WUC Sale of District Energy Windsor

Offers Opportunity for Growth and Support of City’s CEP

July 30 update: WUC no longer owns or operates the District Energy Windsor System. Below is a news release regarding the sale of District Energy to Enwave. For further information on District Energy Windsor, visit the Enwave website.

June 28, 2021

Windsor, ON: Windsor Utilities Commission (WUC) has announced an agreement with Enwave Windsor Holdings LP (Enwave) for the sale of District Energy Windsor (DEW).

The local utility sees this as a positive step in its plan to ensure the best possible service to its water customers at the lowest possible rates, while growing local district energy capacity to levels needed to support the City of Windsor’s Community Energy Plan (CEP.)

Under the new structure, DEW will benefit from Enwave’s expertise in district energy solutions and will be able to maintain the system for existing customers, while growing capacity to accommodate new customers. 

ENWIN CEO Helga Reidel anticipates the sale will offer growth potential, while protecting WUC customers from potential rate increases associated with the necessary levels of investment.

“The sale offers numerous benefits to the Windsor community, including the growth needed to meet the requirements of the Windsor CEP, without penalty or negative impact to WUC ratepayers,” she said. 

Enwave’s Chief Executive Officer Carlyle Coutinho agrees. “Enwave is excited for the opportunity to expand our relationship with the City of Windsor to meet their low carbon energy goals. We look forward to investing and expanding DEW’s infrastructure and solutions to align with the city’s growth demands of hospitals, commercial buildings, and residences.”

As the current supplier of thermal energy for the local DEW operation located centrally in the Caesars Windsor, Enwave knows the local system well and understands what is needed to increase benefits to existing and future customers and to the City of Windsor. As a large supplier of district energy, the company innovates and delivers pioneering solutions and has the technological expertise to modernize the DEW operations and expand its capacity to meet future needs.

Since its inception in 1997, DEW has grown to its full potential under WUC ownership. With the consolidation of both supply and distribution, Enwave will be well positioned to grow the system and achieve the City’s CEP targets. Increased capacity would also offer opportunities for new customers to benefit from the district energy system.

Coutinho adds, “We look to providing long term, sustainable opportunities to help drive positive change for climate action. This is only the beginning as we know that there is enormous potential to grow and invest in infrastructure that will benefit the community for generations to come.”

“We see this agreement as beneficial for DEW, WUC, water ratepayers and the City,” concluded Reidel. “DEW will benefit from consolidation of all assets under one company, the leadership of North American experts in district energy and the level of growth necessary to continue supporting our community.”