"I'm in the unique position of saying, 'I will pay you not to use our products. Not too many people get to say that,'" said Stephen Walker, director of IT Infrastructure at Toronto Hydro.

Companies will receive $300 per actual peak kilowatt reduction, up to 50 per cent of the project cost, in a one-year lump sum payment, said Walker. Ongoing savings in electrical bills can reach up to 30 per cent, he added.

The measurement and verification process is simple, according to Walker, and provided at no cost. "There's no disruption to the organization," he said.

Funded by the Ontario Power Authority, Toronto Hydro's Data Centre Incentive Program (DCIP) targets commercial and institutional customers such as school and hospitals.

But any company -- large, medium or small -- that has a data centre can qualify for the incentive program, Walker pointed out.