Saint John Energy Receives $5.25 Million for Advanced Digital Grid
July 16, 2025
A new advanced digital grid initiative from Saint John Energy that will give customers more control over their energy costs and allow for the adoption of more clean energy technologies has received $5.25 million from Natural Resources Canada’s Energy Innovation Program.
The funding for Saint John Energy’s Advanced Digital Distribution System Operator (DSO) initiative is part of close to $16 million in federal funding for energy projects in the Maritime provinces announced Friday in Charlottetown, P.E.I., by the Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.
“Our government’s vision is clear: to make Canada a clean and conventional energy superpower,” said Minister Hodgson. “In collaboration with governments, Indigenous partners and the energy sector, we are investing in energy innovation to get more energy to market while tackling climate change.”
Saint John Energy’s advanced digital grid will use smart technologies, data and artificial intelligence to manage energy flow more intelligently across the city’s electrical grid – enabling faster response times, better integration of customer technologies, and real-time decision-making that improves grid performance and lowers costs.
The digital grid will be built on top of Saint John Energy’s smart grid and will apply AI-driven insights and predictive analytics to maximize the use of both utility and customer energy technologies – with a key goal of driving measurable customer savings and communicating them transparently, including directly on customer bills.
“Saint John Energy’s advanced digital grid is designed with our customers in mind,” said Glen Fillmore, Vice-President of Strategic Growth and Transformation at Saint John Energy. “It will help us respond faster to outages, support cleaner energy, as well as create new ways for customers to manage their energy use and take advantage of smarter tools and programs.”
Customers will benefit through:
- More stable and reliable service
- Smarter tools to track, understand, and optimize their energy use
- New programs and options that help lower costs – with savings clearly shown on their bills
- Support for clean energy technologies like EV chargers, rooftop solar, and smart home devices
The rollout of the advanced digital grid will take place over the next four years and aligns with Saint John Energy’s broader commitment to innovation and sustainability, including its Zero30 roadmap.
