Can AI Reinvent the Grid? Ontario Puts It to Work

Enova Power tests AI-driven local energy trading to cut costs, boost reliability, and explore Canada’s decentralized grid future.

11 Sep 2025

Canada’s electricity grid is entering a new chapter, and Ontario is at the center of it. Enova Power, supported by Natural Resources Canada, has launched a pilot project that uses artificial intelligence to forecast demand and manage a local electricity market. The goal is to keep the grid resilient, lower costs, and avoid expensive upgrades by better using resources already available in communities.

Traditionally, utilities have relied on large power plants and costly transmission systems to meet demand. That model is under strain as electrification expands, renewable generation grows, and extreme weather drives unpredictable spikes. Enova’s pilot offers a different approach. Households and businesses with rooftop solar, batteries, or flexible energy use can sell their capacity into a marketplace where AI forecasts demand and deploys the most cost-effective resources in real time, transforming the grid into a digital trading platform.

Other innovators are also exploring this frontier. Peak Power, through a separately funded initiative, is advancing its own AI-enabled energy projects that reflect the same shift toward smarter, decentralized grids. Together, these efforts highlight a broader industry momentum.

The benefits could be substantial. Smarter use of distributed resources may lower bills, boost reliability during weather extremes, and accelerate clean energy adoption. It could also delay or even replace the need for costly infrastructure expansions. Still, challenges remain, from ensuring forecast accuracy and cybersecurity to building trust among participants asked to share their resources with the grid.

Industry watchers suggest that change is coming on multiple fronts. Across Canada and globally, regulators and utilities are exploring how to integrate distributed energy into existing systems and how to fairly compensate participants. While rules are still evolving, the direction is clear: the grid of the future will look very different from the one we know today.

Ontario’s pilot underscores that shift. If successful, it could provide a model for how communities worldwide meet rising demand while keeping electricity reliable, affordable, and sustainable.