City’s costs soar to $17.8M as Enwave prepares to shut off district energy steam pipe

It will cost the city $17.8M to retrofit RBC Place with new infrastructure after Enwave shuts down its steam pipe later this year. Daryl Newcombe reports.

It’s going from bad — to worse.

The RBC Place Convention Centre will be the fifth municipal building impacted by a decision to decommission a medium-pressure steam pipe that’s part of the district energy system run by Enwave.

A new report to a council committee estimates it will cost up to $6,788,880 to install a stand-alone system for heating, humidity and hot water at the convention centre before the steam pipe is shut off this fall.

The amount is on top of the $11 million approved by council in March to install boilers inside London City Hall, Centennial Hall, Museum London and the Central Library.

“It’s costly and it’s unfortunate, but it’s work that we don’t have a choice but to do,” said Mayor Josh Morgan.

City staff recommend the $17.8 million come from municipal reserve funds.

Last year, Enwave notified customers that it will stop providing steam to many properties in downtown London on Oct. 31, 2026.

“Despite over $60 million in upgrades since 2017, rigorous technical investigations revealed that these aging infrastructure segments [some more 100 years old] are increasingly unreliable and pose potential safety risks,” Enwave told CTV News in an emailed statement.

Morgan had an initial meeting with representatives from Enwave where he pressed for financial compensation from the private utility.

“My ask of them is very clearly in the financial sphere. At this point they are discussing it. They’re taking it back to their board. This is a company that has to report back to a very large organization, and we’re planning our next meetings in the coming weeks,” the mayor explained.

According to city staff, Enwave has not provided funding towards the cost of retrofitting any of the five municipal buildings that will be impacted by shutting off the steam supply.

There is also no flexibility to extend the deadline.

Morgan emphasizes the opportunity cost of spending almost $18 million constructing boiler rooms and installing equipment.

“The Downtown Plan, the Economic Development Plan, our capacity to fund the initiatives in those plans are severely hampered by having to spend money in this way,” he said.

He also acknowledges that many private businesses and downtown building owners have been impacted.

“We know the public sector partners, but we still don’t even have a window into the private sector costs that are being borne by downtown businesses that are just looking to make ends meet,” he said.

Enwave writes, “We continue to work with the city and impacted customers at every step, providing regular updates, a dedicated community liaison, project manager, and partnerships with vetted providers for equipment rentals, financing and installations.”

Previously, the J. Allyn Taylor Building located at 267 Dundas St. was impacted by Enwave’s decision to discontinue a separate low-pressure steam supply.

In September 2025, an independent heating system was successfully installed by the city at a cost of $775,500.

The Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee will consider providing emergency capital funding to RBC Place on May 28.