Get to know F&S: Gurmel Multani

Much like a town or city, the University of Toronto owns and maintains linear assets such as district energy, roads, sewers, and watermain systems. The Central Steam Plant is the core of the campus’s district energy system, which heats most buildings on campus.

Gurmel Multani has the critical role of overseeing the Central Steam Plant, the underground steam tunnel network, and pressure vessels on campus as the plant manager and the campus’s chief operating engineer. He is certified by the Technical Safety and Standards Authority (TSSA) as a first-class operating engineer.

Multani came to Canada in 2000 from India. He is an experienced mechanical engineer and certified energy manager. In September 2002, he joined U of T as an operating engineer and began his current role in 2017.

Multani has passionately studied and memorized the Central Steam Plant’s long history as one of the first institutional district energy systems in Canada.

Since it first opened, the plant has undergone many upgrades, from switching from coal-fired to gas-fired boilers, to installing a co-generation system to produce energy, and a flue gas heat recovery system to increase the plant’s efficiency.

“These changes put the university ahead of the curve in terms of sustainability,” said Multani.

The plant will continue to evolve to achieve U of T’s goal of making the St. George campus climate positive before 2050. Multani and his team are working to completely change the steam system to operate the campus on low-temperature hot water. They are also actively planning to replace the fossil fuel-fed boilers with electric boilers that use cleaner energy from Ontario’s grid instead of burning gas.

“Our goal is to decrease CO2 emissions by burning less gas,” said Multani. “Reducing waste and increasing efficiency at the Central Steam Plant is essential to our work. This has enormous environmental and financial benefits for our community.”

Multani’s passion, expertise, and forward-thinking attitude are complemented by his leadership. When leading his team, he adopts a personal approach, so everyone feels valued and a part of a community.

Multani leads a team of 21 staff who keep the plant running 24/7 and respond to all emergency calls throughout the campus after hours and on weekends.

“I touch base with everyone on my team individually to make them feel comfortable and heard,” said Multani. “Communication is the key to making our campus run smoothly and more sustainably.”