Ontario-based power utility Alectra Utilities Corporation, which serves around 1 million customers north and west of Toronto, and Mississauga-based solar project developer AMP Solar (AMP) have entered into a strategic relationship to develop large-scale energy storage solutions for industrial, commercial and institutional customers in Ontario.

The two companies said they will cooperate in building an integrated portfolio of distributed on-site energy assets that is expected to improve customers’ operational resiliency and reduce power costs.

Alectra said it will contribute, in particular, with its expertise in managing micro-grids, as well as in using predictive algorithms, “which are uniquely developed to accurately predict critical peak energy events.” AMP, on the other hand, will contribute with its expertise in building and managing utility-scale and distributed generation assets.

“Alectra’s extensive utility experience and AMP’s leading asset development capabilities will provide Ontario’s Class A customers with energy solutions that are both economically and environmentally sustainable. The companies will work to achieve customer cost-savings and resiliency goals through top-tier technology services to deliver flexible customized storage solutions,” said the power utility in its press release.

In April, Alectra completed a feasibility study for mass adoption of the utility’s residential solar storage pilot, POWER.HOUSE, in Southern York Region. The study, which was conducted with the support of the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), concluded that the expansion of the utility’s existing offering was feasible and could result in the installation of up to 30,000 new units in Southern York Region by 2031. Through the POWER.HOUSE project, an aggregate fleet of residential solar and lithium-ion battery storage systems is autonomously controlled through intelligent software to simulate a single, larger power generating facility.

AMP Solar owns and operates solar power assets in Japan, where it recently acquired a 14.7 MW facility, India, UK, Jordan and Canada.