Dr. Bala Venkatesh

When Bala Venkatesh moved with his young family from Malaysia to Canada in 2004, it was to join the University of New Brunswick faculty. It was a coveted posting that provided a good salary. And yet, when he received his first hydro bill, he was taken aback. How am I going to pay for this? he thought. Perhaps more significantly, he also wondered about the impact on wider society. How were his neighbours keeping their lights  – and electric furnaces – on when electricity seemed to be so unaffordable?

Now the academic director of Ryerson’s Centre for Urban Energy, Venkatesh keeps accessibility and affordability top of mind in his research on electric power transmission and distribution systems. While working closely with more than 25 industry partners, including utilities such as Hydro One and Toronto Hydro, Venkatesh has spearheaded more than 70 applied research projects. The result: improved commercial systems that provide greener, more reliable energy, without furthering economic divisions within society. “Electric vehicles and solar panels are great, but if nine-tenths of society cannot buy them, what’s the point? It leaves a whole section of society poorer, unable to connect and suffering, which is completely unacceptable. There should be an economically feasible solution that allows all of society to be a part of the solution.”