The Distributor Spring 2020

IT’S A WOMAN’S WORLD TOO 6

DISTRIBUTOR THE

SPRING 2020

PUTTING CUSTOMERS

Agreement #: 43526108

FIRST

Ontario’s distribution utilities step up in a customer-driven economy 10

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ON THE FRONT COVER

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International Women’s Day took place as this issue of The Distributor was being prepared and we are pleased to feature on our cover images of some of the many women who work in EDA member utilities, helping to harness The Power of Local Hydro for the benefit of customers.

Pictured among them is Midhula De Gannes (top row, centre). De Gannes understands the transformative power of electricity both in her role as a network management specialist at Hydro One, and in the context of her recent volunteer work to help improve access to electricity in Kenya. Read more about her work at www.eda-on.ca/Blog Also pictured is Allison Wood of Niagara Peninsula Energy (bottom row, left). She is one of the few female powerline technician apprentices in Ontario, and shares some of her perspectives in an article on page 9. And read more on the current status of women in the distribution sector in a feature article on page 6.

6 It’s a Woman’s World Too: Gender Equity in the Distribution Sector 8 News From the Electricity Sector

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10 EPCOR Celebrates Achievements Over First Year in Collingwood 12 Providing Customers with Content that Captivates 14 Hydro One Delivering More Than You Might Expect 15 Providing Customer Value Through Reduced Outage Minutes 16 Alectra’s Billing System Convergence “Radiates”Benefits for Customers

ADVOCACY IN ACTION 18 The EDA Leverages Pending Omnibus Bill and Budget, Targets Red Tape 18 Opposition Outreach Key to Balanced Advocacy 19 Winter Visuals Boost EDA Digital Advertising 19 Shared Priorities Discussed with IESO Chair

POWER OF LOCAL HYDRO

20 Connecting, Protecting and Serving our Customers

COMMERCIAL SUCCESS 22 Ask the Expert: Collaboration Comes in Many Forms

CON::NECT EVENTS 24 EDIST 20

28 Stay CON::NECTED with Great Event Opportunities this Year www.eda.on.ca

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CUSTOMERS FIRST AND FOREMOST

Spring 2020

The Electricity Distributors Association (EDA) publishes The Distributor for its members and stakeholders. All rights to editorial content are reserved by the EDA. No article can be reproduced in whole or in part without the permission of the EDA.

PUBLISHED Spring 2020 FOR: Electricity Distributors Association (EDA) 3700 Steeles Avenue West, Suite 1100 Vaughan, ON L4L 8K8 www.eda-on.ca

EDA STAFF CEO’S OFFICE Teresa Sarkesian, President and CEO

POLICY, GOVERNMENT AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS Ted Wigdor, VP, Policy, Government and Corporate Affairs Derek Nardone, Manager, Corporate and Government Affairs Kathi Farmer, Senior Regulatory Affairs Advisor Lynn Williams, Senior Policy Advisor Brendan McClughan, Policy and Government Affairs Specialist

COMMUNICATIONS AND MEMBER ENGAGEMENT Marica Macura, Director, Member Relations and Events Emily Kirk, Communications Specialist Dianna Merlocco, Events Specialist Lesia Kostecki, Marketing and Member Relations Specialist

FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION Tamara Orlova, Chief Financial Officer Arlene Klemmer, Accounting Clerk Matthews Joseph, Senior IT Analyst Lina Parisi, Receptionist

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DOVETAIL Communications 30 East Beaver Creek, Suite 202 Richmond Hill, ON L4B 1J2 Tel. 905.886.6640 | www.dvtail.com Advertising inquiries, Leesa Nacht, lnacht@dvtail.com Editorial inquiries, Emily Kirk, ekirk@eda-on.ca Please return undeliverable copies to: Electricity Distributors Association (EDA) 3700 Steeles Avenue West, Suite 1100, Vaughan, ON L4L 8K8 PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 43526108

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It’s a pleasure to write my first column for The Distributor as chair of the EDA board. I thought it was important that in my first column I talked about a topic high on most of our priority lists: customer service; or as we term it here “putting our customers first”.

Today’s local distribution companies are deeply immersed in the pursuit of customer service excellence, but that wasn’t always the case.

I can remember a time where local distribution companies not only operated as fully regulated monopolies, but also acted like them.

Electrons were electrons, and we weren’t typically focused on providing additional “value add” services. We also didn’t give much thought to having to compete with new market entrants across a range of our business segments.

Fortunately, we’ve always paid close attention to our core customer expectations, and we’ve begun engaging our customers in many additional aspects of our business from capital planning to outage communications and even information system integration. It is this shift in focus that has allowed LDCs to continue on our pledge of reliable and safe delivery of electricity, at affordable rates while building to a future where LDCs also provide additional value-added services which are needed by our customers.

Our long-standing focus on customer-service basics has helped us to secure our enviable position as a trusted supplier, and increasingly an advisor, to our customers. It’s this position of trust that will allow us to continue to push the customer first vision and ultimately become a customer driven industry.

It’s this position of trust that will allow us to continue to push the customer first vision Featured articles in this issue of The Distributor describe some of the ways in which EDA members are responding to that important reality. For my part as chair, I look forward to continuing to highlight our sector’s customer focus through the ongoing Power of Local Hydro campaign and all our communications channels.

It’s a powerful message in which to root our advocacy and our other efforts to achieve key outcomes and association objectives, and more than ever before those outcomes will be judged first and foremost by the value we deliver for and to our customers.

Sincerely,

Ysni Semsedini

President & CEO, Newmarket-Tay Power

Chair, Electricity Distributors Association

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Every community needs an ally IN

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We’re proud to be the first utility in Ontario to receive the Caring Company designation from Imagine Canada in recognition of our excellence and leadership in corporate social responsibility.

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Through our AlectraCARES Community Support Program, we fund not-for-profit organizations in our service area to help foster healthy, diverse and sustainable communities.

Learn more at alectrautilities.com/AlectraCARES

@alectranews

AlectraNews

AlectraNews

AlectraNews

Alectra

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IT’S A WOMAN’S WORLD TOO:

GENDER EQUITY IN THE DISTRIBUTION SECTOR

Clockwise from top left Ruth Tyrrell (seen accepting her recent EDA Chair’s Citation), Jane Hale-McDonald, Barbara Peirce Marshall (pictured with University of Windsor co-op students), and Indy Butany-DeSouza.

