City council will be meeting today for a special session to deal with a proposal from the Sault PUC regarding a community-wide smart grid project valued at over 30-million dollars.
The smart grid uses advance technology and the benefits include a reduction in the frequency of power interuptions and their length and will also benefit customer bills with a reduction in energy consumption by an estimated four percent.
PUC President Rob Brewer told SooToday’s David Helwig that the local utility is looking to undertake Canada’s first community-wide smart grid project…

Another expected bonus is a reduction of over 28-hundred tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions for Sault Ste. Marie.
Brewer says there is financial help with the cost of the project…

PUC officials expect to receive 14.3-million dollars in federal and provincial support for the project.
City CAO Al Horsman will tell council today that the initiative could result in 9-million dollars in work for local contractors, 120 new direct and indirect jobs and an additional 250-thousand dollars for local tax coffers.
If council gives its approval today the project will move to the engineering stage, with the goal of starting construction in 2019.