At Hydro Ottawa Limited, a subsidiary of Hydro Ottawa Group, delivering power is only half the story; the true impact is found in the moments that energy empowers across the communities we serve. Whether it is a family sharing dinner, a local high-tech firm scaling up operations, or a zero-emission bus quietly navigating city streetscapes, utility infrastructure serves as the silent backbone of daily civic life.
Guided by the sustainability and innovation priorities at the heart of Hydro Ottawa Group’s 2026 Strategic Direction, Hydro Ottawa Limited is the local distribution company turning high-level strategy into tangible local action.
As the National Capital Region grows outward and upward, the pace at which new electrical capacity is required has shifted dramatically. To support this unprecedented transition toward an electrified way of life, Hydro Ottawa is fundamentally reframing how it builds: minimizing environmental impact while securing the critical infrastructure required to power our community’s growing energy demands.
Piperville: a new lower-carbon standard
Nowhere is this commitment more evident than in the development of our Piperville municipal transformer station. Located in the fast-growing southeast end of Ottawa, Piperville represents a historic landmark achievement as Hydro Ottawa’s very first substation built using lower-carbon design.
This state-of-the-art facility, which began serving customers in summer 2026, provides 90 megawatts of power, matching the capacity of Hydro Ottawa’s largest existing station, Cambrian MTS, which was built in 2022.
Tackling embodied carbon
Recognizing the urgent need to mitigate environmental impact, Hydro Ottawa undertook a comprehensive lifecycle review for this project. Piperville’s climate benefits were achieved through a lower-carbon design that focused on reducing embodied carbon emissions. This represents the greenhouse gas footprint generated from the materials and construction processes of the physical building before it is even turned on.
By utilizing sustainable materials, such as lower-carbon concrete, and optimizing its engineering to build a more compact layout, the project achieved a 12.3 per cent reduction in embodied carbon emissions. Using the Cambrian MTS as an official baseline due to its similar footprint and 27.6kV capacity, the Piperville project eliminated 618 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) .
This reduction was achieved across three distinct areas:
- Building emissions: Emissions generated from manufacturing materials like steel and concrete and constructing the main physical structures were reduced by 508 tonnes through optimized building design.
- Station yard emissions: The carbon footprint resulting from the massive exterior foundations required to safely support the heavy outdoor electrical equipment was reduced by 202 tonnes through the use of more sustainable raw materials.
- Power equipment emissions: The combined savings from the building and yard successfully off-set a 92-tonne increase in emissions associated with manufacturing and procuring the heavier, high-capacity electrical equipment needed to power community energy demands.
Connecting people, places and community
Developed in response to a 20-year Integrated Regional Resource Plan for the greater Ottawa area and municipality of Casselman, Piperville delivers the massive electrical capacity required to power the region’s rapid growth.
For local residents and businesses, the station delivers long-term community benefits. It provides increased system redundancy during severe weather events, and its added capacity supports local economic opportunity by powering new residential developments, commercial expansions and major municipal transit electrification. Looking ahead, the station’s modern infrastructure lays the foundation to integrate future clean energy innovations, including rooftop solar generation and battery energy storage systems, directly into the grid.
To ensure these assets integrate thoughtfully into the community, projects prioritize consultation and neighbourhood sensitivity by incorporating remedies like tree screening buffers, pollinator meadows, or complementary architectural facades where possible.
A repeatable benchmark for a growing city
Historically, local utilities built a new substation every five to seven years. Today, with electricity demand projected to increase significantly over the coming decades, Hydro Ottawa is on track to energize a new station nearly every year until 2030.
As part of Hydro Ottawa’s broader commitment to sustainability and innovation, the Piperville MTS establishes a repeatable lower-carbon design benchmark that will be applied to all new major municipal transformer station developments. This new standard is already embedded in our utility’s pipeline of upcoming substations, including Hydro Road MTS and Mer-Bleue MTS scheduled for 2027, and Old Second Line MTS and Greenbank MTS in 2028.
At Hydro Ottawa Limited, investments extend far beyond wires and transformers. They are directly tied to our corporate sustainability and innovation priorities to ensure the longevity, resilience, and well-being of the communities we serve. By building modern, lower-carbon infrastructure with the community, for the community, we are connecting people and places, empowering local momentum, and sustainably powering a future for all.
For more information, visit hydroottawa.com/piperville.