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he EDA will host its eighth annual Women Connected event in Toronto later this year – an opportunity for diverse participants to look at industry and professional development issues and opportunities through the lens of the role and advancement of women.

In the lead-up to this year’s event, The Distributor checked in with several women who hold leadership positions within member utilities and the EDA, for insights on the current state of gender equity in what was historically – and in some pockets still remains – a heavily maledominated industry.

Ruth Tyrrell will retire later this year as both Chief Corporate Officer of Orangeville Hydro and a long-serving EDA board member. The other contributors were Indy Butany-DeSouza of Alectra Utilities, Jane Hale-McDonald of Energy+, and Barbara Peirce Marshall of ENWIN Utilities. They are among the majority of current EDA Council chairs and vice-chairs who are women.

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Progress to date

The industry has clearly advanced a long way towards gender equity in recent decades. Hale-McDonald, for example, cites female representation rates in senior roles at her utility that range from over a third on the management team, to more than half on the board. Other utilities can cite similar progress.

“ Be restless and reach up.”

Tyrrell says there has been “immense improvement”, particularly in the last 10 to 15 years. Someone looking for a female role model in a senior executive role in the sector today would find no shortage of candidates, she notes, adding that “we are slowly moving the dial on the operations side as well”.

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The progress, says Butany-DeSouza, can be credited to “years of others trying to remove barriers, be seen, and forge a path forward for future generations. These mentors and sponsors have helped me get where I am at and I offer the same to others around me.” Hiring practices, she adds, have evolved to ensure diversity on both sides of the desk when interviews take place.

The importance of getting it right

It’s increasingly clear that striving for equity across gender and other parameters is not just the right thing to do, it’s a necessary thing to do. “Studies show a clear relationship between diverse workplaces, high levels of innovation, financial success, employee engagement and retention,” notes Peirce Marshall.

And sectors like electricity that face skills shortages have an even bigger motivation to tap into the entirety of the available workforce.

dedication and perseverance. But if you have a dream, pursue it with everything you have and don’t be dissuaded.”

Women Connected 2020 will take place in the fall at a Toronto venue. (It has been postponed from the originally scheduled date of June 4, as part of a coronavirus mitigation strategy.) Tyrrell stresses the value of the event for everyone in the sector, and reiterates the challenge she made to the audience when she hosted last year’s event: Come back this year and bring along at least one or two colleagues – whether female or male.

Watch www.eda-on.ca/EVENTS/Women-Connected for event and registration details.

COLLABORATION

INTEGRATION

Advice to support advancement

All that said, women continue to find themselves outnumbered in some roles in the distribution sector. Tyrrell spent more than a decade as the only woman on the EDA board, for example. “You sometimes are forced to be a little more aggressive to be heard,” she acknowledges. “But with the appropriate level of assertion and confidence, it can happen.”

Two factors will be key to further advancement, the contributors agree: First, helping to foster greater awareness of and interest in industry opportunities and related educational pathways on the part of girls and women; and second – for women seeking advancement within the sector – tapping into mentorship.

“Stay the course. Be patient. Network and find a coach or mentor to help orient you to the landscape,” is part of the advice McDonald-Hale offers to those wanting to advance in the sector. But she qualifies that comment by advising not to passively wait for the right opportunity and to instead “be restless and reach up”.

“Personal narrative” is also a success factor, says Butany-DeSouza. “Women need to be able to tell their story and sell who they are and what they can contribute, without using language that might inadvertently diminish the valuable positions and views that they hold,” she says.

“The path to career success is never easy and few of us follow a straight line to where we want to be,” says Peirce Marshall. “Challenging the status quo requires an even higher level of www.eda.on.ca

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SECTOR SCAN

Semsedini Appointed CEO at Newmarket-Tay Power

Ysni Semsedini (top) and Paul Ferguson

Dicerni in Line for OEB Chair Appointment

The board of directors of NewmarketTay Power Distribution Ltd. (NT Power) has announced the appointment of Ysni Semsedini as the company’s next president and CEO. Semsedini was most recently CEO at Festival Hydro. He will replace Paul Ferguson, who is retiring after a long and successful career with NT Power.

NT Power provides electricity distribution services in the Towns of Newmarket and Midland and in parts of the Township of Tay. The shareholders are the Town of Newmarket and the Township of Tay. The utility currently serves approximately 50,000 electricity distribution customers.

The EDA congratulates Semsedini – who also recently began his term as chair of the EDA board – on this exciting new opportunity, and congratulates Ferguson on his well-earned retirement.

Energy Minister Greg Rickford has announced the intended appointment of Richard Dicerni as the new chair of the board of directors at the Ontario Energy Board. If approved, the appointment is likely to become effective in the spring, concurrent with the proclamation into force of pending amendments to the Ontario Energy Board Act. In the interim, Dicerni has taken on a special advisor role at the OEB, supporting the organization in its transition to a new governance structure.

That structure was an outcome in part of his earlier work as chair of the OEB Modernization Review Panel, and reflects EDA input.

The EDA looks forward to working with Dicerni in this new capacity, and in particular to finding opportunities to advance the recommendations in our white paper on further regulatory reform, which if adopted could create up to $70 million in savings for the people of Ontario.

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Stakeholders’ Input Diverse on DER-Related Remuneration

The Ontario Energy Board continues to consult with LDCs and other stakeholders with respect to remuneration of utilities in relation to the impact of distributed energy resources. The objective is to structure remuneration in a way that: enables LDCs to give equal consideration to both traditional and innovative solutions, better supports their pursuit of least-cost solutions, strengthens their focus on long-term value, and requires them to account for system evolution in their planning and operations.

Last September, the OEB held a well-attended meeting at which it received input on the objectives, issues and guiding principles for its “Utility Remuneration and Responding to Distributed Energy Resources” initiatives. In light of the volume and diversity of stakeholder views, the OEB decided to conduct additional stakeholder engagement in early 2020.

The EDA will remain strongly engaged in this consultation as these issues are critical to the evolution of the distribution industry in Ontario and beyond.

EDA Blog Offers Up-to-the-Minute Insights

The EDA’s recently launched blog is now the go-to outlet for timely and expanded member news and industry insights.

Recent posts have included: • Scams and fraudulent activities: What to watch out for!

