Industry:
Greenhouse Grower
The Client:
Golden Acre Farms is a 10-hectare high-tech cucumber greenhouse in Kingsville, Ontario, known for its advanced automation and commitment to efficient, low-labor operations.
A Metering Adjustment That Saved Over $70,000 Annually
In November 2022, Golden Acre Farms expanded operations. During construction, a new electrical meter was installed with support from Hydro One. To maximize available incentives, the new meter was incorporated into the billing system alongside four existing meters, resulting in one consolidated bill for both the existing and new operations.
The Challenges
While reviewing Golden Acre Farms’ energy data, 360 Energy identified an inconsistency: the hydro bill listed two separate delivery points. Initially, it was assumed the second delivery point was linked to the new expansion. However, further analysis revealed that the second delivery point actually corresponded to an older meter already part of the original operation. Meanwhile, the new meter had been grouped under the first delivery point with the rest of the original meters.
As a result, Golden Acre Farms was incurring unnecessary delivery charges for maintaining a second billing structure, with no operational or billing need for it.
The 360 Solution
360 Energy engaged directly with Hydro One to investigate restructuring the metering setup. After technical discussions and reviews, Hydro One confirmed that consolidating all five meters under a single delivery point was both feasible and beneficial.
With approval from Golden Acre Farms' leadership team, the requested changes were implemented. Now Golden Acre Farms receives a streamlined hydro bill under one delivery point, providing improved cost transparency and operational simplicity.
The Results
- Annual Savings: Over $70,000 in avoided delivery charges.
- Simplified Billing: One delivery point covering both operations.
- Improved Data Visibility: Easier-to-track energy consumption across multiple sites.
Thanks to 360 Energy’s detailed data analysis and direct collaboration with Hydro One, Golden Acre Farms achieved substantial cost savings and improved its ability to manage energy across growing operations.
360 Energy found savings we didn’t even know were possible. Their ability to dive deep into our data and challenge assumptions made a real financial difference for us.
