Utility verified
Videos, case studies and funding programs produced by the utilities themselves.
Utilities that have funded or published on REALice
Covered by the utilities themselves
Produced by the utilities, not by us.
Video · Tacoma Public Utilities, WA
“Thinking outside the box to save an ice rink energy”
The utility's own video on a rink in its territory, explaining why it paid for cold-water resurfacing and what the rink got out of it.
Watch the video →Video · FortisBC, British Columbia
“The energy to help BC conserve”
FortisBC's own video, made after the ten-rink pilot its engineers ran and verified. FortisBC now funds REALice as a standing rebate rather than a trial.
Watch the video →
Case study · Enbridge Gas, Toronto
“New Cold Water Resurfacing Technology is a Game Changer”
Enbridge's own case study on George Bell Arena, a single-pad rink in Toronto. It records a 21% reduction against the whole building's gas bill.
Read the case study (PDF) →Why utilities pay for it
A utility does not write a cheque for a measure it has not checked. Before a program funds REALice, its own engineers review the measure, the savings claim and the method behind it — and in several cases they metered it themselves before deciding.
FortisBC ran a ten-rink pilot before funding anything, metered the floodwater gas line at each site, and now pays a flat rebate per system.
BC Hydro treats it as a custom measure: the incentive is calculated from the electricity saved at that specific rink, so the number has to stand up to their own engineering review.
Enbridge, Alectra, Hydro One, Toronto Hydro, Tacoma Power, SoCalGas and Xcel Energy have each funded or published on REALice in their territories.
That is also why the measurement matters to you and not only to us: where a program is calculated on savings rather than paid flat, the size of your cheque depends on what can be shown.
What those utilities and municipalities measured FortisBC's ten-rink verification, the Town of Uxbridge's report to its own council, Elexicon Energy's results from the same arena, Caledon and Kitchener — each with the method, the period and the source document behind the number. See the measured results →Funding and rebates
Utility programs for REALice work two ways. Some pay a flat amount per system — in British Columbia, FortisBC and Pacific Northern Gas both pay $20,000 per system plus up to $1,900 for a mixing valve. Others, such as BC Hydro's custom program, calculate the incentive from the electricity the rink is expected to save, and a sustainment plan that extends the measure life can roughly double it.
The two stack. In parts of British Columbia the gas and electric incentives together can cover most of the project cost. We prepare the applications and the savings calculations with you.
Funding by province Current programs, rebate levels and what each one requires, region by region across Canada. See what's available →