• Overcoming goldfish attention spans: For utilities • How LDCs can foster internal control effectiveness and risk awareness • The role of your local utility during extreme weather events • Why work in the electricity sector?

• The People of Local Hydro!

Visit the EDA’s website, www.eda-on.ca to take a look.

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Credit: Crystal Kwok (@spacexuan) on Unsplash

Easing the Burden on Industrial Electricity Ratepayers

The Government of Ontario is seeking to stimulate growth and investment, and to help industrial electricity ratepayers hone their competitiveness through various initiatives intended to ease electricity-related burdens.

Over the next year – with the aim of allowing industrial ratepayers to focus on their businesses instead of their electricity-management practices – an “energy concierge” service will be established to provide better access to information and services relating to electricity pricing and connection processes.

The IESO, meanwhile, has been tasked with reviewing its billing, settlement and customer service processes. The scope of this review includes consideration of opportunities to: • improve and simplify industrial electricity bills; • improve estimations of the monthly Global Adjustment (GA) charge; and, • improve peak-demand data publication processes, and assess the feasibility of using real-time data as a basis for allocation of GA charges to consumers.

This review is in addition to the IESO’s ongoing review of generation contracts to find cost savings. These initiatives reflect industry feedback – including the EDA’s – received during industrial electricity price consultations held between April and July 2019.

Trades Provide Constant Learning and Growth

Allison Wood knows she works in a male dominated field, but she doesn’t mind it one bit. She’s happy to be doing the work that she enjoys so much.

Wood, who has been with Niagara Peninsula Energy Inc. (NPEI) since 2016 in apprentice and full-time positions, loves the breadth of work she’s doing. “Everyone thinks it’s all brute strength, but there’s a lot more to it than that,” says Wood.

“There’s a lot of mental work as well. There’s a lot of planning that goes into it. You still need to get down and dirty sometimes, but you’re constantly learning and growing.”

NPEI is proud to have one of the few female powerline technician apprentices in Ontario. “We love having Allison as part of our team,” says Ron Campaigne, Director of Operations at NPEI. “She’s a hard worker and she’s a great role model for young women looking to enter the trades.”

Wood says she enjoys being a member of the Women of Powerline Technicians, a group that hosts networking events, peer groups and mentoring opportunities. She credits the group for helping her meet other women in the trades and validating her career choice. “It’s a spot where we can talk to other women and hear about their experiences or ask them questions. Even just things like where to buy gloves and boots that are small enough to fit.”

IESO Forecasts Sufficient Supply for Next 20 Years

The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) released its much anticipated Annual Planning Outlook (APO) in January, laying out its long-term view of system needs based on its forecasts of demand and available supply resources.

Overall, the report states that “Ontario is in a strong position, with sufficient resources to meet its needs under most circumstances, provided the majority of existing resources remain available.” While demand is increasing in parts of the province, IESO says that Ontario is generally expected to have enough energy to meet demand over the next 20 years.

The IESO notes that “one of the most significant variables affecting the forecast concerns the long-term future of energy-efficiency investment in Ontario”. The APO therefore includes two demand scenarios, one based on existing IESO-delivered energy efficiency programs ceasing at the end of 2020 and the other based on them continuing.

The IESO underscores that although existing resources are sufficient, new resources will have the opportunity to compete in the energy and ancillary service markets. Further, the IESO reaffirms its commitment to work with stakeholders, “in anticipation of future capacity shortfalls”, to consider complementary and more dynamic market-based approaches to maintaining resource adequacy.

www.eda.on.ca

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Annual Planning Outlook A view of Ontario’s electricity system needs JANUARY 2020

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EPCOR CELEBRATES ACHIEVEMENTS OVER FIRST YEAR IN COLLINGWOOD

By Tim Hesselink, Manager Regulatory Affairs and Billing, EPCOR

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ctober 1, 2019 marked the one-year anniversary of EPCOR’s entry into the electricity market in Ontario.

In 2018, EPCOR acquired the electricity distribution system based in Collingwood from Collus PowerStream Corp. and welcomed all of its employees to the company. While EPCOR has more than 125 years of utility experience, this was its first venture into electricity operations in Ontario.

The Collingwood team has achieved a great deal to benefit our customers and community over the past year. Here are a few highlights.

Growing as a team

The team has grown over the past year in efforts to continuously improve customer service and distribution processes. We’ve welcomed Darren McCrank, Director of Ontario Operations; Kylee Lundberg, Ontario Health and Safety Manager; as well as two new power line technicians and one apprentice.

Achieving operational excellence

Over the last year, the team in Collingwood has installed 150 new power poles and more than 20 kilometres of conductor, and completed 522 new service installations and service upgrades in the distribution area. Additionally, to promote collaboration within the community, an advisory committee was established between EPCOR and the Town of Collingwood that aims to work collaboratively to better serve the more than 17,500 Collingwood and area customers.

As a result of these operational improvements, recent customer satisfaction survey results have seen a steady rise from 71.8 per cent to 73 per cent.

Giving back to the community EPCOR’s employees proudly put their heart and soul into supporting the communities they serve. EPCOR’s Collingwood team participated in its first company United Way campaign in 2019 and more than doubled its fundraising goals.

“Thank you to everyone here in Ontario and further west in EPCOR’s headquarters of Alberta who welcomed our team and played a role in our success over the past year,” said General Manager Larry Irwin at the team’s anniversary celebration.

“We’ve accomplished a lot over the past year and I look forward to more exciting projects coming up for our team in year two.”

Congratulations to the entire Collingwood team for a successful first year!

EPCOR is a Canadian-based company that provides clean water, wastewater and drainage services and safe, reliable electricity and natural gas to more than two million residential and commercial customers in North America. EPCOR has natural gas operations in Aylmer, Ontario, and is currently constructing a distribution system to connect natural gas to customers in the Municipality of Arran-Elderslie, Municipality of Kincardine and Township of Huron-Kinloss.

Rolling out a new billing cycle

Effective this past January, but under development for the last few months of 2019, the team began switching to a calendar monthly bill. Previously, customers would see consumption from a 28 to 35 day cycle. Customers can now compare their month-to-month consumption more easily and prepare for comparable payment amounts, and can now expect their payment due date around the same time each month.

