the Year Award winner Nicolle Butcher and APPrO's Hedley Palmer Award winner, Matt Jamieson and 'Shining Star Shoutouts' to The Woodland Cultural Centre: Save the Evidence Campaign and The Deyen Sarah Robinson Scholarship for Indigenous Women.

Congratulations to APPrO's Hedley Palmer Award winner, Matt Jamieson, of the Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation, and to WiRE's Woman of the Year Award winner, Nicolle Butcher of OPG. In addition, “Shining Star Shoutouts” were announced, selected by the award winners, honoring The Deyen Sarah Robinson Scholarship for Indigenous Women and The Woodland Cultural Centre: Save the Evidence Campaign.

For the complete award ceremony, readers are encouraged to view the video recording now available on APPrO's web app, PowerConnect.

Speed Mentoring

The ever popular Speed Mentoring program presented in conjunction with WiRE Canada is now in its 7th year at the APPrO Conference. Mandated to connect seasoned professionals with industry up and comers - Speed Mentoring continues to enjoy great success.

View some of the APPrO mentors here.

Day 2 - November 30, 2021 (morning sessions)

8:30 am Putting Ontario’s carbon pricing in context
Ontario’s new EPS regime, soon to be in force, will set the rules for power sector GHG emissions in Ontario. What does it mean for power suppliers, considering the interaction between emission regimes, and provincial, national and international carbon markets?

Lisa DeMarco, Senior Partner and CEO, Resilient LLP
Moderator: Robyn Gray, Principal, Sussex Strategy Group

9:00 am SMRs on the power grid
Developers, potential owners, and stakeholders share their perspectives on the anticipated growth of SMRs on Canadian power grids and the related business opportunities. Considering the potential for significant structural change, what would a grid enhanced with SMRs look like in 2030, 2040 and 2050?

Panel discussion:
* What is the likelihood that SMRs will be ready to help with decarbonization by 2030?
* The interprovincial MOU
* First Nations, manufacturing and customer perspectives, including off grid sites
* Related business development opportunities in the power sector
* How to manage the uncertainty over the rate of growth in electrification
* Frank discussion on the viability, assumptions and challenges of developing SMRs.

9:45 am Capital Markets update: Sources of Financing
- Update on short and long-term bank financing options
- Ontario procurement mechanisms update - are they attracting financing?
- What's next after moving away from 20 year contracts?
- Royalty Structures - A new alternative for developers?
- Green financings - are they adding value to power project owners or just a marketing aspect?

10:30 am The growing role of ESG in power project development
Experts share their insights on what power generation companies need to know about ESG and how they are positioning themselves for a future where ESG plays a growing role in raising capital.

Hosted by Enbridge Inc.

11:15 am The Political Outlook

Maryscott (Scotty) Greenwood, Partner and Managing Director, Crestview Strategy, Washington DC office
Opening presentation on recent research and current Canada-U.S. relations

Moderator: Mike Richmond, McMillan LLP

What are the best ways to get closer to resolving the competing demands for affordability and Net Zero targets?
Are Border Carbon Adjustments politically viable? How can they be made more appealing?
What can the power industry do, to have the most positive possible influence on discussions about Border Carbon Adjustments?
Is there a politically feasible resolution between the expectations for electrification, resource adequacy and Net Zero objectives?
How will the Net Zero framework affect oversight of the power industry?
What else needs to be done to ensure that Ontario isn’t put at a competitive disadvantage compared to neighboring jurisdictions with much higher carbon content in their power mix?
Is it possible to make near term progress reducing polarization on energy policy in Canada?
Responses to comments from Canadian power industry CEOs

Mitchell Davidson, StrategyCorp
Dan Moulton, Crestview Strategy

11:55 am Wrap-up of the main conference by conference hosts

Day 2 - November 30, 2021 DER Ecosystem - Ontario Symposium on enabling the future

Power suppliers recognize that long term success depends devising practical options for moving forward under a wide range of scenarios. In this time of rapid change, solutions are not reached in isolation. The power grid must be re-envisioned as part of a larger ecosystem. Which synergies will make the most sense in this business cycle and which will need to be further developed as part of a longer term strategy?

Co-presented by APPrO, Association of Power Producers of Ontario and QUEST, Quality Urban Energy Systems of Tomorrow

1:00 pm Introduction and briefing on the advancement of DERs in Ontario
Harneet Panesar, Chief Operating Officer, Ontario Energy Board

1:05 pm Technical innovation like nothing that’s come before

Tyler Bryant, Low-Carbon Policy Manager, FortisBC
“Why the energy transition is like the Apollo project of our generation”

Falguni Shah, VP, Technology and Innovation, Elexicon Energy
“Canada’s first planned residential Smart Microgrid Community”

Ian McCarter, MaRS Cleantech Business Development Lead, “Principles Guiding the Transformation of the Energy System”

Moderator: Eric Muller, QUEST Canada

1:35 pm How is the system responding?
Overview of current policy and regulatory developments impacting distributed low carbon thermal generation in Ontario

2:00 pm Projects that break the barriers

Shawn Carr, Hydro Ottawa: “Creative ideas coming from customers, what Hydro Ottawa is hearing”
Justin Rathke, Vergent Power Solutions
Keegan Tully, PowerON Energy Solutions: “Supporting the electrification of the TTC with 8 microgrids”
Imran Noorani, Peak Power
Sarah Griffiths, Enel X
Moderator: Craig Sabine, Guidehouse

3:15 pm The York Region Non Wires Alternative Demonstration Project

View the full APPrO 2021 program here

Note regarding video recordings and presentations, all are now available for registrants to access on the Whova app using your login credentials.

Thanks to the participation of our speakers, attendees, sponsors, exhibitors and partners our second virtual event was a resounding success!

Sponsors

Thanks to the full roster of our Sponsors, Exhibitor Sponsors and Partners whose generous support has allowed us to present yet another great APPrO event!

APPrO 2021 Contests

Congratulations to the winners of the APPrO 2021 Leaderboard, Canadiana Trivia and Showcase raffles & giveaways, and thanks to all those who participated.

Winners of the Leaderboard Contest