Shortly after 4 p.m. on August 14, 2003, the lights went out across Ontario and many Northeastern and Midwestern States during what turned out to be one of the most widespread blackouts in history.

Along with the rest of the province, Toronto Pearson International Airport was also without power from the Provincial grid. Operating on backup generators, the airport was able to accept a limited number of flights that were inbound in the moments before the blackout, but with limited electrical power in the terminals, operations remained affected until the 15th. Hundreds of flights were cancelled and thousands of travellers were stranded.

The latest heat wave in Toronto and a quick glance at a calendar has brought back memories for some of that day in 2003. The temperature then was well into the 30s. But even before the blackout, the GTAA had realized that relying on the power grid for uninterrupted service was not in the best interests of Ontario businesses and passengers that rely on Toronto Pearson. That thinking led to the design and construction of the Cogeneration Facility that today is not only capable of supplying power to the airport in the event of another blackout, but can (and does) feed electricity to the grid, assisting the province on days when demand is at its peak.

The 117 MW facility opened in December 2005. Using clean burning natural gas, it generates electricity through two gas turbines, a process that produces a significant amount of heat. The waste heat is recovered through two steam boilers to create additional electricity through a steam turbine. Steam that is not used to power the turbine is redirected towards the airport’s Central Utilities Plant, a facility that supports the airport’s heating and cooling needs. In 2006, the GTAA saved approximately 4,000 MWh of electricity and 39,000 GJ of heating energy by using “free” steam from the Cogeneration Facility.

The GTAA has made energy conservation a fact of life at Toronto Pearson every single day. Regardless of the weather, increased vigilance is encouraged to reduce our consumption at all times, but especially when extreme temperatures strain the provincial grid. Through the GTAA’s Energy Management Committee, significant energy savings were recorded in 2006. Compared to 2005 numbers, 45,638.94 MWh were saved, which is approximately equal to 2.25 hours of consumption for the entire province of Ontario. These savings can be attributed in part due to increased use of daylight within terminal buildings, programmed schedule of nighttime lighting reductions in the buildings, installation of programmable photocells, and installation of energy saving controllers on escalators and moving walks.