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PROVIDING CUSTOMERS WITH CONTENT THAT

CAPTIVATES

By Daniel Séguin, Director of Communications, Hydro Canada

A

ccording to a recent study by Nielsen, since 2000 the attention span of humans has dropped from 12 seconds to eight seconds, putting us below the attention span of goldfish. This downward trend presents a new challenge for utilities as they aim to stay relevant and make a lasting impression on their customers – not only do we need to compete for attention in a crowded digital landscape, we need to aim high to maintain it.

In the energy sector, ideas for interesting content aren’t usually the problem as there are plenty of fascinating trends emerging all the time. So, what’s the answer? How can utilities evolve to produce and deliver content that both captures and captivates their customers?

Delivering what resonates most

At Hydro Ottawa, we believe in experimenting with different content types in order to determine what resonates with customers the most. To start, this means reaching out to customers to ask where their interests lie. It also means adopting channels where customers are already engaging and then developing content for those channels. Based off research and trends, we determined that developing an ongoing podcasting series would be a great content medium for Hydro Ottawa to try.

Why podcasts? Podcasts are a highly engaging content medium. In fact, research is revealing that podcasts are trending to be more engaging than video. While the average video watch time sits between 25 and 35 per cent, podcasts are showing an impressive listen/consumption rate of 84 to 93 per cent. This means that once people are tuning in, they continue listening for all or most of the episode.

Because of deteriorating attention spans, content that is convenient and requires low time commitment is essential.

Thanks to smartphones, Bluetooth, smart audio and podcast apps, the barriers are disappearing for people to quickly listen to a podcast while driving, performing chores around the

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house, or working. Best of all for podcast creators, it’s easy for listeners to subscribe and have episodes automatically download to their devices as they are released. It helps creators secure an audience for repeat touchpoints and to evolve a connection with their audience.

Launching ThinkEnergy

In May of 2019, Hydro Ottawa launched the ThinkEnergy podcast, designed for creators and consumers of energy. I lead the conversation with industry experts on a variety of hot topics, including electric vehicle adoption, crisis communications, and LED streetlight conversion projects.

Throughout every episode, we aim to help listeners better understand the fast-changing world of energy.

The success of the podcast has proven the research true.

ThinkEnergy’s listen rates are currently averaging at 80 per cent. Our strategy to secure success has been to maintain a consistent bi-weekly publishing cadence as well as a consistent interview format, helping our audiences know when and what to expect. These efforts, paired with thorough promotion across all of our digital channels, have returned great results.

So far, we’ve seen over 2,300 downloads in eight months – and it’s only the beginning.

Interested in better engaging your customers? Listen to the ThinkEnergy podcast at hydroottawa.com/thinkenergy.

We hope to inspire you to join the conversation – either as a guest on our show, or perhaps by starting your own podcast.

Hydro Ottawa delivers electricity to more than 335,000 homes and businesses in Ottawa and Casselman. For 100 years, Hydro Ottawa has reliably supplied its customers with power, building and investing in the local electric grid.

Proudly municipally owned, Hydro Ottawa contributes to the well-being of the community we serve. Its innovative services help customers manage their account and energy use.

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Proud supporter of the LDC Community.

TD is a long-time EDA member and would like to thank our many Local Distribution Company customers for their business.

® The TD logo and other trade-marks are the property of The Toronto-Dominion Bank.

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HYDRO ONE

DELIVERING MORE THAN YOU MIGHT EXPECT

By Imran Merali, Vice President, Customer Care, Hydro One

T

he electricity industry is evolving and so are the needs of our customers. In the digital age of Amazon and Uber, consumers have heightened expectations when it comes to service, choice and convenience – and this means that our marketplace is becoming more and more competitive.

There is no denying that utilities need to further adapt to meet the expectations of our increasingly sophisticated customers.

Hydro One’s diverse customer base, covering a service territory that spans most of the province of Ontario, has created a unique challenge for us – albeit one we are accepting head on.

Big industries and local utilities of course depend on us for a continued supply of reliable electricity, but our larger industrial customers also need us to act as a trusted advisor to help them manage their energy use. At the same time, residential customers expect us to advocate for them and meet their growing service expectations.

Hydro One is transforming to be a more customer-centric company offering more tailored services that you may not expect from a traditional utility.

Meeting varied demands However varied their expectations are, all of our customer groups are counting on us to provide a better customer experience.

To meet the different needs of families, businesses and industry throughout the province, we have placed a renewed focus on putting customers at the centre of everything we do.

This journey to become more customer-centric really started in 2015, when Hydro One became a public company, and we’re seeing the results of our efforts.

Last year, we saw our highest residential and small business customer satisfaction in at least a decade, ending the year with a satisfaction score of 86 per cent.

Still, we believe we can do better and we will do better by continuing to advocate for our customers while providing them with enhanced service and more choice.

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In 2018, we took about 400 contact centre employees in-house to ensure we were providing the highest level of customer service. Often, a call to our contact centre may be the only interaction a customer has with our company. We simply need to get this right.

That said, not all customers want to pick up the phone and call an agent for a customer service inquiry. Customers today want choice in how they engage with companies. We have conducted research and assessed our analytics to develop a “digital roadmap” to roll out new customer experience capabilities over the coming years, so customers can engage with us whenever they want, on the channel of their choosing.

Delivering deeper insights

Our commercial and industrial customers are looking for deeper insights on how they consume energy to inform their business choices. To support this customer group, we are planning to launch a new online portal to help companies to better access, understand and manage their energy use.

We’re also investing in technology to meet the needs of our local distributor and transmission-connected customers, who rely on us for reliable electricity supply. With much of our system built in the 1950s, we’re making investments across the province to ensure our grid is safe and reliable. While we do this, we will be implementing new technology, such as switching devices and fault locators, to modernize our grid.

These tools help to reduce the frequency and duration of outages by helping us locate issues along our system faster, so we can get the power back on sooner.

Going forward we plan to continue to put ourselves in the shoes of our customers, so we can support every customer type’s unique needs. We expect this approach to not only yield positive results in terms of customer satisfaction, but also to result in more tailored services that you may not expect from a traditional utility.

The electricity industry is changing and evolving quickly, as are the needs and expectations of our customers. While this creates challenges, it also offers an opportunity for utilities to become leaders in the new customer-focused economy.

Hydro One Inc. is a fully owned subsidiary of Hydro One Limited, Ontario’s largest electricity transmission and distribution provider with almost 1.4 million valued customers, over $25.6 billion in assets and 2018 annual revenues of over $6.1 billion. Our team of approximately 8,600 skilled and dedicated employees proudly build and maintain a safe and reliable electricity system which is essential to supporting strong and successful communities.

