London Decommissioning district heating pipe leaves Grand Theatre and city council scrambling to install costly boilers Share Taxpayers will be picking up the tab to install desperately needed boilers in a pair of downtown buildings after a sudden decision to shut down part of London’s district heating and cooling system. Enwave Energy Corporation, the operator of the former London District Energy system on Colborne Street, notified customers of its low-pressure steam line that the service will end May 31, 2025. The pipe is the primary source of heating and cooling for several downtown buildings including the J.
Allyn Taylor Building (267 Dundas St.) and the Grand Theatre. On Wednesday, representatives of the Grand told council’s Corporate Services Committee that Enwave had already shut off access to the pipe after a safety inspection and now intends to charge the theatre for operating a temporary system.
The temporary system is estimated to cost $250,000 to operate during the upcoming theatre season. Since being notified in late May, leadership at the Grand has scrambled to source a new boiler system for their building which is estimated to cost at least $800,000 and is projected to take 14 weeks to install. “Taking on an $800,000 debt in this point of our rebuilding [from the pandemic] would be crippling,” Executive Director Lyndee Hansen told councillors.
“We don't know if it's $800,000. We don't know if it's $900,000. We don't know if it's a million dollars,” .