There are three ways to connect a project - in series, in parallel or directly connected. The OPA is currently working with Measurement Canada to resolve an issue with in series connections as soon as possible.

Until a resolution has been reached, some local distribution companies may not connect your project in series, or may require you to wait. Applicants may wish to explore other connection options in order to connect more quickly.

Delays in getting your project connected may have an impact on meeting your target in-service date and domestic content requirements. The OPA understands that this is a concern for many applicants and will address the concern as appropriate when the connection rules and timeframes have been resolved.

You are responsible for the cost of the connection necessary to get your electricity from your generation project to the distribution or transmission grid.

The Ontario Energy Board is currently reviewing its policies for costs related to connecting projects. Connection charges and costs for grid upgrades are being reviewed to determine how much the generator will have to pay to connect to the grid.

Your local distribution company (LDC) is responsible for connecting and metering your microFIT project. You must submit a connection request to your LDC (with your microFIT project reference number) and meet the requirements of your LDC to connect to the electricity grid before your LDC will install your generation meter. Your LDC will connect your project to the grid when you have:

• received all necessary approvals including authorization to connect from the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA)
• entered into a connection agreement with the LDC
• paid the LDC for the connection and metering costs.

Each LDC has its own "Micro-Generator Connection Request Form". You may be asked to wait 30 days from the time you submit a microFIT Program application before submitting your connection request to your LDC.

All projects must be connected to the distribution system either directly or indirectly through a load-customer. Therefore, for any period of time that you do not produce power, or do not produce enough power to meet your own demand, you will be able to meet your demand with supply from your local electricity distribution company (LDC).

A connection request is the application to your local distribution company (LDC) to connect your generation project to the distribution system. You must use the LDC’s existing form, or the connection request form that is provided to the OPA. You must submit your connection request form to your LDC and you must provide your FIT or microFIT reference number on the connection request form to the LDC. We recommend that you consult your LDC prior to submitting a connection request form to learn about potential fees and charges that might be applied under different connection configurations.

For microFIT projects, the date of the connection request is a very important date that will be used to determine the microFIT contract price.

Your microFIT project can either be "directly connected" to the electricity distribution system or "indirectly connected". A direct connection is where your project is connected to the grid separately from any other customer or building.

An indirect connection is where your project is connected to an existing building that is connected to the distribution system. Indirectly connected projects are either connected "in-series" (also known as a "load-embedded") or "in-parallel" to the existing building.

Please refer to the microFIT Program Overview to learn more about the different connection configurations and their advantages and disadvantages.

For micro-scale projects no greater than 10 kW, a connection agreement refers to the "Micro-Embedded Generation Facility Connection Agreement" (as prescribed by the Ontario Energy Board's Distribution System Code) between a local distribution company and the owner of the generation project. You must sign this agreement before your project can be connected to the distribution system. Also, the name on the connection agreement must be the same name that is on the local distribution company customer account and the microFIT contract.

For larger projects under the FIT Program, your local distribution company will have a connection agreement for you to execute upon connection.

A load customer is any building or service, including a home, a small commercial building or a school that is connected to a local distribution company's distribution system and consumes electricity.

A connection point is where your renewable energy project is connected to the electricity grid. For load-embedded projects, the connection point is the load customer.

Currentlly, there are 80 local distribution companies in Ontario. A list can be found here.

Your renewable energy project(s) will be connected to the grid through an electricity meter that will be different from the meter that measures your consumption. This meter will allow your local electricity distribution company to measure the electricity you generate and pay you accordingly.

In some areas of the province, transmission and distribution connection capacity is limited or not available at this time. In general, micro-scale and small projects less than 250 kW should be able to connect immediately.

The Bruce-to-Milton expansion will relieve transmission constraints in Southern Ontario, permitting additional capacity to contract for renewable energy in that region. On Sept. 21, 2009,  the Ontario government asked Hydro One to immediately proceed with planning and implementing major transmission projects across the province. The 20 transmission projects as well as investments into the distribution network will unlock significant potential opportunities for greener, cleaner electricity in all parts of the province.

About $2.3 billion will be spent by Hydro One on transmission and distribution projects over three years. In addition, the FIT Program will promote new investment in the transmission and distribution systems to enable connection of additional renewable energy supply. By applying to the FIT Program, your project will serve as input to distribution and transmission expansion plans.

If your project qualifies for the FIT Program, your project will serve as input to distribution and transmission expansion plans. It will be subjected to an economic connection test to ensure that the costs of connection, which will ultimately be borne by ratepayers, are reasonable. If so, you will have the option of having your application placed in what is called the FIT production line. This means that when connection room becomes available after considering further grid expansion, capacity will be allocated to projects in the FIT production line in the order of the OPA time-stamp on the applications.

If not, your project will be placed in the FIT reserve, which means it will be reassessed during the next scheduled economic connection test. If you choose to withdraw your application during this period, your application security will be refundedand your OPA time-stamp forfeited.

These provisions are spelled out in detail in Section 5 of the FIT Rules.

While generation contracted under the FIT Program will have its own meter, the program itself complements the province's installation of smart meters to enhance the efficiency of Ontario's electricity system.

The FIT Program is designed to encourage and promote greater use of renewable energy sources. Smart meters record total electricity consumption by hour, as compared to the old-style meter that only measures the total electricity used between meter readings. This means that different prices can be applied at different times of the day. Together, the two initiatives will promote a change in how we generate electricity and when we use it - resulting in a positive impact on Ontario's climate change strategy.

For additional information on smart meters, please visit the government of Ontario's website at http://www.smartmetersontario.ca.