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PROVIDING CUSTOMER VALUE THROUGH REDUCED OUTAGE MINUTES

By Kiel Edge, Corporate Communications Specialist, Waterloo North Hydro

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aterloo North Hydro (WNH) has always worked to provide value to its customers. In 2019, the most valuable thing the utility provided was less outage time.

Through the continued implementation of its Advanced Distribution Management System (ADMS), and a leading edge feeder pilot project, WNH decreased its customer outage minutes by more than 30 per cent in 2019, providing an overall improvement of more than 1.6 million minutes of avoided power interruption for its customers.

“WNH is an industry leader in automated distribution management,” said WNH President and CEO Rene Gatien.

“Our continued commitment to innovation has helped to decrease customer outage minutes and increase the reliability of our distribution system.”

WNH’s automation improvements began in 2012, with investments in Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)-controlled Electronic Vacuum Reclosers (EVRs). In 2019, WNH began automating submersible switchgear units in the downtown core. This strategy has resulted in a significant reduction in customer outage minutes. Since 2015, WNH investments in technology have reduced customer outage minutes by approximately 26 per cent or 6.95 million minutes.

Innovative pilot program reduces interruption minutes

In 2018, WNH partnered with Survalent, a leading provider of ADMS software, to integrate Fault Location Isolation and Service Restoration (FLISR) into its SCADA system. This pilot project saw FLISR added to six WNH feeders in semiautomatic mode. Semi-automatic mode helps to isolate the fault, but requires operator approval and execution.

FLISR allows SCADA-controllable devices to automatically activate when a fault is detected. This activation automatically reroutes power to restore as many customers as quickly as possible after an outage. Later this year, the system will also monitor the network for sudden loss of voltage and attempt to isolate the cause and reroute power to as many customers affected as possible.

WNH saw immediate benefits from FLISR. The utility saw a marked reduction in customer outage minutes, as well as operational and system benefits. On average, in a nonautomated system, a control room operator would take approximately seven minutes to complete the required switching if a fault is detected. With FLISR, WNH shortened that time to one minute or less per fault. This allows control www.eda.on.ca

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room operators to quickly send line crews to a smaller section of isolated feeder, to begin their patrol to determine the cause of the fault.

Building on success

WNH’s ADMS work has led to the utility having one of the most advanced systems among Ontario utilities. The initial success of the pilot project saw FLISR expanded, in fully automated mode, across WNH’s service territory in 2019.

Fully-automated mode is the quickest option for restoring power as FLISR will isolate the fault and provide restoration in less than one minute, without requiring operator input.

More than 90 per cent of WNH’s customers are served through FLISR-equipped feeders.

The system benefits of FLISR are widespread. Beyond lowering customer interruption minutes, it also reduces operating costs. Fully-automated mode, centralized through FLISR, ensures restoration is seamless at all times of the day, regardless of the number of staff working in the control room.

This was a natural evolution for WNH to undertake following its initial efforts in automation.

“FLISR has proven to be an effective tool for decreasing the length and severity of power interruptions,” Gatien said. “The system is an important part of our ongoing efforts to increase automation and position WNH as an industry leader in providing value to our customers.”

Looking to the future

WNH has 95 per cent of its 58,209 customers covered by automation through FLISR and the ADMS. The utility intends to reach 100 per cent of its 13.8 kV and 27.6 kV feeders FLISRenabled by the end of 2023, and will continue rolling out this program to remaining 8kV feeders.

The utility will continue to invest in system upgrades, including EVRs and submersible switchgear, as the investment in technology has had a positive impact on customers across its service territory. As customer needs and expectations change, WNH continues to adapt and invest in areas that create positive results for its customers.

Waterloo North Hydro Inc. is regulated and licensed by the Ontario Energy Board to provide all regulated electricity distribution services to more than 57,000 business and residential customers in the City of Waterloo, Township of Wellesley and the Township of Woolwich. It is jointly owned by the City of Waterloo and the Townships of Wellesley and Woolwich.

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COVER

ALECTRA’S BILLING SYSTEM CONVERGENCE

“RADIATES”BENEFITS FOR CUSTOMERS

By Max Pacheco and Lori Gariepy, Communications Advisors, Alectra Utilities

Project team front-line leaders show off their radiant colours, L-R: Eileen Campbell, VP, Customer Service; Ramez Hakeem, Director, IT Enterprise Systems; Robert Lang, VP, Consulting Services at CGI; and Scott Miller, Director, Customer Care.

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t the core of the creation of Alectra Utilities was a shared vision amongst its four predecessor companies (Brampton Hydro, Enersource, Horizon Utilities, and PowerStream) to build the local distribution company (LDC) of the future that could meet the evolving needs of its modern customers. Once the merger was successfully completed, Alectra’s focus shifted to turning this vision into real, meaningful change.

After bringing together four progressive utilities in February 2017, the first order of business for Alectra Utilities was to converge all of its customers onto one billing system. Known internally as Project Radiance, this first major organizational

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transformation initiative was a critical step in unifying the new company, modernizing business processes and helping Alectra pivot towards a more innovative, customer-centric future.

Thanks to effective planning, comprehensive testing, and dedicated staff, the transition was seamless for Alectra customers.

Project Radiance is a true success story of a utility putting its current and future customers first. Beginning in 2018, it was the most complex LDC customer information system (CIS) convergence project in Ontario’s history. Oracle’s Customer Care and Billing System (CC&B) was chosen as the single platform to provide the foundation for streamlining Alectra’s THE DISTRIBUTOR

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“ This industry-leading platform allows us to deliver personalized, innovative and trusted customer service that will help to shape Alectra as the energy company of the future.”

Eileen Campbell, Vice President, Customer Service at Alectra Utilities

business processes and enhancing the customer experience by equipping Alectra employees with superior tools to better assist customers. The business implications of the project “radiated” across many different areas of the organization and required a coordinated team effort to be successful.

Employees lead the charge

It was Alectra’s employees who led the charge on Project Radiance. A combined business and project team of over 50 employees worked more than 120,000 hours to complete the convergence of Alectra’s four legacy CISs to the CC&B system. Dedicated staff performed comprehensive testing of the system to confirm accuracy of billing and expected transaction volumes, and to mitigate customer impacts throughout each of the four legacy utility convergence phases. Over 400 front-line customer service employees across the service territory were trained on the new system via eLearning, instructor led sessions, one-on-one masterclasses, and job shadowing to provide them with the knowledge and skills they needed to perform their specific responsibilities.

Thanks to its hard-working staff, Alectra maintained its high-ranking customer service metrics throughout the duration of the project. Although the effort did impact some customers, less than ten formal complaints were reported via social media, local news outlets and through the Ontario Energy Board portal during the transition.

In addition to a new-look bill, customers also gained 24/7 access to a consolidated, mobile-optimized, My Account portal. People can now easily get a status overview of their Alectra Utilities account, check time-of-use meter data, use the comparison tools to analyze energy consumption, and view their transaction history online. The My Account portal is also designed to accommodate future customer enhancements, and will be easily accessible from Alectra’s new, cutting-edge website scheduled for release in spring 2020.

More choice, more control

Consumers have watched many traditional industries be transformed by technology; they’re now demanding the same www.eda.on.ca

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from utilities. People don’t care if your industry has been doing business the same way for a hundred years – they expect more choice and control. The move to this industryleading billing system is an early, yet pivotal milestone in Alectra’s transition into a modern utility that can meet the evolving needs of a new, more empowered consumer.

“Alectra’s consolidated customer information system provides the foundation to further enhance the services we offer our customers,” said Eileen Campbell, Vice President, Customer Service at Alectra Utilities. “This industry-leading platform allows us to deliver personalized, innovative and trusted customer service that will help to shape Alectra as the energy company of the future.”

An important part of the Alectra Utilities story, Project Radiance was the first major integration project completed post-merger, and planning has begun to integrate its newest customers from Guelph and Rockwood into the CC&B system as well. Over one million Alectra customers from Penetanguishene to St. Catharines are now on a single, state-of-the-art CIS system that will support Alectra to better assist its customers and streamline business processes to provide a consistent customer service experience. The significance of this achievement cannot be overstated – it demonstrates how a modern utility can put its customers first with impactful, well-planned projects that build the foundation for discovering the possibilities of an innovative, customer-centric future.

About Alectra Utilities Serving more than one million homes and businesses in Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe area, Alectra Utilities is now the largest municipally-owned electric utility in Canada, based on the total number of customers served.

We contribute to the economic growth and vibrancy of the 17 communities we serve by investing in essential energy infrastructure, delivering a safe and reliable supply of electricity, and providing innovative energy solutions. Our mission is to be an energy ally, helping our customers and the communities we serve to discover the possibilities of tomorrow’s energy future.

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ADVOCACY IN ACTION

THE EDA LEVERAGES PENDING OMNIBUS BILL AND BUDGET, TARGETS RED TAPE

OPPOSITION OUTREACH KEY TO BALANCED ADVOCACY

Credit: Viktor Talashuk (@viktortalashuk) on Unsplash

The EDA’s white paper on Ontario Energy Board regulatory reform – with its more than 70 recommendations and tens of millions in associated savings – remained a key advocacy focus in early 2020. The association re-packaged a number of its proposals for potential inclusion in the next omnibus bill targeting red tape reduction.

The call to eliminate the duplicative and ineffective oversight of local distribution companies on the part of the provincial ombudsman is an example of a specific recommendation that has potential to be acted upon.

The 2020 provincial budget – still due for release at the time of writing – was another important opportunity to advocate for LDC interests. The EDA’s pre-budget submission focused on tax measures to better enable voluntary consolidation on the part of LDCs.

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In late 2019 the EDA held constructive meetings with both Andrea Horwath, Leader of the Official Opposition, and with NDP Energy Critic Peter Tabuns. Both were updated on the association’s views on further OEB modernization and other key policy files. These meetings followed on an EDA submission in connection with the NDP’s “Green New Democratic Deal”. The EDA looks for every opportunity to showcase Power of Local Hydro messages at Queen’s Park – among all major parties, the civil service and stakeholder partners.

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SHARED PRIORITIES DISCUSSED WITH IESO CHAIR As part of the EDA’s ongoing relationship-building with agency and regulatory partners, then-chair Gerry Smallegange and President and CEO Teresa Sarkesian met in January with IESO Chair Joe Oliver. The discussion encompassed the government’s focus on affordability, as well as shared IESO-LDC priorities such as distributed energy resources, the IESO Market Renewal Program, and cybersecurity.

Oliver was appointed as IESO chair last May. He served as the federal Minister of Finance from 2014 to 2015 and federal Minister of Natural Resources from 2011 to 2014, and was the Member of Parliament for the riding of EglintonLawrence from 2011 to 2015. He is a past president and CEO of the Investment Dealers Association and former executive director of the Ontario Securities Commission.

WINTER VISUALS BOOST EDA DIGITAL ADVERTISING The EDA’s refreshed Power of Local Hydro campaign continues to rollout, and included a flight of digital advertising focused on Queen’s Park in late 2019. The purpose of the advertising was to raise awareness of the EDA and its members and to foster a greater appreciation among decision-makers for the role and value of local hydro utilities in the communities they serve.

The top performing ad visuals measured by memorability among decision-makers were seasonally relevant – such as the one shown above – and showcased the role of utilities during their winter operations. Analysis suggests that decision-makers were most interested in messaging about reliability, safety, and economic impacts of the sector.

Protection & Control Certificate Training Program

dal.ca/faculty/cce/programs/certificate-in-high-voltage-protection---control.html Please contact Steve Andrews, Program Director, for further details.

Steve can be reached at 902.494.3247 or at steve.andrews@dal.ca

OVERALL AD IMPACT

Facebook Impressions: 252,737 Twitter Impressions: 197,657

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POWER OF LOCAL HYDRO

CONNECTING, PROTECTING AND

SERVING OUR CUSTOMERS

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rofessional, helpful, high-quality service and assistance; delivered before, during, and after a customer’s requirements are met: It’s a text-book definition of what superlative customer service consists of, and an apt description of how local hydro utilities strive to operate and excel every day.

Hydro customers are looking for greater value, and more control over their electricity usage and bills. Local hydro utilities are best positioned to meet that demand, by extending existing relationships and managing local energy services for customers, while also protecting customers’ privacy and other vital interests.

Protecting our customers from fraud

Technology is great, it makes our lives easier but sometimes it can also make us vulnerable to individuals who take advantage of the information available to them.

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Across the province hydro companies are warning their customers about scammers who are trying to take advantage and extort money from both residential customers and small businesses.

In late 2019 Ontario’s four largest utilities united to warn of scams over the holiday season. In response to increased fraudulent activity across the province, Alectra Utilities, Hydro One, Hydro Ottawa and Toronto Hydro joined forces to increase awareness about scams targeting customers and what to look out for.

Keeping customers warm and the lights on

Local hydro utilities across the province work hard to keep their customers warm and the lights on. They understand that everyone deserves to feel safe in their home and to have the most up to date information possible when there is a power outage. That’s why local utilities are always looking THE DISTRIBUTOR

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POWER OF LOCAL HYDRO

for better ways to keep their customers informed of service status. Recently at an EDA Communicators Council meeting, for example, utility representatives discussed how small and medium sized utilities specifically can effectively and creatively respond to this challenge.

Greening and renewing technology Local hydro utilities are always innovating. Lakeland Holdings, for example, is increasing its power production and entering into the world of solar power generation. Although all its energy production is currently done through hydro generation, Lakeland is broadening its green-energy focus by turning its attention towards solar power production, starting with a small operation in Parry Sound.

Hydro One and Alectra Utilities meanwhile are planning to upgrade the Elgin transmission station and other Hamilton-area infrastructure. They will install quieter, more efficient transformers in four stations to assist in reducing the number of outages; replace protection and switching devices across the city to shorten outage restoration time; refurbish a power line originally installed in 1915 that is critical to powering the Hamilton West Mountain area; and trim hazardous trees across more than 1,260 km of overhead powerlines and replace more than 270 poles.

addition, they consistently give back to their communities whether it be to help send students to school, raise money for a good cause, or help protect our environment through paperless billing.

Utilities will continue to make their customers their top priority, showcasing what the Power of Local Hydro means from a customer-service perspective.

Attracting the best for customers

Local hydro utilities are often recognized both locally and nationally as a top employer. There are many reasons they make the grade in these respects. Utilities across the province and across Canada are investing in their employees, focusing on skills and trade development, fostering diversity, and communicating and engaging with their workforces.

These are highly paid, highly skilled jobs with a tonne of variety from in-house communications, to frontline workers, to engineers.

Local hydro utilities and their employees are responsible for plugging their customers into a modern, reliable hydro system that works for them. In www.eda.on.ca

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COMMERCIAL SUCCESS

ASK THE EXPERT

COLLABORATION COMES IN MANY FORMS A Q&A with Ricky Soni, Director, Business Consulting, Grant Thornton LLP Canada

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s the Ontario utility landscape continues to shift, local distribution companies (LDCs) are looking for new ways to adapt. Here, Grant Thornton advisor, Ricky Soni, discusses how utility providers, across the country, are finding new ways to put customers first—and continue to add value in a new era of energy.

Q: How has the utility landscape changed from a customer’s perspective?

Ricky Soni: Traditionally, regulated utilities have been granted exclusivity or franchise agreements to provide services to a particular area. In other words, a utility is often granted a monopoly so that it may recoup its infrastructure investment to provide essential services, such as electricity generation and distribution, potable water, etc. To allow these utilities to earn a “fair” return, while not overcharging customers, utility rate-setting and performance is regulated by local and provincial bodies. Nonetheless, as most utilities operate as the sole provider of a service, they’ve rarely had to give much thought to attracting new customers or competing for customer loyalty.

In recent years, though, the landscape has shifted. Today, customers have access to a growing number of potential alternatives. For example, instead of purchasing power from traditional utility providers, customers might go “off the grid”.

Customers now have the opportunity to generate energy themselves on a micro scale – by installing personal solar panels, or wind turbines, or even tapping into geothermal energy sources. In some cases, communities are coming together to take those individual forms of energy generation and create microgrids through district energy systems.

As this trend continues, it’s clear customers won’t be as reliant on utility companies as they were in the past. This means utility companies must make a more concerted effort to put customers first and justify their service offerings.

Q: Based on this altered landscape, what can utilities do today to better serve customers?

Ricky Soni: To get ahead of this trend, utilities must engage with their customers to better understand their needs and identify the best methods for addressing those needs. So, beyond offering competitive prices and reliable service, how can utilities encourage customer loyalty?

Perhaps one area utilities may want to explore is helping customers better understand their bills. By simply explaining

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how their bills are structured and what goes into providing a specific service, customers may gain a better perspective and an appreciation of the value of the services their local utility is providing.

Additionally, liaising with customers may help the utility to further understand what they value beyond the essential, yet often commoditized services. For example, perhaps they’re looking for ways to conserve water or electricity. In this regard, utilities can help them understand the benefits of such things as low flow toilets, energy efficient light bulbs and other products and services that can help them reduce their utility bills.

From there, if their consumption goes down, utilities can shed light on the resulting environmental improvements –so they can better understand the connection between their personal efforts and the broader picture.

Q: How can utilities improve efficiencies internally?

Ricky Soni: While engagement is obviously important to retaining customers, price will always be a clear customer priority. As such, utilities should be looking for ways to enhance their internal efficiencies. As an added benefit, this doesn’t just allow them to offer lower prices to customers (which is important). It also enables them to meet regulators’ expectations, commonly seen though performance-based regulations (PBR). These regulations, which are growing in frequency, require utilities to meet an efficiency or productivity target as part of their rate design.

One way to enhance efficiencies is by eliminating redundancies. I recently spoke to a utility provider who brought together two separately run municipal water and stormwater utilities. While these provide different services to customers, at their core, these utilities were responsible for the construction and maintenance of linear infrastructure. For that reason, when operating in isolation, you often end up duplicating costs for shared services like facilities management, IT, finance and HR collaboration. External partnerships or internal restructuring can reduce those redundancies.

Contrary to popular belief, collaboration doesn’t only have to take the form of a merger. Instead, utilities could partner with an external provider, or even a competitor, to split the cost of their external support services, such as costs paid to an IT service provider. This could be more complicated than a merger, but it could be a forward-thinking solution under the right conditions to ultimately create benefits for the utility and its customers.

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“ Contrary to popular belief, collaboration doesn’t only have to take the form of a merger. Instead, utilities could partner with an external provider, or even a competitor, to split the cost of their external support services, such as costs paid to an IT service provider. ”

Contact our Power and Utilities sector advisors: RICKY SONI Director, Business Consulting Ricky.Soni@ca.gt.com BRENT JACKSON Director, Transactions Brent.Jackson@ca.gt.com TROY MACDONALD Partner, Advisory Services Troy.Macdonald@ca.gt.com About Grant Thornton LLP Canada Grant Thornton LLP is a leading Canadian accounting and business advisory firm providing audit, tax and advisory services–locally and across Canada to dynamic privately owned, publicly listed and public sector organizations. Local insights. Global outlook. We offer your organization the best of both worlds: a global outlook of what’s important plus our experience and insights in your local business market.

To learn more about Grant Thornton, visit grantthornton.ca

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CON::NECT EVENTS

Held January 15-17 Hilton Toronto/Markham Suites Conference Centre

Technology In Action Technology in Action

Now in its 19th year, the EDIST Conference presents new and exciting opportunities to learn about the energy industry, network with key, industry decision makers and meet with the companies that drive innovation within the sector.

Register by November 28, 2019 and take advantage of early bird rates!

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Registration is now open.

January 15-17, 2020

Hilton Toronto/Markham Suites 3 days 4 Plenaries 21 Concurrent Sessions 2 Keynotes 80+ exhibitors

>> www.eda-on.ca/events/edist THE DISTRIBUTOR | SPRING 2020

CON::NECT EVENTS

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CON::NECT EVENTS

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CON::NECT EVENTS

Stay CON::NECTED with Great Event Opportunities this Year

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As always, the EDA’s CON::NECT Event Series got off to an immediate and strong start in the new year.

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Hundreds of participants gathered at the Hilton Toronto/ Markham Suites Conference Centre in mid-January for the best attended and most successful version to date of our annual Electricity, Distribution, Information Systems & Technology (EDIST) conference. It featured keynotes, plenaries and technical sessions – addressing critical engineering, operational, IT and management issues – along with high-value networking opportunities. The quickly sold-out exhibition hall rounded out the value proposition, and provided attendees with hands-on insights on a wide range of innovative services and technologies. See photos on preceding pages.

The EDA’s Annual General Meeting and ENERCOM conference took place at the end of February – in a new time slot and a new combined forum. What remained consistent, however, was the range of participation, both from within the EDA membership and on the part of broader electricity and energy-industry stakeholders. A combination of insightful panels and speakers, receptions and other networking opportunities, and the gala dinner and awards presentation followed by the Dx Lounge all served to inform, engage and entertain. Watch the next issue of The Distributor for photos from the event and feature coverage of this year’s award winners.

anadian C Utility Engineering (CUEE) September 29-30th& Equipment ∙ The International Centre Trade Show – Held every other year, this product and service showcase takes place in a 100,000 square-foot indoor/outdoor space that attracts more than 3,000 attendees. Along with demonstrations and great networking, this year we are adding Pre-register for FREE Book Y an onsite training course now for participants.

– September 29-30 at The International Centre, Toronto CUEE is your one-stop-shop for everything With ove

utility related! With over 175 unique exhibitors

For more information and sponsorship opportunities, please contactproducts Marica Macura, Director,relevant Member to showcasing and services Relations and Events, at (905) 265-5346 or the utility sector, come see and demo the MMacura@eda-on.ca. https://www.eda-on.ca/EVENTS

newest and most innovative equipment, tools and products first-hand!

Discover state-of-the-art products and services that can increase your company's productivity, achieve operational efficiencies and boost Since 1987 NEW, REWIND, SURPLUS PURCHASING, REMANUFACTURING profitability.

REDESIGN, REWIND, SURPLUS PURCHASING

Contact the EDA to register today.

REMANUFACTURING & LAB TESTS

And there’s lots more coming up in 2020, including:

Women Connected – Now in its eighth year, this event is a leading opportunity for networking and learning for people at all levels within the electricity sector. The event offers a diverse program, drawing on insights from both within and outside the sector. It provides education and inspiration, with a focus on the personal and professional development of women in the electricity sector. – Please visit www.womenconnected.ca for confirmation of date and location (event has been postponed from the originally scheduled date of June 4, as part of a coronavirus mitigation strategy.)

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We transform your needs in solutions!

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outdoor e 45 differe services r exclusive

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Make costly nuisance outages disappear.

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THE VACUFUSE SELF-RESETTING INTERRUPTER. 70% of fuse operations on overhead distribution transformers are for nuisance outages.

While there’s no trick for keeping the lights on at the end of lateral lines, there is technology.

With the VacuFuse™ Self-Resetting Interrupter, you’ll have advanced fault-testing technology where you need it most at the outer reaches of the grid, improving customer satisfaction and saving you needless maintenance expenses.

Plan for advanced protection with S&C, the worldwide leader in reliability.

See the difference at sandc.com/vacufuse20

© S &C Electric Company 2019. All rights reserved.

Canada's largest utility exhibition.

Will you be there?

September 29-30th ∙ The International Centre ∙ Toronto, ON Pre-register now for FREE

Book Your Exhibit Space

CUEE is your one-stop-shop for everything utility related! With over 175 unique exhibitors showcasing products and services relevant to the utility sector, come see and demo the newest and most innovative equipment, tools and products first-hand!

With over 100,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor exhibit space, CUEE showcases over 45 different categories of products and services relevant to the utility sector. Get exclusive access to over 3000 attendees.

Discover state-of-the-art products and services that can increase your company's productivity, achieve operational efficiencies and boost profitability.

Contact the EDA to register today.

Don't miss out − book your booth today! www.eda-on.ca/EVENTS

Cyber Risk Exposure is Heightened in the COVID-19 Environment Turn to The MEARIE Group for Cyber Risk Tools & Resources.

Log on to the NetDiligence® eRiskHub today!

The MEARIE Group has partnered with NetDiligence® to provide cyber-specific risk management tools and training resources (free to MEARIE Members). NetDiligence® is a privately-held cyber risk assessment and data breach services company. The eRiskHub portal can be accessed through the mearie.ca website – for MEARIE Members exclusively.

GOOD NEIGHBOUR, TRUSTED PARTNER We’re proud to be a partner in building a safe, strong and thriving Ontario.

Through our community investment program, we provide training to 200,000 youth across the province each year to teach them life-saving skills and how to play safe. We also support more than 200 communities as part of our goal of giving back where we live, work and play.

HydroOne.com/BuildingSafeCommunities